The battery buffer EV charger, manufactured and installed by Kanematsu, includes a battery pack that allows EV drivers to charge up in 30 minutes or less with minimal impact to the grid and their wallet.

While other DC fast-charging stations can get a Nissan Leaf on its way just as quickly as the buffer charger, they require a great deal of electricity — power most likely sold at peak rates. Kanematsu’s buffer battery charging station provides up to 50 kilowatts for cars while drawing just 25 kilowatts from the grid. The rest is stored in the battery and discharged when an EV is plugged in. The battery can be recharged during off-peak hours, when electricity is cheapest.

The charger joins six others, including a conventional DC quick charger, on the Portland State University campus. They’re installed on a stretch of Southwest Montgomery Street between Southwest Broadway and Southwest Sixth Avenue designated Electric Avenue by the city and the university. Anyone who plugs in becomes a guinea pig in a two-year study of electric vehicle infrastructure by the university, the city and Portland General Electric.