ABB has unveiled the charging technology it will use for Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship when the company takes on its new role within the series as the official charging supplier.
Working with engineers from the motorsport governing body, the FIA, and Formula E, ABB has developed a compact, reliable and safe solution for charging the new Gen3 cars before race day and between sessions. The ABB Formula E Race Charger has been designed in a robust, custom and ergonomic way that allows for easy global transportation and installation.
Frank Mühlon, CEO of ABB E-mobility said: “We’re delighted to bring our innovative charging solutions to the biggest global e-mobility stage – the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – continuing our drive to use the series as a testbed for new, more sustainable technologies. Charging the Gen3 cars will give us valuable testing information on charging in a high-paced, competitive environment. The experience and knowledge we gain will be used to continuously improve ABB chargers for customer and consumer use.”
Each charger can deliver a maximum power of 160kW and can charge two vehicles with 80kW of power simultaneously before the race. This allows race teams to benefit from a ‘double charging’ capacity from one unit, significantly reducing the charger footprint and decreasing transportation emissions, as there is no longer a need for one unit per car.
The ABB Formula E Race Charger features ABB’s newest charging technology and draws on the company’s leading position in the sector. Its design adapts technology already proven in road car charging applications to suit a demanding motorsport environment. It offers reliability and consistency of performance wherever in the world the chargers are used, from various power sources.
Jamie Reigle, CEO of Formula E, added: “Technical progress and sustainable innovation are cornerstones of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Our partnership with ABB is based on a shared commitment to advance electric mobility and we are delighted ABB will deliver advanced charging systems for our race teams in Gen3. ”