An anonymous reader writes: After a decade of expectation, electric vehicles are ostensibly here. But they still pose questions for consumers — the biggest being, how do we charge our cars fast enough? The charging stations being rolled out for homes, stores, and office parking lots pump out 220 volts and take between 4-8 hours to fully charge. But what about refueling for longer trips? The EVs in showrooms, like the Nissan LEAF, have a range of about 100 miles depending on actual usage — which means overnight charges will be necessary for those bigger distances.
The answer could lie in ultra-fast pumps, known as Level 3 chargers. These zap your car with 480-volts of energy, and can fill ‘er up in a time period closer to a regular gas pump. In Japan, a collaboration of power and car companies installed six Level 3 chargers in Tokyo, and they’re up and running successfully. And there’s strong pressure in the U.S. to follow suit.
So can ultra-fast chargers secure EVs place as the cars of the future?