Driving forward innovation: UNC Charlotte's EPIC center is ahead of the future in electric vehicles.

• Position: RESEARCH: NORTH CAROLINA: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE

Almost everyone in North Carolina has noticed the signs that something big is happening in the energy industry. Solar farms re seemingly being built overnight, fleets of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles have become common enough to attract the attention of state legislators--and are impacting the funding of our road system. Debates are taking place about the future of coal-generated power in the state versus massive new wind generation projects.

The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center at UNC Charlotte strives to be at the center of this energy economy transformation. EPIC is an interdisciplinary research center with a mission to facilitate a university-industry collaboration in engineering research and development with a focus on energy-related systems. The partnerships developed with EPIC produce technical scholarship through the efforts of associated faculty and students as well as implementable solutions and tangible outcomes developed by experienced professional engineering staff. Behind the larger societal goal for cleaner energy is the development of new and innovative technology. The creativity of small companies, both startups and established businesses, is being counted on to solve this challenging problem. EPIC is a ready collaborator with new energy startups--especially those trying to connect to the Charlotte-based energy industry.

For example, brand new electric vehicle models will soon come pouring from car manufacturers. Many of these cars will have the ability to accept ultrafast rates of electric charge to solve the biggest challenge: how fast can 300 miles of driving range be acquired. With conventional cars, this takes nothing more than a quick, five-minute stop at a gas station. Many believe that achieving this same convenience for EVs is the key to achieving a universal transition from gasoline-powered cars to electrically powered ones.

With this transition comes a big question: where will all these new EV owners find a charging place that can sustain an ultrafast charge for their cars without grid modifications? The answer could be a new energy storage technology pioneered by ZapGo, Inc., an early-stage company that has partnered with EPIC. With headquarters in Oxford, England and offices in Charlotte, ZapGo came to EPIC for help getting their carbon-ion cells into a fully integrated system as a solution to getting ultrafast DC EV chargers onto the electric grid.

"ZapGo has engaged EPIC to...