Issue link: http://georgiancollege.uberflip.com/i/445832
Georgian College students and faculty will initiate cutting-edge research on power use, quality, consumption and costing for electric vehicles (EV) thanks to a first-of- its-kind charging station supported by PowerStream and Ford Motor Company of Canada. The station, located at the Barrie Campus, is solar power-assisted and has superior ability to collect research data and capacity to offer Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 vehicle charging to the public. Level 2 is available now and plans to install a Level 3 charger are underway. With Level 2 charging, a pure electric vehicle can charge from empty to full power in about eight hours. With Level 3, that time is reduced to less than an hour. "It may be a number of years before there are electric vehicles in every household but it's an emerging trend and we are preparing students for that reality of working with sustainable, smart technologies and interacting with the power grid," says project lead Professor Ron Sky. PowerStream has invested $250,000 in this station that Electrical and Environmental students will use to analyze the impact and opportunities that electric vehicles create for electric utilities and society in general. plugged in to new electric vehicle research PowerStream President and CEO Brian Bentz and Ford of Canada President Dianne Craig ceremonially energize their partnership with Georgian College for the solar power-assisted electric vehicle charging station. Professor Ron Sky is leading unique research with Georgian's new solar power-assisted electric vehicle charging station. INNOvATION AT gEORgIAN The students' research will also include recommendations on how best to manage vehicle charging patterns to optimize electricity use and the electricity distribution system. Ford of Canada has donated leases for a C-MAX Energi and a Focus Electric to be driven to collect the data for analysis, as well as two charging units. 26 | GeorgianView 2013/14