Community Spotlight: Enersys Electric Vehicle Charging Station – EQ Mag Pro

The number of electric vehicles sold in the United States rose by 89% in 2021. While they still account for a small percentage of the cars sold in the country (3.3%), about 7% of American adults said that they own an electric vehicle, and nearly 40% said that they were considering buying one, according to a recent Pew Research poll.

Globally, in 2021, over 6,750,000 electric vehicles were purchased, three-quarters of which were battery powered. Amazon has announced it will move to a ‘green fleet” of electric vehicles for its delivery services and several car manufacturers have moved aggressively into this market. And who can forget the Ford F-150 commercial in which family uses their truck as a generator for their house during a blackout.

There are several factors that have affected the sale of electric vehicles: the distance that they can travel before recharging and the availability of batteries. However, one inhibiting factor affecting this market is the availability of accessible, reliable and fast ways to recharge the batteries of these vehicles. An international corporation headquartered here in Berks County, Enersys, is taking on this challenge.

It is anticipated that the electrification of transportation will be similar to the revolution the Internet created for communication. There been vast investment in lithium cell technology, which will have massive upstream and downstream effects. Infrastructure, the network to bring the electricity to the vehicles, is a critical component in this path. Without it, this entire investment will not succeed. To create a charging experience consumers are accustomed to today, a significant level of power must be transferred. A typical charger requires 150 KW similar to instantaneously placing over 20 full size homes on the grid. This could create significant instability in the power grid. But batteries can be beneficial and help alleviate this challenge.

EnerSys is positioned to be a leader in this infrastructure, deploying systems that will allow fast charging while helping the grid become more resilient. Enersys has installed over 1 million electric vehicle charging stations around the globe. They account for a third of the world market and half of the market in North America. These charging stations not only provide a quick way to recharge a vehicle, they can actually function as a small power plant.

Source: bctv