Jump-start for the (electric) green car future (UK)

[jpak]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article6030396.ece

Is the future of motoring electric? Only if a whole new infrastructure of charging points is put in place. Even state-of-the-art batteries need to be topped up after a hundred or so miles of travel, so unless every journey begins and ends at home, the electric equivalent of a network of filling stations is required. Evoasis, an American company, plans to build exactly that.

Evoasis’s designs feature off-street bays for up to 24 cars to recharge at the same time, with electricity supplied not in the 220-volt form accepted by most current models of electric vehicle, but at up to 440 volts — powerful enough to charge a suitably adapted car in about 20 minutes.

Because of the dangers involved with such high voltages, the recharge would be performed by station staff. Each station would maintain a “tack room” of cables to ensure that every make of electric car could be catered for (to get a glimpse of the potential chaos waiting in the future, just think of the jumble of mobile phone chargers and connectors).

Drivers could wait out the time in their cars, watching television on screens built into each recharging unit, or retire to the 4,000 sq ft coffee shop above the station. Fast internet access and computer work stations for hire are promised.

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