ChargePoint is launching its ChargePoint Express Plus platform for charging electric cars, promising to make charging as much as eight times faster. The company says it will be able to add hundreds of miles of range with just 10 to 15 minutes of charging.
Campbell, Calif.-based ChargePoint made the announcement at CES 2017, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week.
The DC-charging ChargePoint Express Plus can charge today’s electric vehicles, such as Chevy Bolt EV, at their maximum rate. And it will also charge upcoming electric vehicles (EVs), such as the Tesla Model 3, as quickly as possible.
The company said it is also ready to deliver maximum charging speed to EVs that haven’t been announced yet, as well as electric buses and service trucks. A modular platform designed for businesses and charging centers along major roadways or transit depots, Express Plus can deliver up to 400 kilowatts (kW) to an EV.
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This kind of progress is necessary if electric travel is to live up to its promise of transforming how we get around. EVs are expected to reach 35 percent of global new car sales by 2040.
“Express Plus is a platform built to support our vision for the future of DC fast charging: simple, ultra-fast, scalable and incredibly efficient charging that’s conveniently located where drivers need it for long trips,” said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint, in a statement. “Express Plus charging centers can start small and grow as needed by adding charging capacity without infrastructure upgrades. Together with our commercial and residential charging solutions, Express Plus completes the fueling network that will make fully electric transit a reality.”
Above: ChargePoint
Express Plus builds on the existing network of more than 31,000 ChargePoint charging spots to support the next generation of EVs.
Along with the Express Plus platform, ChargePoint announced ChargePoint Express 250, a standalone DC fast-charging station capable of adding 90 miles of range in 30 minutes. Express Plus will be available in July 2017.
So far, ChargePoint drivers have completed more than 20.4 million charging sessions, saving upwards of 19.8 million gallons of gasoline and driving over 475 million gas-free miles.
