Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by Fifth Gear
Electric vehicle sales are on the rise, but the infrastructure that is required to charge them has not risen to the challenge in every country. To prevent queues and public outrage, more EV charging stations will have to be set up in all countries that adopt this kind of vehicle. Here is a new concept from Gridserve.
The Brits at Fifth Gear Recharged, no pun involved, have visited a new kind of charging station designed by Gridserve with electric vehicle owners in mind.
You can view them as filling stations for electric vehicles, except there is no gasoline or diesel available for customers with ICE vehicles, as is the case with EVs that can get charged at some conventional filling stations in some countries.
Instead of fuel pumps, the forecourt has many EV chargers, and they are placed so that each vehicle can come and go without bothering anyone.
It was designed from scratch, and the first one, called Electric Forecourt, comes with 36 chargers, and 12 of them support 350 kW charging, which is the most powerful type available today. Other chargers offer up to 90 kW charging power, which is enough for most EVs on the market today.
The station is designed to handle all 36 chargers being used at once. It comes with multiple battery packs behind its main building to prevent any surges in the national grid.
Moreover, its creators even prepared for the situation where the grid is down, and customers want to charge their vehicles. It is claimed that the batteries behind the station have enough energy to ensure driving around the world with electricity.
The charging points also have solar panels above them, which are there for both their role regarding electricity but also for protection against bad weather.
Sadly, the Electric Forecourt's weather protection is not linked entirely from the recharging point to the building that is placed behind it. It would be nice not to get rained on after leaving your car to charge, but maybe they will figure that out before these stations become the norm.
Once inside the building, EV users can go shopping, get snacks or coffee, but also enjoy the leisure space imagined by the Gridserve chain. It involves two stationary bicycles, from what we can observe, but there is also a post office integrated into the facility, as well as a "business center."
With the advance of charging systems for EVs, as well as battery technology, a 20-minute break every two hours of driving will probably become the norm. You should know that these breaks are recommended for all vehicle drivers, not just those who have EVs.
What is clear to us is that stations like these will have to be placed on the side of highways and other important roads in all countries that expect their citizens to switch to electric vehicles. These stations will have to be built by companies, and it looks like they will be costly if we look at the space they require.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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