GE Networks Electric Vehicles with WattStation Connect

The last few days have seen a number of announcements which may ultimately help to "revolutionize transportation"!

Firstly General Electric have just announced the pedestal version of their WattStation™ electric vehicle charging station:

Along with the hardware itself GE are also rolling out a software platform, known as WattStation Connect. Mobile phone apps will shortly be available for iPhone and Android users which will allow them to locate the closest charging station when their EV's batteries are running low. Not only that, but the app will also monitor the charging process and provide the means to pay for the energy transferred. Here's a detailed introduction to the functionality of the web based WattStation Connect platform:

GE has also just announced a "three-year Memorandum of Understanding" with Nissan to jointly:

Research new technologies that will be needed in the car, on the grid and at home or work to make smart charging a reality. Smart charging is the ability to control how the grid delivers electric power to a vehicle — at what time of the day and at what rate.

Here's a video explaining some of the challenges this research is intended to overcome:

As if all that wasn't enough for one week, the Electric Vehicles Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute has also released the initial version of their Standardization Roadmap for Electric Vehicles, the goals of which (according to the "Executive Summary" therein) are to:

• Facilitate the development of a comprehensive, robust, and streamlined standards and conformance landscape; and
• Maximize the coordination and harmonization of the standards and conformance environment domestically and with international partners.

In other words they are trying to avoid the EV equivalent of the VHS versus Betamax videocassette "war".  All in all this week has seen several simultaneous small steps along the long road to what GE describe as:

A revolution in the auto industry. A smart-charging infrastructure that can support the millions of cars that one day will be plugging in.

That now means the $64,000 questions from where I'm sat are:

When will this sort of infrastructure be available over here in South West England?

together with

When will I be able to drive to my local surf break and back in an EV without running out of juice somewhere en route?