Design WOO

Eco Factor: Cost-efficient charger for EVs churns out 50KW for rapid charging.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd has announced that the company has developed a new rapid charger for electric vehicles that will be available by this summer. The price of the charger is expected to be about half that of other companies’ products. The newly developed charger will initially be placed at about 200 outlet stores, which will be selected so that they will cover all areas of Japan.

The cost of the charger was reduced with the use of standard parts that support high voltages. The charger has a voltage of 500V, a maximum current of 125A and a maximum output of 50KW. Along with the rapid charger, the company will also provide a normal charger supporting a voltage of 220V to about 2200 outlet stores in Japan.

Eco Factor: Charging station for electric vehicles.

A team of design students over at the Folkwang Universität have developed the Plug – a public charging station for electric vehicles. The product has been developed at the Volkswagen Design Center Potsdam and support the rise in the number of electric vehicles and the current direction of the auto industry.

The aim of the project was to participate in the emerging infrastructure and standardization for electric vehicles. The design team focused on the analysis and the development of parameters for infrastructure that includes the use of renewable energy, a smart grid and the supply of charging points for various mobility scenarios.

The charging station has been designed to minimize charging time and offer digital services and an intuitive use of the product to lead to a positive customer experience.

Hanging out with the sun has many solar benefits; yep you can whip up a concept design that harnesses the solar energy and then juices up your gadgets. How does this Sunbox work then? It plays on this theory that on your way out to work, you hang out the device on your clothesline and when you get back in the evening, it’s all charged up. Latch it on to your TV, Music System, hairdryer; basically stuff that you use only when you’re back home!
Designer: Jinsic Kim

I have a confession; I’m a total lost cause when it comes to recharging my phone, iPod and camera. Three gadgets I can’t leave my home without and somehow, I always leave it till the last moment for recharging! Needless to say, I manage just some amount of power on them and carry their wires with me, and plug them in the next available socket. Dandy, but what do I and others like me do, when we hit the beaches? Carry the Solar Tree of course!

Awesome thought of having a personalized solar-powered pole with sufficient sockets to plug in multiple devices. Hail the Solar Tree!

Designers: Jun-Se Kim, Min-Goo Kim & Dong-Eon Kim