Ultra-Fast Charging Stations for Electric Car and EV Batteries

India has made the EV dream a reality but there is still a long way to go. Unlike internal combustion engines, electric vehicles require fast electric charging stations to run. With electric vehicle numbers totaling around 2 billion, the need for fast, affordable charging stations continues to grow. The global EV charging station market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44% by 2025 which is estimated to be $28.93 billion. 

A current challenge with electric vehicles is the total time for a full charge using a standard charger is about 8 hours. Compare this with the time taken to refill our conventional petrol/diesel vehicle. And we can understand why people in India are hesitant to go for electric vehicles in today's time. 

Since the inception of electric vehicles, every company in the industry has been working on developing technologies that close the gap between the time it takes to charge electric vehicles and the time it takes to refill a gasoline tank.  

Overview of Ultra-Fast Charging Stations for EVs Around the World

Countries like US, UK, Australia have already adopted fast and ultra-fast charging stations for the customers with ease of use. Companies like Alfa, Tata Power are trying to build their own network of fast charging stations across the country.

The fast growing EV market in India is expected to produce 2655 UFCs every 25 kms by 2023.

While customers look for cheap and quick solutions and understand the type of charging station and the cost of setting up and using a charging station can be low. These Ultra Fast Charging Stations (UFCS) are DC micro-grid based concepts that promise to meet the power requirement for electric vehicles in less than 10 minutes.

Governments around the world are urging companies to make these UFCs easy to use. In some countries, these UFCs are more or less the same as any fuel station in terms of usage. Across Europe, EOn has already built 3000 UFCS with 175KW ultra fast charging capability. The steps to find UFCS and fully charge your vehicle are quite easy. 

Several companies across the world have opted for a similar model. Which makes charging of electric vehicles hassle free. 

AC charging (Level 1 and Level 2) is useless for simpler, less tech-equipped EVs like two-wheelers, while DC charging is for larger and tech-heavy EVs. 

Ultra Fast Charging Station for Personal and Office Use  

There are companies like Charge Point that provide car charging stations. Their main customers are:

• Corporate offices that wish to offer an in-house charging station for their employees or
• Want to set up booth like individual or station for personal use.  

These stations are easy to set up as they require zero to minimum infrastructure. The cost of such a charging station is somewhere around the one offered by Tesla and the software varies according to the need. It costs around $1000-1500 depending on the manufacturing company and facilities. 

Public Ultra Fast Charging Station 

Creating a public UFCS is quite a business matter. Too much needs to be done to make it. And the cost varies as you go through the cities, countries, and services you provide. In the Asian-Pacific region, it can cost you 7 to 25 lakh rupees. But as this market continues to grow, the cost is expected to come down over time. 

An example of a public UFC station in India is the Tata Plug N Go. The process is quite simple and easy. Customer should have Simply Fleely app to identify the nearest location to the station. The CSS or ChaDeMo charging gun needs to be removed from the charging station and inserted into the EV charging socket. 

Then you have to switch to the Fleely app. And the relevant details have to be entered. The battery management system will connect to the charging station. the charging process starts and it's that simple. 

Business Side of EV Charging Station 

From a business point of view, how profitable is an ultra-fast charging station? Is it worth investing in setting up a full-fledged ultra-fast charging station, especially as the Indian government is working hard to grow the EV industry? 

Initiatives like the one already planned by the Government of India to set up one charging station every 3 kms and EV charging point at every petrol pump. The future of fast charging stations for electric vehicles is bright. And now there are limited charging stations installed. 

In India only metro and A-tier cities are privileged but stations are very limited. One of the main reasons why customers switch to petrol/diesel vehicles is the lack and easy accessibility of ultra-fast charging stations. 

India's metro and A-tier cities certainly have a customer base for EVs. Also, in the coming 5-10 years, even small cities in India will understand the EV culture and adapt to its benefits. Hence, investing in the EV ultra-fast charging business and growing the EV space is definitely a golden business move.