General Electric has rolled out its new WattStation, an easy-to-use electric car charger designed by Yves Behar.
GE says that the WattStation, which look absolutely stunning on the sidewalk, on average decreases electric car charging time from 12-18 hours to as little as four to eight hours compared to standard charging “level 1”, assuming a full-cycle charge for a 24 kWh battery.
If you think that the WattStation has some sort of fast-charging witchery going on, you’re wrong. It just means that the WattStation can handle “level 2” (240V) charging.
GE is planning to go global with the WattStation in 2011, but a special at-home version should be available some time this year.
In addition to the GE WattStation, GE recently announced two new partnerships to advance electric car adoption.
In April 2010, Project Get Ready, a non-profit initiative led by Rocky Mountain Institute to help communities prepare for electric cars, named GE a technical advisor focusing on design and planning of the local and regional electric grids for electric cars.
In May 2010, GE Global Research and Nissan signed a separate three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore new technologies that are needed to build a reliable, dynamic smart-charging infrastructure.
[source: GE][wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
