Battery Buffered EV Charging
7 hours ago
- #Sustainable Infrastructure
- #Battery Technology
- #EV Charging
- A road tripper in Ohio discovers a novel EV charging station with a battery-buffered feature, allowing fast charging without stressing the local power grid.
- Battery-buffered chargers store energy slowly via Level 2 charging and release it quickly (around 150 kW) when an EV plugs in, reducing grid demand spikes.
- This technology helps avoid costly grid upgrades and is particularly useful in areas with volatile or constrained power networks.
- Companies like FreeWire Technologies are already deploying such chargers, which can lower infrastructure costs significantly (up to 65% reduction in some cases).
- The Ohio EPA supports these installations as part of efforts to transition from diesel to clean energy infrastructure.
- Battery-buffered chargers also offer resilience benefits, maintaining charging capability during short outages or voltage disturbances.
- While promising, challenges remain around battery sizing, cost, and management, and the technology is still in early stages compared to traditional grid-dependent chargers.
- EV drivers like Taylor are excited about these innovations, seeing them as a step forward in EV infrastructure.