By staff at Ricardo Inc., USA

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Michigan – Ricardo Inc., the USA subsidiary of Ricardo plc, the UK-based independent provider of technology, product innovation and engineering systems to the world's automotive, defence, transport, and new energy industries, in collaboration with PEP Stations LLC of Livonia, Michigan, unveiled a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Detroit's Cobo Centre.

The new PEP Station is aimed at building a solid charging infrastructure as the EV market begins to grow. Similar to a standard fuel pump, the station allows drivers of EVs to access electricity via an access card or credit card.

When a vehicle connects to the PEP Station's 220V power supply, the station recognises a connection and the LCD screen prompts the user to accept the price per hour of connection, if payment by credit card is desired, or swipe an access card. The station then asks the user to select the amount of charging-time required and will begin charging or ask for a credit card to be swiped for authorisation.

Disconnection is simple

When the vehicle's battery has been fully charged, or the time selected elapses, the station automatically discontinues the electricity. If the user does not desire to fully charge the EV, or wishes to discontinue the charge prior to the selected time expiring, they simply disconnect the power cord. The entire process is as easy as traditional methods of fuelling vehicles, but done in a clean, eco-conscious manner.

At the 2010 NAIAS, the PEP Station was the exclusive recharging station provided for EcoXperience, the high profile showcase of electric vehicles and green technologies which features a quarter-mile indoor ride-and-drive test track surrounded by landscaped and forested terrain. Two PEP Stations have been installed at the test track and are being used as charging points for the many electric vehicles being actively demonstrated, and a further three units will be available for display and demonstration purposes.

More than 50,000 NAIAS visitors are expected to visit the EcoXperience display, at which PEP Station staff and Ricardo engineers were on hand to explain the development of this state-of-the-art EV charging system.

The PEP Station has been developed to complement the release of EVs in the second half of 2010. Although EV owners can charge at home, in order for the owner to roam with confidence, an infrastructure for out of home charging must be developed to make charging easy.

Fuel savings

President of PEP Stations, James Blain, said: "The first question most people ask when they begin to toy with the idea of owning an EV is, 'How much will I save in fuel?' Equally as important as the first question, the second question is, 'Where will I charge my vehicle?' That's where we come in.”

He continued: “As the EVmarket begins to flourish, consumers will need a convenient, reliable, and easily accessible way to charge their vehicle outside of the home. It's that simple. The PEP Station does just that in a safe, reliable, user-friendly, 220V charging station that can easily be installed at commercial destinations."

Global director of controls and electronics at Ricardo, Karina Morley, explained: "With carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction targets being adopted around the world with the aim of mitigating the effects of Man-made climate change, we believe that the increasing electrification of new vehicles – be it through hybridisation, EVs, or range-extended plug-in hybrids – is a trend that will continue to grow."

She continued: "The creation of a commercially viable and effective recharging infrastructure will be a key enabler to the achievement of such climate change goals, allowing electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle users to optimise their zero-emission mileage. Ricardo has been a proud partner in the engineering development of the PEP Station, helping to create a world-class vehicle recharging product. It was great to see it unveiled for the first time in action, supporting the high profile EcoXperience exhibit at this year's NAIAS."

Corporate information

“Conceptualized (sic), designed and sold by PEP Stations LLC, the newly-unveiled stations are a joint collaboration of James Blain Associates (JBA) and Ricardo. JBA is a Michigan-based design and architectural company with more than years of award-winning commercial design experience. More at www.pepstations.com

Ricardo offers TVFE™ – its Total Vehicle Fuel Economy engineering service – to transportation manufacturers and related government agencies worldwide to provide objective evaluation of all available technologies to identify the most cost-effective strategies for accomplishing fuel-economy and CO₂ goals.

With technical centres and offices throughout Europe, the USA, and Asia, Ricardo provides engineering expertise ranging from vehicle systems integration, controls and electronics, hardware and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and petrol, diesel, hybrid and fuel cell powertrain technologies.

Ricardo plc posted sales of US$296.6 million in financial year 2009, and is a constituent of the FTSE TechMark 100 index – a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. More at www.ricardo.com