Eaton Awarded Department of Energy Grant to Increase Efficiency, Reduce Cost of Electric Vehicle Charging
Project Aimed at Advancing EV Infrastructure
PITTSBURGH … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation has received a $1.84 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) for the development and demonstration of more efficient commercial electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The project will promote smart charging technology that better manages the efficiency, availability and reliability of power, especially during peak times and at popular charging locations.
Eaton's grant is part of a larger federal research and development program to help reduce the current costs of EV chargers by 50 percent over the next three years and to support the adoption and deployment of EVs.
"Smart charging technology will provide more options to consumers and strengthen the charging infrastructure and the electric grid," said John Wirtz, business unit manager, Eaton's Electrical Transportation Infrastructure. "By providing real-time monitoring and reporting, Eaton's participation in this project will help EV fleet managers, businesses and power companies to increase system uptime, reduce energy costs and maximize the reliability of their chargers."
Two of the four selected projects receiving federal funding will focus on improving residential EV chargers. The other two selected projects, including Eaton's, will focus on alternating current (AC) Level 2 charging stations used at commercial and public locations to charge large numbers of vehicles, such as commercial fleets of delivery vehicles.
Eaton is an industry leader in EV infrastructure and hybrid electric vehicle technologies. With a range of charging stations currently deployed in Ontario (Canada), Pennsylvania, California, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana and Illinois, Eaton is working to advance the EV charging infrastructure throughout North America, with more than 2,000 charging stations already shipped or installed. Eaton has a wide range of expertise in other markets that use free-standing electrical charging, including truck-stop electrification, ports, marinas, recreational vehicles, government and major public-sector infrastructure. For more information, contact Eaton EVSE support at 855-ETN-EVSE (855-386-3873) or visit www.eaton.com/plugin.
Featured Product
MORNINGSTAR - GenStar MPPT
GenStar MPPT is the industry's first fully integrated solar DC charging system, an all-new design with "lithium DNA" from the leader in charge controllers. Out of the box, GenStar is an overachiever-delivering legendary Morningstar quality, efficiency, power and reliability along with the latest in advanced communications and control technologies. All the most installer-requested features are on-board; additional features can be easily added via Morningstar's ReadyBlock expansion technology, with snap-in blocks that provide battery metering and monitoring, signaling and load control, and lithium battery communications/control