Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Eaton unveils new approach to enable fast, flexible EV fleet charging

Many car companies are turning to electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce carbon emissions. These vehicles are powered by rechargeable batteries that can be recharged using a charging station.

However, building a network of charging stations and installing charging equipment can be expensive, and many charging stations need to be upgraded or replaced over time, adding to the overall cost of infrastructure maintenance. Therefore, building a convenient, reliable, and affordable EV charging infrastructure is necessary.

With this in mind, intelligent power management company Eaton has introduced the Overhead EV Charging Busway, a revolutionary approach to facilitate rapid electric vehicle charging by eliminating expensive cable runs and making major changes to existing parking and conveyor structures.

This new state-of-the-art EV Charging Busway is designed to enable fast, flexible, and scalable EV charging for last-mile delivery, fleet, and services, including multiple passenger vehicles or medium-duty trucks. It will expand and restructure infrastructure without substantial work.

Eaton’s EV Charging Busway provides a plug-and-play solution for adding, moving, and expanding charging infrastructure without rewiring. The solution includes a retractable cable management system for AC Level 2 chargers that keeps cords and electrical equipment off the ground. The EV charging busway can also support ground-mounted DC fast charging pedestals.

This innovative overhead solution uses the Pow-R-Way III busway and incorporates a 19.2 kW AC Level 2 charger into the bus plug for direct vehicle charging. Using the busway for EV charging provides a future-proof and scalable footprint with the plug-and-play features of the busway.

The busway is suitably sized upstream of the existing protection device. It can operate up to 600V and carry a continuous current of 5000A. The busway-based charging solution makes it easy to expand your EV fleet as it grows.

“We’re helping fleet managers accelerate the energy transition with innovative hardware and software that rapidly achieve new levels of sustainability, cost savings, and flexibility,” said Paul Ryan, director of Connected Solutions and EV charging at Eaton. “Our latest innovation, EV Charging Busway, integrates seamlessly into existing electrical systems to make it easier than ever to deploy, scale, and manage EV charging infrastructure.”

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