Internal combustion apologists have long argued that electric cars take too long to charge, and are therefor ill-equipped to handle long-distance road trips.
To some degree this is true.
Today, you can get a 50% charge on your Tesla in about 20 minutes using one of Tesla’s superchargers. And with the vast network of superchargers Tesla has put in place, it’s not inconceivable to drive across the entire country in a Model S. It’s already been done, actually.
That being said, compared to filling up with 87 octane, even the awesome supercharger is inconvenient. Of course, any rational person can tell you this will not always be the case.
Eventually, nearly all electric cars will travel in excess of 300 miles per charge, and high-tech charging stations will juice up your vehicle in less than ten minutes. Although compared to what’s happening right now in Switzerland, ten minutes seems like an eternity.
ABB is Crushing it!
Thanks to the good folks over at ABB (NYSE: ABB), a new line of buses will soon be able to fully charge in just three to five minutes. Moreover, these buses will actually be able to “top off” their charges in just 15 seconds.
No, that’s not a misprint. 15 seconds! And ABB is getting more than $16 million to help Geneva’s public transport operator get these things into operation.
Here’s how it works …
Although most socially-responsible investors don’t often think about a huge corporate behemoth like ABB, the truth is, most of today’s modern clean technology relies upon the innovations that are regularly pumped out by ABB’s team of researchers and engineers.
In fact, the recent voyage of the solar plane dubbed Solar Impulse was co-engineered by some of ABB’s finest.
This is the solar-powered airplane that just completed a record-breaking, zero-emissions flight around the world.
But don’t think this achievement was just for bragging rights. The truth is, solar-powered air travel will soon be available in a town near you.
Swiss pilot Baertrand Piccard recently told reporters that in ten years, he expects to see electric airplanes (using solar), transporting up to 50 passengers on short and medium haul flights.
This is next-generation, science fiction fact stuff. And ABB is an integral part of it.
Check it out …
