ZEF and ABB deliver successful 24 Hour EV Charging Challenge

Original article from ABB.

ZEF energy, a Minneapolis-based clean technology company, organized an event to achieve a record breaking EV charging marathon to last a full 24 hours. The goal? Constant power delivery to all manner of battery electric vehicles in the Twin Cities region. The event took place earlier this week, with local EV drivers lining up to be part of the challenge.

The event took place at 36Lyn, a fuel station and convenience store that hosts ABB's multi-standard charger. Plug-in vehicles charged up throughout the night, with many EV models taking the challenge, such as the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Tesla Model S, Volkswagen eGolf and Mitsubishi i-Miev. The variety of cars around the Twin Cities underscores the breadth of electric vehicles available in Minnesota and across the country.

ABB's multi-standard fast charging technology offers charging locations the ability to meet the needs of more drivers in a single unit. Even Tesla drivers that came to charge were served by a CHAdeMO adaptor that allows Tesla's proprietary software and hardware to work with the ABB charger.

"This event was hosted to highlight the large network of fast chargers we have in the Twin Cities," noted Matthew Blackler, Founder and CEO of ZEF Energy. "With public charging more widely available, people can see that it's easier than ever to own an electric vehicle in Minnesota." Local station Fox 9 ran a story about the event, with Blackler demonstrating how easy it is to charge an electric vehicle and InsideEVs published a full summary of the event.

"The electric vehicle industry has already seen massive growth in certain regions like the West Coast, along with strong pushes out East," added Andy Bartosh, Director of ABB's EV Charging Infrastructure business for the Americas. "People have assumed that regions with potentially cold temperatures would be more resistant to adoption, but ZEF is showing a lot of folks that owning an EV is not only painless and money-saving, but fast charging availability in their region enables range confidence as well."

In March, ABB displayed a Terra 53 DC fast charger at the Twin Cities Auto Show, as part of a clean energy themed exhibit, hosted by ZEF Energy and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The Twin Cities is one of several regions in the United States seeing marked growth in plug-in vehicles and charging infrastructure.