Volkswagen Group of America and Eaton Unveil New Combined Charging System Quick Charger

BELMONT, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 10, 2013) - Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Eaton today celebrated the debut of one of the country's first single-port Combined Charging System (CCS) electric vehicle chargers at the Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) in Belmont, Calif. Capable of recharging most electric vehicles with compatible systems in as little as 30 minutes, the installation of the new charger is the beginning of the new CCS-compliant single-port fast charging infrastructure development in the United States and Europe.

The CCS charge point meets the approved Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard for plug-in electric vehicles. The system utilizes a single-port and integrates one-phase AC charging, fast three-phase AC charging, DC charging at home and ultra-fast DC charging at public stations. The efficient design optimizes customer ease-of-use with a single standard that will allow EV customers to not only charge at most existing stations, but also improve customer convenience by offering a single source for various charging levels.

"The Volkswagen Group is fully committed to supporting the worldwide introduction of the Combined Charging System standard," said Dr. Rudolpf Krebs, Chief Officer for Electric Traction, Volkswagen Group. "To fuel the market success of electric vehicles, a standardized infrastructure is urgently needed to provide customers with entry into this new drive technology."

"In comparison to other charging standards, CCS offers advantages because it requires only one cut out in the vehicle body, thus reducing costs and making it easier for customers to handle charging," said Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electrics/Electronics Development, Volkswagen AG. "Moreover, CCS enables optimal data communication and can be quickly adapted to potential smart grid concepts in the future. With the ability to handle up to 86 kW, CCS is the most powerful charging system available."

"Eaton's collaboration with Volkswagen Group on the development and validation of the Combined Charging System demonstrates our commitment to the introduction of this new standard," said John Wirtz, business unit manager, Electric Transportation Infrastructure, Eaton. "Our development and implementation of the CCS Quick Charger supports our on-going efforts to move this market forward."

Eaton DC Quick Charger
The state-of-the-art DC Quick Charger features the CCS charge connector and communicates with the electric vehicle's battery management system to provide direct current flow to charge the battery. This direct communication between charger and battery enables an 80 percent recharge to the electric vehicle battery in as few as 30 minutes.

The 50 kW charger housing consists of five individual 10 kW power drawers providing the flexibility to offer a 20 kW, 30 kW, 40 kW or 50 kW configuration. In the event the output is reduced due to the failure of one power drawer, the DCQC has N-1 capability, which allows the charger to remain operational.

Combined Charging System standard
First introduced in March 2012 at EVS26, the system has been chosen by the Society of International Engineers as the single-port fast charging method as its standard for fast charging. SAE selected the system as the fast-charging methodology for a standard that incrementally extends existing Type 1-based AC-charging while the European manufacturing association (ACEA) has endorsed the harmonization of the system for all electric vehicle types in Europe.

The CCS standard is a global open standard and can be used by all vehicle and charging station manufacturers. To date, eight automotive manufacturers from the United States and Europe have adopted the CCS standard. Commercial CCS charging stations will be available in the coming months with the first vehicles equipped with the new system expected to launch in Europe later this year and the United States in 2014.

The announcement of one of the first CCS chargers in the United States supports Volkswagen Group's ongoing development of electric vehicles for markets around the world. With a production EV slated for 2014 in the United States, the team at the ERL led an evaluation of more than 20 prototype e-Golf battery electric vehicles throughout 2012 in three select markets -- San Francisco, Detroit, and Washington, D.C. The pilot scheme has equipped Volkswagen Group engineers with valuable data that will be used in the final development of future EV technology applications. In addition to the new charger, today the first CCS-equipped e-Golf in North America was introduced with plans to update the remainder of the prototype test fleet in 2013.

About Volkswagen Group Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL)
Volkswagen Group's Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) located in Belmont, California represents the Group's applied research and development initiatives in North America. With a focus on advanced technology, the ERL's mission is to develop innovations for future generations of vehicles with the goal of transferring technologies from many industries into the automotive domain. The ERL was established in August 1998 with three employees and today has grown to become the Volkswagen Group's largest research facility outside of Germany employing approximately 100 engineers, social scientists, researchers, and product designers.

About Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. It operates a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee and houses the U.S. operations of a worldwide family of distinguished and exciting brands including Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen, as well as its finance subsidiary VW Credit, Inc. Founded in 1955, the company's headquarters are in Herndon, Virginia, Volkswagen Group of America brings to the U.S. vehicles that marry the science of engineering and the art of styling, with the goal of offering attractive, safe, and environmentally sound automobiles that are competitive and set world standards in their respective classes. The company has approximately 5,900 employees in the United States and sells its vehicles through a 950-strong dealer network.

About Eaton
Eaton is a diversified power management company providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company is a global technology leader in electrical products, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control, power transmission, lighting and wiring products; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton acquired Cooper Industries plc in 2012. Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.