Mon, 07/08/2013 - 09:11

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (July 8, 2013) – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently launched a program aimed at increasing the number of employers offering electric vehicle charging for employees at their workplaces. This program asks partners to make a pledge to assess employee demand and implement charging infrastructure where it makes sense for partners and employees.

The Workplace Charging Challenge calls upon America’s employers to make a commitment to provide plug-in charging access available to their workforce. ABB has joined many other partners in this challenge, including companies such as 3M, The Coca-Cola Company, Dell, Duke Energy, Ford, GM, Google, The Hertz Corporation, National Grid, New York Power Authority, Nissan, NRG Energy, Raytheon Company San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Verizon.

"This program fits well into ABB's overall commitment to energy infrastructure," said Ron Tucker, Head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division for North America. “We offer charging infrastructure in our portfolio and have chargers at some of our sites with more planned at additional locations. ABB believes in sustainability, whether we're helping our customers with energy solutions or managing our own facility initiatives."

Earlier this year, ABB launched the Terra SC, a 20kW DC fast charger with the capability to integrate a cluster of AC chargers, perfectly suited for the needs of plug-in vehicles, where charging times of an hour to several hours fit typical workday schedules. “Our Terra SC model with AC charge clusters is a very cost effective solution to meet the needs of fast-charge capable battery electric vehicles, as well as plug-in hybrid models that do AC only,” explained Cal Lankton, Director of ABB’s EV Charging Infrastructure business. “This connected charging system can also better manage power supply and demand, so that workplace facilities can monitor usage and avoid demand charges.”

ABB is a power and automation technologies company that enables utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.