With a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff on March 11 officially launched the Abruña Energy Initiative (AEI) Level 3 electric vehicle fast-charging station, the first of its kind on Cornell’s campus.
The initiative is named after AEI founder Héctor Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I thank everyone here for all the parts you’ve done in creating this,” Kotlikoff said. “I can’t wait to see campus-to-campus hydrogen-powered buses, the next embodiment of how Cornell is moving forward in energy.”
Abruña called the launch of the EV charging station a “transformational event” for the university.
“By making available a Level 3 battery charger and, in a sense, democratizing access to clean transportation, the intent is to bring to the Cornell community access to fast-charging infrastructure as well as a fleet of battery-powered vehicles,” he said. “This shows what is possible when you engage a broad range of people willing and able to engage in the pursuit of such ideals and objectives.”
Kotlikoff arrived at the station – at 209 Solidago Road, in the northeast corner of the Fleet Services parking lot – in his Lyriq BEV. His was the first car to be charged at the high-speed charger, and his battery went from 40% to 80% charged in about 15 minutes.
Kotlikoff noted that his car has a range of about 370 miles. “It gets me from here to Roosevelt Island without a charge stop, which is terrific,” he said. The Cornell Tech campus is on Roosevelt Island. “I’m a big fan of electric vehicles. We have home solar and it just makes a fabulously efficient zero-carbon combination.”
“At 20 kilowatts, a Level 2 station requires an overnight charge. Our Level 3, at up to 180 kilowatts, takes about half an hour,” Abruña said. “It charges the fastest for the first 20 minutes; as the battery gets fuller and a bit warmer, the charging slows down and levels off.”
“This is advancing technology that all of us need,” said Paul Mutolo ’94, executive director of Cornell’s Center for Alkaline Based Energy Solutions and AEI adviser. “This pilot project that enables us to use those technologies on a daily basis is more than a dream come true.”
For now, use of the station will be limited to Cornell Fleet Services vehicles. Eventually, the station will be available to the broader Cornell community.
The charging station will serve as part of a real-world “living laboratory” for existing and emerging electric-vehicle technologies developed at Cornell and elsewhere. Cornell researchers will be able to collect valuable data on vehicle performance under various operating conditions. The planned next phase of the living laboratory includes an integrated “green” hydrogen generation and fueling station.
In his remarks, Abruña noted the many people and units that collaborated to make the charging station possible: the Facilities Project Management Team, especially the electrical shop; Transportation Services; and the “indefatigable commitment and dedication” of the AEI team.
Said Abruña: “It’s people like you who bring dreams like this one into reality that we can touch.”
