ABB Unveils A400, Its Fastest EV Charger While Korean Researchers Aim For Rapid Charging

While the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) among consumers has risen significantly over the past few years and the sector has filled up with numerous automakers, there are still some challenges that act as barriers for consumers.

This includes a lack of reliability, confusion about how to use chargers, charging speed concerns, payment issues that block the charging process and more. All of these lead to complex charging experiences, including users thinking their vehicle is charging when it’s not.

Add to this current charging success rates that sit below 70% and insufficient return on investment (ROI) and even owners, operators and fleets face problems that curtail the large-scale deployment of charging infrastructure.

This is what ABB E-mobility's latest move is looking to tackle with its latest product announcement.

So, what did the company reveal? Let’s explore!
 

What Did ABB Announce?

 

• As per a news release published on its website, ABB introduced its newest EV charger, the A400 all-in-one charger.

• As per the company, the A400 brings the highest power density, a better end-user experience, the smallest footprint and is focused on delivering the highest charging success rates.

• The charger comes with a 32-inch screen with an intuitive user interface akin to smartphones, that provides a seamless experience from start to finish and step-by-step guidance, while reducing friction points between car, charger and payment systems.

• It even comes with a cloud-based asset management toolchain, which offers telecommunication-like management, bringing enhanced reliability, scalability, interoperability, security and performance.

• “The A400 comes with 24/7 asset management service-level agreements (SLAs) that target 98% charging success rates, as well as 97% uptime and fast service response times.”

• To tackle the ROI concern, the A400 is designed to offer a 10-year product lifetime, high reliability and enabling the company’s customers to sell energy at lower costs.

• ABB E-mobility is also the first to implement two-phase cooling technology (liquid to vapor to liquid) into a charging connector capable of up to 600 amperes of peak current, further economizing maintenance costs.

 

What Did ABB E-mobility Say?

 

• Michael Halbherr, CEO of ABB E-mobility, said, “Charging networks constitute a mission-critical transport infrastructure on the way to an energy-efficient and climate-neutral mobility era.

• “The A400 has been designed from the ground up as a system for the reliable and cost-effective delivery of energy, enabling our customers to operate their network at the highest level, and achieving their desired economic outcome.”

• “At ABB E-Mobility, we have taken key lessons from our extensive experience and are obsessed with creating a charging experience that is reliable, scalable, managed and secure, while ensuring interoperability and performance.”

On the other hand, researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are approaching the charging anxiety issues in a different way, which includes bringing the time required down to mere seconds.
 

What Did KAIST Announce?

 

• As per a news release published on its website, KAIST announced that it developed a battery that’s capable of rapid charging, that can be done in just a few seconds.

• Recently, KAIST announced that a research team led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering had developed a high-energy, high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of rapid charging.

• The team integrated anode materials with cathodes suitable for supercapacitors, enabling high storage capacities and rapid charge-discharge rates.

• The development positions the battery as a viable next generation alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which is further boosted by the fact that sodium is over 500 times more abundant than lithium.

• Additionally, sodium is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than lithium.

• This statistic even garnered attention before, however, it came with challenges such as “lower power output, constrained storage properties and longer charging times.” Challenges which KIAST has been able to significantly reduce.

 

What Did KAIST Say?

 

• Professor Kang Jeong-gu from the research team said, “This hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device marks a significant leap forward, overcoming the limitations of current storage solutions.”

• “It heralds a new era where rapid charging becomes a reality for all electronic devices, including electric vehicles.”

Do you think these methods can help ease people’s EV charging concerns?

Let us know in the comments below!