The electric vehicle (EV) industry is no longer emerging – it’s a global race. You don’t need headlines to see the electric revolution underway; you just need to look around. From quiet electric lawnmowers to battery-powered tools and sleek EVs in driveways, electrification is here, and it’s being driven by real consumer choice – not just regulations.
Electric technologies are more efficient, quieter, and cleaner. But full-scale electrification still faces major hurdles, especially in how we power EVs and manage that power once it’s onboard. At the heart of this transformation is the challenge of managing energy on both sides of the plug: from the grid to the vehicle, and from the battery to the wheels.
This is where Eaton excels. With over a century of experience managing electrical and mechanical power, Eaton brings a unique, system-level perspective to electrification, delivering smarter solutions for both infrastructuring and vehicle architecture.
Before an EV can drive a mile, its power must travel through a complex web of electrical infrastructure. The real bottleneck to deploying EV charging at homes, businesses, and public sites isn’t hardware, it’s ensuring the grid can handle the added load.
Eaton’s Electrical Sector has long powered critical infrastructure like hospitals and data centers. Today, that same expertise is helping to scale EV charging networks. From circuit breakers and switchgear to UPS systems and advanced metering, Eaton’s portfolio ensures that power can be delivered safely, reliably, and efficiently.
To simplify deployment, Eaton partnered with ChargePoint, combining chargers, power distribution gear, and engineering services into a single solution. This streamlines electrification for businesses and municipalities.
Looking ahead, Eaton and ChargePoint are also developing bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) capabilities. These technologies will allow EVs to feed power back to homes or the grid, turning vehicles into mobile energy assets.
Managing energy doesn’t stop at the charging cable. Inside the vehicle, power must be used wisely to maximize range, performance, and safety. Eaton’s Mobility Group brings decades of experience in vehicle power electronics, safety systems, and drivetrains to meet this challenge.
One example is Eaton’s Battery Disconnect Unit with Breaktor protection, which integrates the functions of fuses, contactors, and pyro switches into a single, compact device. This innovation enhances safety by enabling ultra-fast fault isolation while reducing the number of components – making electric vehicles lighter, more efficient, and more reliable.
Another innovation is the Battery Configuration Switch (BCS), developed with Munich Electrification. It allows EVs to seamlessly switch between 400-volt and 800-volt charging systems without compromising performance, improving both compatibility and reliability.
One of the most overlooked challenges in EV design – especially for commercial vehicles – is drivetrain performance. Traditional direct-drive EV systems struggle with acceleration, high-speed efficiency, and gradeability, especially when carrying heavy loads.
Eaton solves this with a portfolio of EV transmissions purpose-built to improve torque, efficiency, and flexibility across light-, medium-, and heavy-duty commercial vehicle platforms.
Its heavy-duty 4-speed EV transmission, recognized as a 2024 Automotive News PACEpilot Innovation to Watch, delivers smooth launches on 30 percent grades and maintains highway speeds on inclines as steep as 7 percent. The transmission leverages a proven layshaft architecture – common in automated manual transmissions (AMTs) – but reengineered for EVs. Without a clutch, gear shifts are synchronized by the traction motor, resulting in greater efficiency and seamless performance.
Medium-duty EVs benefit from 4- and 6-speed variants that have logged over 2 billion real-world miles. Their lightweight countershaft design and electric gear actuation allow for smaller, more efficient motors – reducing battery size and improving range.
Also, part of the lineup is Eaton’s ultra-compact 4-speed transmission, which delivers exceptional torque density, more payload capacity, extended range, and added space for battery packaging. This design makes it easier for OEMs to tailor powertrains to their specific duty cycles.
Together, these EV transmissions help overcome the limitations of direct-drive systems, providing diesel-like performance while improving acceleration, climbing ability, and highway cruising efficiency. This matters in real-world applications where every percent of efficiency and every pound of payload makes a difference.
In EVs, even the smallest components can have an outsized impact on performance. Eaton continues to lead in terminals and connectors that maximize conductivity and minimize heat loss. Products like high-power lock box terminals and RigiFlex busbars ensure efficient power flow to critical subsystems – from infotainment and climate control to traction motors and braking.
These components support flexible vehicle architectures, enabling OEMs to customize designs while maintaining safety and performance.
