Apple EV Charging Work Heating Up With Recent Hires?
A number of recent hires at Apple make it appear that the company has begun putting further resources into the development of electric vehicle charging technology.
For what purpose, though? Will it be for use by the electric vehicle (EV) that the company is essentially known to be developing? Or as a stand-alone product (some sort of “smart” charger, no doubt)?
The recent hires include: Rónán Ó Braonáin, a former BMW employee who worked on the integration of charging infrastructure and home energy/generation systems; Kurt Adelberger, an EV charging expert; and Nan Liu, an engineer specializing in wireless charging technology for EVs.
Gas2 provides more:
It is an open secret that Apple is exploring opportunities in the electric vehicle market. Its profits fell for the first time in 13 years in the first quarter of 2016.
…Some in the industry think Apple may be planning to market its own brand of EV chargers. Like all Apple products, they would feature cutting edge technology and styling. Motorists would have a choice of recharging at some generic charging station with unknown performance metrics or an Apple charger that is known to offer the fastest, most reliable charging available.
Would Apple build its own stand alone facilities to compete with Tesla’s Supercharger network? Or is Apple simply following Tesla’s lead and planning to offer customers for its electric car their own dedicated charging network?
Fortune’s coverage included a note by an unnamed source that at least one major global engineering and construction firm has “offered its services to Apple.” Who knows how serious to take the anonymous comment, though.
Image by ANBerlin (some rights reserved)
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