Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles
October 27th, 2009 by Lin Edwards
Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles
(PhysOrg.com) -- Toyota is developing a solar charging station for electric
cars and plug-in hybrids, making a green technology even greener. It has
also designed a battery charger for mounting inside an electric vehicle or
plug-in hybrid to recharge the storage batteries.
Toyota Industries Corporation's announcement follows similar press releases
in August by Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK.
Toyota's solar charging station will consist of solar cells capable of
generating 100/200V of electricity. The station includes storage batteries
to store the electricity generated until it is required to recharge
electric vehicles. The station also has a communication facility to
authenticate users' identification information, and to communicate the
amount of charge and other data to a remote data center. The communication
system is expected to use LANs and Mobile networks.
Earlier this year Toyota Industries unveiled a new public charging station
for electric vehicles, which went on sale a few months ago at a cost of
450,000 Yen (around 4,600USD). Both the earlier public charging station and
the new solar charging system were developed in collaboration with Nitto
Kogyo Corporation.
A variety of charging station options is needed to address the potential
range limitations of electric vehicles, and a significant network of
charging stations will need to be deployed to make electric vehicles viable
for longer distance travel. Virtually all major car manufacturers are
planning to launch electric or plug-in hybrid cars starting next year.
Charging stations for electric cars are gradually becoming more widespread.
In the UK the Department of Transport estimates there will be about two
million electric vehicles by 2020. In the US, SolarCity and Rabbobank have
created a partnership to provide free electric charging for electric
vehicles traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles along Highway 101.
SolarCity has also bought SolSource Energy, which is in the business of
installing charging stations for electric cars.
Toyota made the announcement and exhibited the charging station and battery
charger at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show being held from October 23 to November
4, 2009 at Makuhari Messe, in Chiba City, Japan. The solar charger is
scheduled for release late next year or in 2011 at a price of several
hundred thousand Yen.