Reliability is critical, especially in crash scenarios. Eaton’s dual-trigger pyro fuses act like airbags for the electrical system, disconnecting power instantly in the event of a crash. Combined with Breaktor technology and Bussmann EV fuses, Eaton offers a full spectrum of circuit protection tailored to evolving EV requirements.
These systems help EVs meet the toughest safety standards without adding unnecessary weight or complexity – an essential balance for today’s high-performance electric vehicles.
What sets Eaton apart isn’t just one standout product, it’s the company’s ability to manage power from the transformer to the transmission. The Electrical Sector ensures grid readiness and smart infrastructure. The Mobility Group ensures vehicles are equipped to use that power safely and efficiently.
Few companies have the breadth and depth to support the entire EV power journey. Fewer still have done so with the legacy of safety, innovation, and sustainability that Eaton brings to every product it builds.
Electrification is no longer a dream – it’s happening. But to reach its full potential, the industry needs partners who understand how to connect every dot in the power ecosystem. Eaton manages both sides of the plug, and that may be exactly what the EV industry needs to bridge the gap between promise and progress.
Mike Froehlich is Global Vice President of Engineering-eMobility at Eaton., an intelligent power management company that makes products for the mobility, utility, industrial, aerospace, and other markets.
The driving range of electric vehicles is becoming less of an issue as they surpass 200 miles or greater, approaching the distance between fill-ups of some internal combustion engine vehicles…or maybe the bladder capacity of their drivers. However, the time it takes to recharge an EV is still a negative attribute.
Generally, EVs charge at a fairly slow rate. A 240-volt Level 2 home or public charger will charge a Chevy Bolt from depleted to full in about 4 1/2 hours, providing a range of about 238 miles. That’s a far cry from 5 minutes to fill a gas tank. It’s significantly slower when charging a Bolt with a Level 1 charger using a household’s standard 120-volt power since this adds only about 4 miles an hour!
Of course, charging companies and automakers are working together to expand the small-but-growing network of fast chargers in key areas of the country, allowing EVs to gain up to 90 miles of charge in around 30 minutes. Tesla claims that its Supercharger stations being upgraded to Version 3 can charge a Tesla Model 3 Long Range at the rate of about 15 miles a minute, or 225 miles in just over 15 minutes under best conditions.
If current technology EVs become popular for mid- to long-range travel, gasoline stations, truck stops, and public charging stations equipped with Level 2 and even somewhat faster chargers run the very real risk of becoming parking lots.
When it comes to charging EVs, charging times come down to kilowatts available. The best Tesla V3 charger is rated at 250 kilowatts peak charge rate. Now, much research is being done here and in other countries on what is called Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) involving charge rates of 350-400 kilowatts or more. The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring several projects aimed at reducing battery pack costs, increasing range, and reducing charging times.
There are several challenges for XFCs. First, when lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are fast charged, they can deteriorate and overheat. Tesla already limits the number of fast charges by its standard Superchargers because of battery degradation, and that’s only at 120-150 kilowatts. Also, when kilowatt charging rates increase voltage and/or amperage increases, which can have a detrimental effect on cables and electronics.
This begs the question: Is the current electrical infrastructure capable of supporting widespread use of EVs? Then, the larger question is whether the infrastructure is capable of handling XFC with charging rates of 350 kilowatts or more. This is most critical in urban areas with large numbers of EVs and in rural areas with limited electric infrastructure.
The answer is no. Modern grid infrastructures are not designed to supply electricity at a 350+ kilowatt rate, so costly grid upgrades would be required. Additionally, communities would be disrupted when new cables and substations have to be installed. There would be a need for costly and time-consuming environmental studies.
One approach being is XFC technology being developed by Zap&Go in the UK and Charlotte, North Carolina. The heart of Zap&Go's XFC is carbon-ion (C-Ion) energy storage cells using nanostructured carbons and ionic liquid-based electrolytes. C-Ion cells provide higher energy densities than conventional supercapacitors with charging rates 10 times faster than current superchargers. Supercapacitors and superchargers are several technologies being considered for XFCs.
