Nidec ASI has launched a new electric vehicle charging system ' the Ultra Fast Charger (UFC) ' which it says will radically speed up the recharging of batteries.

The company believes the new system, which hooks up to the national grid through charging towers, will help pave the way for the spread of electric vehicles.

The Ultra Fast Charger works as a buffer between the electricity grid and the recharging tower and incorporates 160kWh of installed batteries with advanced power controls.

It is the prototype can be connected to LV or MV grids and can supply 320kW of power to a vehicle ' six times more than could be drawn from the grid without it.

This enables the latest generation of batteries to be recharged to 80% of their capacity in less than 15 minutes, typically enabling 500km of travel. It also allows the recharging of two vehicles in parallel or three in series and has an efficiency of 95%.

Matteo Rizzi, director of global sales and marketing (renewables) at Nidec Industrial Solutions, said: 'We have succeeded in engineering an advanced solution with a high vehicle recharging capacity, able to maintain a constant flow in the electricity grid, thereby reducing the risk of black outs that could be generated in the future as the use of electric cars becomes more widespread'

Nidec believes that its compact dimensions will also enable it to meet the needs of those setting up electric vehicle charging stations. And the station is designed so that it can not only be supplied both from the electricity grid and from renewable sources but can also be bi-directional, providing energy back to the grid (Vehicle-to-Grid - V2G). This process has been suggested as a way of balancing electricity supply and demand.

Nidec also offers LV Charging Stations with centralised batteries in which 12 vehicles can be charged to 80% of their capacity in an hour, and MV Charging Stations ' with or without batteries ' which can be used to deliver greater power and recharge entire fleets.