MAY 2023AUTOTECHOUTLOOK.COM8IN MY OPINIONBy Dr. Dominique Freckmann, Director of Innovation and Technology, Transportation Solutions, TE ConnectivityOne of the fastest growing segments in the automobile market, electric vehicles are the future of mobility. According to the International Energy Agency, worldwide EV sales doubled in 2021, and signs point to continued exponential growth as OEMs set ambitious targets, aiming for EVs to compose 40%, 50% or even 100% of new automobile sales in the next decade and a half. Despite rapid growth, charging concerns and range anxiety still prove to be barriers to adoption of electric mobility for some consumers. They expect EV "refueling" to take minutes, not hours, and desire convenient, easily accessible stations for safe, reliable charging. As demand for electric mobility continues to rise, fast charging has therefore become an increasing priority. Concurrent with the expansion of high-performance charging station infrastructure around the world, TE Connectivity is addressing EV charging concerns with innovative, high performing connectors.Given the relatively limited amount of time EVs have been in existence, charging standardization still lags in both vehicles and charging stations, making the goal of robust, high-performance charging quite challenging. Despite the increase in international standards for electrical charging interfaces, the technology is relatively new, leading to unknown, unspecified long-term environmental influences. There is a large variety of charging connectors on the infrastructure side, with many different contact materials and designs. In addition, public charging stations present a chance of contamination transfer between mating partners in the charging process. Finally, there is the risk of long-term wear and tear due to the high number of mating cycles, most likely over 10,000 in the lifetime of the charging inlet.Wear and tear on charging inlets, especially when using Dr. Dominique FreckmannEV CHARGING INNOVATIONS: BREAKING BARRIERS TO ADOPTION
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