Four Mitsubishi iMiEVs parked under one of the new solar-powered EV charging canopies at Mitsubishi Motors U.S. headquarters in Cypress, Calif. [Photo Credit: PR Newswire]

Is there any better corporate combination in the emergent solar-charged driving world than Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. and Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.?

The first Mitsubishi makes solar panels, the second Mitsubishi makes electric cars.

And now the two Mitsubishis have combined forces to debut a solar-powered EV charging station at the MMNA headquarters in Cypress, Calif.  

This charging facility, which Mitsubishi says is the first of its kind in Cypress, is powered by 96, 175W photovoltaic modules from Mitsubishi Electric. This charging station will help support CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicles such as the Mitsubishi i, which will arrive in U.S. showrooms in November of this year. Mitsubishi i vehicles are now being reserved by prospective owners through a pre-order process available at i.mitsubishicars.com.

"This project will build awareness of solar power's versatility and efficiency," said Katsuya Takamiya, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA. "As electric vehicles' popularity grows, we expect to see more charging stations at large employers, automobile dealerships, shopping centers and schools, where cars can charge while people work, shop or study."

Able to charge up to four vehicles at once, the station features three types of chargers with different voltages: standard level 1 voltage (110v) will deliver a 100 percent charge in 22 hours on the new Mitsubishi i; level 2 (220v) which can charge the vehicle in six hours; and level 3 CHAdeMO Quick Charger, which can charge to 80 percent battery capacity in 25 minutes.

DC quick charger
The DC quick charger used for the Cypress charging station is manufactured by the Eaton Corporation, and is the first-of-its-kind CHAdeMO Quick Charger certified for U.S. sale and public utility. The actual installation of the charging equipment and the supporting electrical infrastructure was handled by Rogers Electric. The twin-arch structure for the charging station was designed by California Green Designs.

The charging station is the first such collaboration between the two similarly named companies, whose headquarters are just a few blocks apart in northern Orange County. Situated near the junction of the 405 and 605 freeways, the hope is that the Cypress charging station, with its Quick Charge capability, can serve as a gateway charging pad for Mitsubishi i users commuting between Los Angeles and Orange counties.  

"We hope that our dealers, learning institutions, and municipalities will look to this technology with a keen eye towards the future, and bear in mind that the gradual acceptance of the pure-EV transportation will be aided by increasing the number of facilities like this one," noted Mitsubishi Motors North America President Yoichi Yokozawa.

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