Fast Charge

Renault announces changes to the Zoe and Twizy EVs, with the most important update being a better motor in the Zoe that increases the range to 149 miles.

Check it out: according to Silex Power, it's a force of nature," a "fluid form... the pinnacle of technological innovation. It's the epitome of elegance and luxury, a synopsis of the superior class... the most technologically vehicle ever conceived. It's the dawn of a new era in electric mobility – the Chreos.

Inventor Elliott Small and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered how to rapid charge lithium ion batteries without overheating them. Using the new technology, off-the-shelf li-ion batteries used in cell phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles could have their charging time reduced from hours to minutes without burning out.

Get this: the recharge time in the humongous Tesla Model S battery pack – yes, the 300-mile version – could be as short as an hour. That is, if you happen to have one of Tesla's Supercharger stations handy.

Oh, Canada!

Kia has unveiled the automaker's very first production electric vehicle. The Kia Ray EV will offer buyers a range of around 86 miles depending on driving conditions and will include a fast-charge option that should top off the cells in around 25 minutes. Otherwise, expect the 16.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack to take around six hours to char

Fast charging a Mitsubishi i-MiEV – Click above to watch video after the jump

Coulomb Technologies, along with partner Aker Wade Power Technologies, is now taking orders for the ChargePoint CT3000 networked DC fast-charge stations. Deliveries of the CT3000 will commence early next year. The CT3000 offers the convenience of 30-minute charging and is designed to accommodate the proposed CHAdeMO stand

Last month, Eaton and Murphy Oil USA teamed up to demonstrate the convenience of electric vehicle (EV) charging at gas stations. Now, ECOtality, BP and ARCO are joining in on the action as well. Under terms of this agreement, ECOtality will install 45 fast-charging stations – you know, the ones that take 30 minutes or less to fill a typ

Quick charge station in Portland, OR - Click above to watch video after the jump

The state of Washington is hoping to turn the interstate 5 corridor that runs from Canadian border to Oregon into the nation's first electric highway. With the help of a $1.32 million federal grant, Washington hopes to install between seven and 10 so-called Level 3 electric vehicle charging stations along the main north-south road. Level 3 stations charge at 400 volts and 30 amps or more. Such stations can charge a typical EV battery to 80 percent full in under 30 minutes.

Early last month, we broke a story regarding a super-rapid charging system that could take an electric vehicle (EV) from empty to 50 percent charged up in as little as three minutes. The super-rapid charging system, developed by JFE Engineering, could potentially change the EV industry forever. Just imagine, an EV could be charged in about

In preparation for the December launch of its Leaf EV, Nissan has developed its own electric vehicle charge station that will be installed at all of its dealers in Japan.

While Land Rover may be a bit behind the competition in regards to hybrid products, it hopes to make waves with its plug-in hybrid slated for production in 2013. Last year, Land Rover officially announced that it would begin work on a plug-in diesel electric version of the Range Rover Sport<

What if you could charge an electric vehicle (EV) in about the same amount of time that its take to fuel up a gasoline car? Would EVs reach mainstream status if charging them was a simple, three minute procedure? Well, we may find out soon. The Nikkei newspaper is reporting that Japen-based JFE Engineering Corp. has developed an entirely new charging system that can take an electric vehicle from empty to halfway charged in just three minutes. Get your stopwatches ready.

With the early initial success of the Nissan Leaf already showing us that electric vehicles are in high demand, we now must address the infrastructure issue. In short, we need more chargers and we need them now. To fill the void, Eaton Corp. has teamed up with Japan-based Takaoka Electric to develop a fast charger for both residential and commercial use.

All of the Coulomb Technologies charging units that we've seen thus far are rectangular units that sit on poles or hang from the wall. A new ChargePoint unit that Coulomb is developing with Aker Wade Power Technologies looks much more like a standard gas pump and, more importantly, will provide fast Level 3 charging. These units, which will be available to buy this fall for around $40,000 (and $20,000 to install!), draw power from dedicated 480-volt, 125-amp circuits and can theoretically deliv

It seems all kinds of automakers are sending out strong hints about the vehicles they will have on display at the 80th edition of the Geneva International Motor Show taking place in early March. Protoscar is proving no exception with the release of the teaser image you see above. No exception, that is, but for the fact that the company is really more of an auto designer than maker. The previous version of Domenick Yoney

Station design by Richard Barret of EPR Architects