According to Zap&Go, the C-Ion cells do not overheat and since they do not use lithium, cobalt, or any materials that can catch fire, there is no fire danger. Plus, they can be recycled at the end of their life, which is about 30 years. Zap&Go's business model would use its chargers to store electric energy at night and at off-peak times, so the current grid could still be used. Electrical energy would be stored in underground reservoirs similar to how gasoline and diesel fuels are now stored at filling stations. EVs would then be charged from the stored energy, not directly from the grid, in about the same time it takes to refuel with gasoline.
The fastest charging would work best if C-Ion cell batteries are installed in an EV, replacing Li-ion batteries. EVs with Li-ion batteries could also be charged, but not as quickly. Alternatively, on-board XFC cells could be charged in about five minutes, then they would charge an EV’s Li-ion batteries at a slower rate while the vehicle is driven, thereby preserving the life of the Li-ion battery. The downside is that this would add weight, consume more room, and add complexity. Zap&Go plans to set up a network of 500 ultrafast-charge charging points at filling stations across the UK.
General Motors is partnering with Delta Electronics, DOE, and others to develop XFSs using solid-state transformer technology. Providing up to 400 kilowatts of power, the system would let properly equipped electric vehicles add 180 miles of range in about 10 minutes. Since the average American drives less than 30 miles a day, a single charge could provide a week’s worth of driving.
The extreme charging time issue might be partly solved by something already available: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). As governments around the world consider banning or restricting new gasoline vehicles in favor of electric vehicles, they should not exclude PHEVs. Perhaps PHEVs could be designed so their internal combustion engines could not operate until their batteries were depleted, or their navigation system determines where they could legally operate on electric or combustion power.
An ultra-fast DC charging solution that can add hundreds of miles of range in under 15 minutes has been announced by ChargePoint, the world’s largest electric vehicle charging network. ChargePoint’s Express Plus uses a modular and scalable platform that’s aimed at charging centers and businesses located at transit depots or along major roadways or transit depots. The goal is to augment the company’s extensive existing network of EV chargers to enable rapid refueling of EVs on long trips or to support the rigorous daily routines of electric buses and trucks.
Express Plus offers the highest charging capacity in the industry and is capable of delivering up to 400 kilowatts (kW) to an electric vehicle for a rapid recharge. The company envisions Express Plus charging centers as starting small and growing as needed by adding charging capacity without further construction. Express Plus will be available this coming July.
Volkswagen has called for greater state and federal government support to bolster the next level of adoption of electric vehicles. At the 2015 Electric Drive Congress in Washington D.C., VW product marketing and strategy VP Jörg Sommer pointed out that automakers have largely delivered the electric vehicles that can satisfy the needs of most drivers, but also said more is needed. VW is investing $10 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure by 2016 with other companies and industries also making significant EV infrastructure investments. Still, Sommer says that continuing legislative support is needed to accomplish strategic electric vehicle goals.
Specifically, VW would like to see federal financing support for creating fast charge networks along interstate corridors and in urban areas. It is also calling for a greater commitment on the part of state and federal organizations to buy battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, with federal purchasing guidelines that support this by giving fleet purchasers greater flexibility. Also on VW’s radar is additional congressional support with the mid-term review of EPA’s greenhouse gas regulation, with the aim of extending plug-in vehicle multiplier credits beyond the 2021 model year.
Expanding the driving range capabilities of electric cars through fast charging is of growing interest. Tesla has keyed in on this with its high-profile Supercharger network of fast chargers along major transportation corridors. While this is great for Tesla owners, it’s not a comfort to drivers of other EVs since the SuperCharger network is not compatible with their cars.
Enter ChargePoint, VW, and BMW, which have joined together to offer similar capabilities for other electric vehicle models. The three are developing express electric vehicle charging corridors with fast charging stations that allow EV drivers to recapture up to an 80 percent charge in just 20 minutes. Fast charging sites will be strategically spaced no more than 50 miles apart to make longer trips possible for EVs that incorporate a DC fast charging capability.
Initial efforts will focus on heavily-traveled routes on the East and West Coasts, providing 100 DC fast chargers at existing ChargePoint sites. The aim is to expand fast charging capabilities to other sites within the ChargePoint network, which already offers more than 20,000 charging spots in North America. EV drivers can access the network with a ChargePoint or ChargeNow card or with the ChargePoint mobile app.