Benchmarking for Tesla: ABB Launches the World’s Fastest Electric Car Charger

Swiss company ABB announced that as of today, it is launching an innovative all-in-one Electric Vehicle (EV) charger, which provides the fastest charging experience on the market. ABB’s new Terra 360 is a modular charger which can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles with dynamic power distribution.

This means that drivers will NOT have to wait if somebody else is already charging ahead of them. They simply pull up to another plug. The new charger has a maximum output of 360 kW and is capable of fully charging any electric car in 15 minutes or less, meeting the needs of a variety of EV users, whether they need a fast charge or to top their battery up while grocery shopping.

The basic features revealed by the company so far state that it can deliver 100km of range in less than three minutes; that it is the only charger designed explicitly to charge up to four vehicles at once; and that it is ideal for refueling stations, urban charging stations, retail parking and fleet applications.

Tesla's chargers use their own proprietary plug design, while most other brands use a shared plug design that isn't compatible with Tesla's Superchargers. Tesla owners currently get an adapter that allows them to use most non-Tesla charging stations. Non-Tesla owners will need their own adapter to use a Tesla charger. You can perfectly plug your Tesla into a regular outlet: an adapter for a 110 volt outlet (NEMA 5-15) is included as standard equipment with all new cars. This provides approximately two to four miles of range per hour of charge depending on the car. For the best home charging experience, they recommend installing a Wall Connector. When a Wall Connector or Mobile Connector plugs into the charge port it provides alternating current, also known as AC power, to your car; batteries store energy as direct current, also known as DC energy; and the onboard charger, which is built in your car, handles this by converting the AC power into DC energy so that it can be stored in the battery. Different Tesla models have different onboard charger capabilities:

The Model S (Performance, Long Range Plus), Model 3 (Performance, Long Range), Model X (Performance, Long Range Plus) and Model Y (Performance, Long Range) have an 11.5 kW (48 amp) onboard charger; the recommended circuit breaker for wall connector installation for the 4 of them is a 60 amp circuit breaker. Then comes the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, with a 7.7 kW (32 amp) onboard charger and a 40 amp circuit breaker for wall connector installation.

Going back to the ABB announcement, the Terra 360 will be available in Europe from the end of 2021, and in the USA, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions in 2022. It is basically designed with the daily needs and expectations of EV drivers in mind. Leveraging the rich field experience gained by ABB E-mobility’s large installed base, the Terra 360 delivers speed and convenience along with comfort, ease-of-use and a sense of familiarity. As per their press release today, “...its innovative lighting system guides the user through the charging process and shows the State of Charge (SoC) of the EV battery and the residual time before the end of an optimal charge session. The world’s fastest EV charger is also wheelchair accessible and features an ergonomic cable management system that helps drivers plug in quickly with minimal effort.”

ABB is a world leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, offering the full range of charging and electrification solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses, vans, trucks, ships and railways. The company entered the e-mobility market back in 2010, and as of today has sold more than 460,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 88 markets; over 21,000 DC fast chargers and 440,000 AC chargers, including those sold through Chargedot. ABB high-power chargers are already being deployed around the world through the company’s partnerships with international charging operators such as IONITY and Electrify America.

Benchmarking is a process of measuring the performance of a company's products, services, or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry, aka “best in class.” The point of benchmarking is to identify internal opportunities for improvement: this is certainly one of those cases.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.