Industrial Equipment News recently got a chance to check out Formula E, the world’s first fully electric racing series with cars that can hit speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, all powered by batteries. While we were at this year’s U.S. Formula E race in Portland, Oregon, we had a chance to sit down with several executives from ABB, the title sponsor and official charging partner for Formula-e. We were able to dig deeper into ABB’s work with Formula E and how it fits with the company’s broader efforts around vehicle charging and clean energy technology.
Here’s our interview with Bob Stojanovic, senior vice president of E-Mobility North America at ABB. He explained how ABB’s team travels with Formula E from city to city and sets up its portable charging infrastructure. The company’s work with the racing series allows it to push its charging technology to the edge and advance development so that when it’s applied in a day-to-day consumer EV setting, charging is a “non-event” for people.
“You just need to know that it works,” he said.
Stojanovic also discussed how it’s still early days for the EV industry but factors like universal placement of charging ports can help make the shift to EVs more seamless.