[TusharK]

ABB has launched what it claims to be the world's fastest electric car charger.



The ABB Terra 360 is a modular charger that can charge up to four vehicles at a time. It has a maximum output of 360 kW. The company claims that the vehicles can be recharged fully in just 15 minutes.

By the end of this year, ABB plans to set up fast chargers that can deliver a range of 100 km in less than 3 minutes in Europe and the United States. These will be introduced in Latin America and the Asia Pacific region in 2022.

The Terra 360 is also wheelchair accessible and features an ergonomic cable management system. These chargers can also be installed at commercial buildings, small depots or parking lots.

The Terra 360 chargers are customizable and have the option to integrate a 27-inch advertisement screen to play video and pictures.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Thilak29]

Product Video:

https://youtu.be/BI7se7hGVxk

Literature:
https://global.abb/group/en/calendar/2021/terra-360
https://new.abb.com/news/detail/8294...ic-car-charger

Disclaimer: ABB is my employer but this post is not a promotion.

[MaddyCrew]

This takes us one step closer to addressing one of the major issues with EV adoption - the time required to 'refuel'.

I can't help but wonder what such high rates of charge (& the associated heat) does to the battery longevity though. The integrated battery cooling packs would be able to keep the temperature levels in check and keep the batteries from exploding. But even that will have limits in countries like India and Australia where the ambient temperatures can reach insane levels.

[srini1785]

It's interesting. Without going in to the technicalities of power transfer, its not the charger which needs to get faster but the battery tech which needs to ramp up to the charger speed.

For starters, the charging current of a battery is always slightly higher than the normal duty current. This applies for normal chargers which just maintain a slightly higher V than the terminal voltage so as to push a current through the poles of the battery. Fast chargers however push a far higher current through the battery in far shorter time. The question is only whether the present batteries are capable of handling such an energy flow without going BOOM. Then again a company like ABB would not have done such a device unless they knew the batteries currently in market (which i don't).

I am also guessing that while the car itself has to be in switched off mode, the liquid cooling of the battery pack would still be operational and on overdrive during the charging process so as to dissipate quickly the heat caused by such charging.

[officer416]

Problem with these sort of chargers that support multi car charging is that the total power is split between 4 vehicles. So it's not like every individual car connected to one charger will be receiving full 360 KW power. The power level will keep fluctuating based on which car is pulling the most and least power.
You will be lucky to find the charger all for yourself to get full benefits. If you take a trip to Norway and see the lineups at some of the charging stations, it leaves a lot to be desired with such kind of charging systems.

[TheCarLover]

As other have already mentioned, yes it takes it closer to the fuel refill time. But again, heating and the impact on battery life is a cause of concern.

Apart from that, what would it take to set up something like this in terms for energy consumption and cost?

Also is the concern on the environment to provide this amount electricity. It cannot be from the renewable sources alone.

Not sure if EVs are really going to help control the environment pollution or make it adverse in a different way.

[_chikku]

High power EV chargers are not new to ABB. It had pantograph based chargers which is fully automated. They have range of 150 - 600kW. You can check the video also here at 50 seconds :

https://youtu.be/9RuMdOQwS78?t=50

This has a real use case scenario in city like Bangalore. If all BMTC buses are EV, driver will always stop at bus stops for passenger boarding and charging

[gopa99]

Doesn’t the Chademo listed protocol already qualify 400KW charges since 2018? I recollect seeing charging equipment in their website as well. They have a 1000V top voltage limit as well.

[kartikthum]

It's definitely for the batteries to catch up now, but here's a thought - please excuse me if I sound crazy, as I am not really aware of the battery chemistry etc - so, we already know that the battery is made of much smaller cells, and if we have a bunch of cells that form a module, and if the batteries are smart enough to disconnect modules from each other while charging, and in parallel charge multiple modules at a time (multiplexing literally, as if each module belongs to a different car) such that no adjacent modules are charged at the same time - then it should work at least in theory, right?

[sandeepmohan]

Sounds like the biggest problem with charging an EV is now solved.

You can now mix a little drip feed charge at home and when you need something real quick, head to one of these.

[Axe77]

As many have mentioned, it also depends on the ability of the battery (and the limits set in each car’s battery) to accept the pace of charging. Curious to know how this interplays with battery degradation, of course accepting that these are one off ways of charging. But for people who are frequent highway users and intend to use such facilities much more regularly to make EV travel feasible, it will be relevant.

Wait times are a real concern in Nordic countries (again as was mentioned above) with long queues and wait times specially on long weekends when people travel out being a regular feature. We’re still some distance away I feel from this becoming a seamless affair, particularly when you consider our country still doesn’t have continuous power in many parts and power cuts are very much a reality still.

[sramanat]

I think this needs to be looked into in a serious way by all EV stakeholders. Just like how the fuel pump nozzle standards are external to car manufacturer's boundaries, infra companies like ABB should be part of the discussion/consortium. If the car's charging port can be standardized and the car can advertise its battery parameters via a port (ideally the same as the charging port), the charger can determine the best possible way to charge the car. Without this at the early stages of EV category lifecycle, things can get messy in no time. Phones have different power adapters and battery ratings, but it is still possible to plug the phone to a common connector in an airport lounge and charge it.

[SVMBLR]

Nevertheless ABB will always design for existing EV Lithium-ION and Hybrid upcoming new Battery models unless it will be difficult to them to capture Indian market.

[Shresth_EV]

Originally Posted by sramanat

I think this needs to be looked into in a serious way by all EV stakeholders. Just like how the fuel pump nozzle standards are external to car manufacturer's boundaries, infra companies like ABB should be part of the discussion/consortium. If the car's charging port can be standardized and the car can advertise its battery parameters via a port (ideally the same as the charging port), the charger can determine the best possible way to charge the car. Without this at the early stages of EV category lifecycle, things can get messy in no time. Phones have different power adapters and battery ratings, but it is still possible to plug the phone to a common connector in an airport lounge and charge it.

The EV standard are already in place — CCS2 is the way forward.

Tesla superchargers in usa are properietary plug but everywhere else — EU, Japan, Korea, China, and UK — all use CCS2.

All private EVs in India also use the same CCS2 port. Only some commercial EVs use AC001/DC001.

[Lobogris]

There are a few fast ones in India as well.
Here is EESL in Delhi. There are seven chargers with multiple guns each.