Ultra-Fast Charging Stations For Electric Car & EV Batteries

India may have bought into the EV dream but it is yet to pave a path forward. As opposed to Internal Combustion Engines, EVs require ultra-fast electric charging stations to run. As the total no. of EVs are forecasted to be around 2billion, the need for fast, cost-efficient charging stations is on the rise. The global market for EV charging stations is expected to grow at 44% CAGR by 2025, which estimates to be $28.93 billion.

The current challenge with Electric Vehicles is the overall time it takes for a full charge – somewhere around 8 hours using a standard charger. Compare it with the time taken to refill our conventional petrol/ diesel vehicle and we can understand why people in India are a bit hesitant to go for EVs as of today. Right from the inception of electric vehicles, every company in the industry is working on devising technology that can close the gap between the time taken to charge electric vehicles and to refill a gasoline tank.

Overview of Ultra-Fast Charging Stations for EV over the globe

Countries like the US, UK, Australia have already adopted fast and ultra-fast charging stations with ease of use for the customers. Companies like Alphaa, TATA Power are trying to build their networks of fast-charging stations across countries.

Fast-growing EV markets like India are expecting to build up to  2655 UFCS by 2023, one at each 25kms.

While customers look for cheaper and quick solutions, understanding the types of charging systems and the cost to set up and use a charging station can be quite a task. These Ultra-Fast Charging Stations (UFCS) are DC micro-grid based concept and promise to reach the EVs power requirement in less than 10mins.

Governments across the globe are urging companies to make these UFCS easy to use. In a few countries, these UFCS are more or less similar to any fuel station from a usage perspective. Across Europe, EOn has already built 3,000 UFCS with 175kW ultra-fast charging capability. The steps from finding a UFCS and driving away with your vehicle fully charged are rather simple.

Various companies across the globe have opted for a similar model which makes charging EVs hassle-free.

AC charging (level 1 and level 2) is idle for simpler, less tech –equipped EVs like two-wheelers, while DC charging is for big and technical heavy EVs.

Also read: Top 10 Electric Charging Station Manufacturers

Structure of Ultra-Fast Charging Station of Electric Car

UFCS for personal and office use  

There are companies like Charge Point that provide mobile charging stations. Their customers are major:

• Corporate offices that want to offer an in-house charging station for their employees or
• Individuals for personal use or want to set up a booth like station.

These stations are easier to install as they require zero to minimum infrastructure. The cost of such a mobile station is somewhere around the one offered by Tesla and the software varies as per need. It approximately costs  $1000-1500 depending on the manufacturing company and features.

Also read: What is Electric Vehicle charging Station Setup Cost?

Public UFC station

Building a Public UFCS is quite a business topic, the requirements to build one are plenty, and cost varies as you change cities, countries, and services offered. In Asian- pacific areas, it can cost you about 7 to 25 lakhs INR. But since this market is evolving, the cost is expected to come down with time.

One of the examples of a public UFC station in India is Tata Plug N Go. The process is pretty simple and handy.  The customer just needs to have a Plug N Go app, where the nearest location of the station can be identified. From the charging station either CSS or CHaDeMo charging gun needs to be pulled out and inserted into the EV charging socket. Then you have to switch to the Plug N Go App enter relevant details and the battery management system will be connected to the charging station. Voila, the charging process starts and yes its that easy.

The EV customers are surely looking for more such Ultra-Fast charging stations, which is hassle-free and user-friendly.

BUSINESS SIDE OF EV CHARGING STATION

On a business perspective, how much beneficial is an ultra-fast charging station ? Is It worthy to invest on setting up a full-fledged ultra-fast charging station, especially when there is a quite a push from the Indian government to grow the EV industry?

Initiatives like a plan to set up a charging station every three kilometres and also EV charging point on every petrol pumps are been taken up by the Indian government. Most of the Indian reigning automobile giants are already in to full blown EV mode, like Tata and Mahindra.

The future of Fast charging station for EVs is quite bright. Right now, there are limited EV charging stations installed. Only metros and A-tier cities of India have the privilege but the stations are very limited. One of the main reasons, a customer lean towards petrol/diesel vehicle is the shortage and easy accessibility of the ultra-fast charging stations.

The Metro and A-tier cities of India surely has a customer base for EV. Also, in the coming 5-10 years the smaller cities of India will also understand the EV culture and adapt to the benefits of it. So, investing in a EV ultra-fast charging business and growing the EV space is surely a golden business move.

Alternatives:

Since the idea has gone large, many have proposed and implemented various other sources to cut the cost down. While most companies are trying their hand at utilizing the solar power supply, the wind is another alternative we are looking at. To give you an idea about the amount of power a UFCS can consume, a single station offering UFCS can take the power that charges a whole Walmart which necessitates the need for alternate renewable power sources.

As such, the countries that have higher sunlight can be a boon. EVs will be soon charged with nothing but sunlight.

Know more about newly launched Electric Cars across the globe.

EV Duniya Editorial: This article is written by Natasha Talesara