First Commercial Fast-Charging Station for EVs in Europe Enters Operation
By Scott Doggett May 20, 2010
EV-charger maker Epyon today unveiled the first commercial fast-charging station in Europe at an existing gasoline and diesel fueling station in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
The fast-charging station delivers 50 kilowatts of power, which can fully charge the 9-person taxi-vans of Taxi Kijlstra in only 30 minutes. Taxi Kijlstra, the largest taxi company in the north of the country, recently converted two of its taxi-vans into EVs.
The taxi-vans can drive 60 miles or more on a single fast charge. The province of Friesland has an ambitious target of having 100,000 EVs on the road within the next five years.
The fast-charging station is operated by the Dutch utility company Essent.
A single Epyon fast-charging station has several outlets, so multiple EVs can be charged simultaneously. The charging station in Leeuwarden and all future stations of Epyon support the international CHAdeMO-standard for quick-charging protocols, the company said.
The introduction of fast chargers is a big deal for the EV community, because they solve one of the major problems confronting mass adoption of the vehicles. The problem solved with these chargers: Slashing the charge time from hours to minutes.
Other problems which are being addressed: The distance an all-electric highway-capable vehicle can go between charges (they're typically limited to 100 miles now), the cost of the vehicles' batteries, and the lack of an infrastructure (many plug-in stations) for them.
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