GreenBuild: Charge Your Electric Car in Ten Minutes
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.24.08
They may have crushed all of the EV1 electric cars, but they didn't crush the technology; it lives on at Aerovironment, used primarily in industrial vehicles and forklifts.
The technology behind PosiCharge grew out of AV's development of the modern electric car for General Motors. Introduced in 1989, the GM Impact was a breakthrough in EV design and systems integration. When tasked with finding a way to safely increase the useful range of electric battery packs, AV's team of engineers, scientists and battery applications experts developed PosiCharge.
It essentially charges a battery three to six times as fast and a conventional DC charger.
They are proposing a system of "convenient, safe, and truly fast charging stations that recharge EV battery packs in less than ten minutes - rendering concerns about EV driving range a thing of the past."
Passenger Electric Vehicles - a network of PosiCharge EV fast charge systems would ensure that EV drivers have access to a ten minute battery charge when and where needed. HEV drivers could be able to drive more miles in electric mode, thereby reducing emissions and consuming more electricity, which is typically less expensive than gasoline or diesel.
More information at Aerovironment
More on Electric cars at TreeHugger:
17 Electric Cars You Must Know About
Electric Cars and Vehicles: Who Killed 'Em, New Batteries and More
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What kind of volatge does it take to charge an EV in 10 minutes? It must be pretty high, and if not, that's a LOT of current.
This would be nice for people who can afford new cars (especially here in America). The poorer people who have to buy new cars have to wait longer to adopt to this technology, and it will put them at a major disadvantage. Public transit is not really well-funded here (unlike in other countries), so I really do not think a plug-in infrastructure would have more advantages than disadvantages.
Electric cars will reduce the demand for gas leading to lower prices and also result in cleaner air, two benefits for everyone!
Technology is developing to a point that the 10 minute charge for the EV could be reality soon. And certainly this will render 'concerns about EV driving range a thing of the past', make the EV more commercially viable and workable for a lot more people.