Called Point.One S, the system was eye-catching was specifically design to charge a single electric car at a time. In a related development, ABB, the BMW Group, Deutsche Bahn, EIGHT, RWE, the University of Bamberg, the German Armed Forces University of Munich and Dresden Technical University have activated the first DC fast-charging station which is part of a research project in the context of the showcase region Bavaria-Saxony “ELEKTROMOBILITÄT VERBINDET” initiative. "The first version of Point.One was designed to charge up to four cars at a time and targets big businesses and large institutions," said Christoph B. Rößner, Eight's Managing Director. "Hence the station covers an area of round about 55 sqm. Our new version, Point.One S, is designed to charge one car and is the ideal solution for medium sized organizations and private households.” He added, “The new version offers all the features which people know from the original Point.One. But, as the Point.One S is much smaller, the solar charging station needs less space and integrates even easier with the architecture of its surrounding. Just like Point.One, our new version is designed to integrate different kinds of charging technologies – depending on the needs of the customers.” The demonstrator of Point.One S will be slightly modified by the end of this year and gets a highly intelligent user interface. Currently EIGHT and the University for Design of Schwaebisch Gmuend are working together on a new concept which makes it very easy and convenient to use the solar charging station. The new user interface is meant to back up the philosophy of EIGHT and its solar charging stations. It´s the company´s goal to get people excited about e-mobility and to make them interested in emissions-free mobility. EIGHT aims to connect sustainability with modern urban lifestyle and to facilitate innovative business models in the context of e-mobility. At the same event, EIGHT and the other partners of the DC-charging project have activated a new charging station in front of BMW Welt. The DC-fast-charging station from ABB is based on the new IEC Standard 61851-23 / Combined Charging System (CCS) and can charge a pilot production version of the BMW i3 with almost empty batteries up to 80 percent within less than 30 minutes. As part of the DC fast-charging project EIGHT has developed the new solar charging station Point.One S. “Our patented, impressively sustainable manufacturing system and parametrical planning processes allow the station to be adapted to the location and its surrounding architecture as effectively as possible,” said Christoph B. Roessner, managing director of EIGHT GmbH & Co. KG. “The Point.One solar charging station will provide a groundbreaking interface between people, their vehicles and renewable energy sources. Its design and ease of use allow us to see and experience the potential of sustainable mobility, overcome hurdles along the way and stoke peoples´ enthusiasm for electric mobility," he said. By the end of the year the solar charging station will be ready for use, at BMW Welt. For EIGHT, the development of Point.One S is the beginning of an effort to serve private households and medium sized businesses who want to become independent from energy suppliers and who want to combine unique design with emissions-free e-mobility. Source: Renewable Energy Magazine
