California Is Installing Chargers for a Type of Electric Car That Doesn't Exist Yet

The first vehicles that will use them are still two years out.

Jumping the Gun

California is bending over backward to support electric vehicles — so much so that it's setting up the infrastructure for futuristic electric vehicles that don't even exist yet.

A company called Electrify America — more on them later — installed two 350kW chargers outside of San Francisco, with more on the way, even though the first cars that will be able to use a 350kW charger won't hit the road until 2020, Engadget reports.

Paving the Road

If these new chargers work as advertised, they'll be able to give an electric car enough juice to travel about 200 miles with just 10 minutes of charging time. A 150kW charger, which is the current high-end of chargers, gives cars enough power to travel about 125 miles after 15 minutes of charging time.

The new chargers will be installed alongside 150kW and other types of electric vehicle chargers at Simon Premium Outlets around the country, many of which are in California. And while it may seem silly to spend time installing chargers that no one can actually use, it makes a lot of sense to invest in the infrastructure that will be necessary to support new-and-improved electric vehicles as soon as they hit the market.

Community Service

Electrify America makes and installs electric vehicle chargers and launches advertising campaigns to promote electric vehicles. The company is owned by Volkswagen Group, which created it as part of a $2 billion settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency for knowingly installing software to help cheat emissions tests that were mandated by the Clean Air Act.

In other words, you can think of these chargers as part of a very forward-looking community service sentence.

READ MORE: Electrify America installs California's first 350kW EV chargers [Engadget]

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