When Porsche first unveiled the Mission E electric vehicle two years ago, one of its most impressive features was supe- fast charging. At the time Porsche said the Mission E supercar would be able to charge to 80% capacity in just 15 minutes, and it’d use a special 350kW charging rate to do it. At the time, I thought this was just another concept idea that’d never see the light of day, but now Porsche is actually doing it.
Just a few months after Porsche unveiled a batch of new chargers in Berlin, Electrek has learnt the car maker is going to bring its new ultra-fast chargers to the US. According to Electrek, the German car maker is building six stations in total, at a cost of $96,800 altogether. The first batch will be constructed at Porsche’s base in Atlanta, but I’m sure there’ll be more on the way soon – and hopefully some in the UK.
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While Porsche’s chargers might be capable of hitting a 350kW, they’ll only be limited to a 50kW or 100kW transfer speeds for now. That’s a bit sad, but since the Mission E – the very product these chargers were made for – isn’t out until 2019 at the earliest, it does make sense. Regardless, they’re still the most powerful chargers in the US right now – and Porsche says they’re compatible with other makes of car at the moment, too.
Infrastructure
There’s no disputing it, the Porsche Mission E is going to be an incredible car – but just like so many other EVs, its success will partly rely on infrastructure. After all, having rapid charging is fantastic, but without the chargers to make it happen – does it really exist?
Porsche’s plan may seem ambitious, but there are two important things to remember. Firstly, Porsche is part of the Volkswagen Group, and that means it has the resources needed to make this a success – even with the dieselgate fine.
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Secondly, there’s another manufacturer that has already done this: Tesla. Despite starting from basically nothing, Tesla has managed to amass a rather extensive range of Superchargers worldwide – it’s very likely you’ve seen one in person yourself. It’s going to be hard for Porsche to catch up with Tesla, but with the resources of the Volkswagen Group behind it, I wouldn’t bet against it.
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