Swiss multinational company ABB, a reputed name in the power & automation sectors has formally launched its electric vehicle charger, Terra 360, which isn’t only the fastest but can also power up to 4 vehicles at a time, said a company press release.
As a manufacturing company, ABB has been offering infrastructure like charging & electrification results for electric vehicles since 2010 and works with international charging operators like Ionity, Electrify America & Chargedot. It has already sold more than 440,000 AC chargers & 21,000 DC fast chargers in 88 markets, consistent with the press release.
“With governments around the world writing the public policy that favors electric vehicles & charging networks to combat climate change, demand for EV charging infrastructure, especially charging stations that are fast, convenient & easy to operate is higher than ever,” said Frank Muehlon, President of ABB ’s E-mobility Division. With the launch of Terra 360 charger, ABB is floating its electric vehicle charging business worth $3 billion, Reuters reported.
The Terra 360 is a modular saucer, and works with dynamic power distribution. With a design that looks like a gasoline fueling station and a charging time of just 3 minutes for a range of 62 miles (100 100 km), you would probably misconstrue them in a parking-lot or grocery store near you. Probably, that is what ABB wants. It doesn’t want potential customers to think that electric charging is time-consuming. By Terra 360’s rapid charging, time spent is almost the same that you would spend filling gas in your car.
The process of charging isn’t complex either. ABB claims to have used an innovative lighting system which will guide through charging process and even display time left and the State of Charge (SoC) of the battery to the user. The cable management is ergonomic & even wheelchair accessible, company said.
ABB is definitely not looking to supply chargers to individualities, but wants to roll-out large-scale charging infrastructure to fueling stations, retail points, convenience stores & even organizations. The chargers can be customized & branded, with options to change the colors of LED lights and even display advertisements on a 27- inch (68.5 cm) screen.
ABB is also aiming to tap into organizations that have own fleet of vehicles and are unsure about switching to electric considering their charging times & infrastructure necessaries. The capability of charging 4 vehicles at a time without having to wait for the previous one to complete a charging session offers fleet owners the flexibility they’ve been seeking in electric cars.
The 360 in Terra stands for 360kW of output, which is way above 250 kW offered by Tesla’s Superchargers. ABB claims that its charger can fully charge an EV battery in a maximum of 15 minutes and will ” accelerate e-mobility adoption globally. “
The Terra 360 will be launched in Europe later this year and will be available in U.S., Latin America, & Asia-Pacific regions from 2022.
