Eaton Corp. has been awarded a $1.84 million grant from the Department of Energy for the development of more efficient commercial electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The Cleveland-based producer of electrical equipment and appliances said it will use the funds to promote smart charging technology that will better manage the efficiency, availability and reliability of power.
This announcement comes at a critical time for the EV industry, just days after General Motors announced a five-week production suspension of its electric Volt to help bring down inventory.
"The fact that GM is now facing an oversupply of Volts suggests that consumer demand is just not that strong for these vehicles," explained Lacey Plache, chief economist at Edmunds.com. "The price premium on the Volt just doesn't make economic sense for the average consumer when there are so many fuel-efficient gasoline-powered cars available, typically for thousands of dollars less."
The purpose of this DoE grant is to address these issues by helping to develop new advances in smart energy, said John Wirtz, business unit manager for Eaton's Electrical Transportation Infrastructure.
"Smart charging technology will provide more options to consumers and strengthen the charging infrastructure and the electric grid," he said. "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 the chargers."
