From ABB the fastest charging station in the world

ABB announced the fastest charging system for electric vehicles on the market: its name is Terra 360 and will be available for the European market by the end of 2021, with commercialization in the rest of the world from 2022.

The peak power, as the name suggests, is 360kW : this is a very high value but that what is indicated in the press release issued by the company is to be understood as a peak for all connections that can be made simultaneously. Its structure is in fact modular , allowing you to manage up to 4 sockets simultaneously dividing the available power between the connected vehicles.

A maximum power of 360kW is therefore accessible when only one vehicle is being recharged; ABB has not provided specific information but it is easy to assume that this happens with an 800V connection as the maximum, a standard that is currently supported only by a few electric vehicles on the market (Porsche-Audi and Hyundai-Kia platforms). For the other cars the charging peak will be less than 360kW, even if it is absolutely high as it happens with HPC columns.

The most interesting technical element is the possibility to recharge with a single installation up to 4 vehicles at the same time , as most of the columns fast high power integrates a single connector or in some cases two. We have some doubts that it is the fastest in the world: it is certainly not the 10kW more maximum power, as a data plate, compared to the Ionity columns that make the difference.

Regardless, it is good to remember that the maximum power data of a column indicates what the column is theoretically capable of delivering in ideal conditions, not the power that will always be supplied to the vehicle. If this were the case, a column of this power should allow for example to recharge a Tesla Model 3 Long Range from 0% to 100% in about 13 minutes, a value far from that actually required.

The actual charging power is in fact linked to the characteristics of the column but the technology adopted (400V or 800V) and above all the charge level of the vehicle counts. With the battery completely or almost discharged, the charging power is higher, decreasing progressively and in some cases very quickly the more the battery is charged, reaching the last points% of capacity for which the recharge can be even lower than 5kW in spite of the type of column used.