Patent ID: 8839890

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a high occupancy capacity on-road transportation vehicle configured for locomotion without external electrification by an external electrical energy source; a plurality of electrical energy storage devices disposed onboard the high occupancy capacity on-road transportation vehicle including at least two or more battery cells; and an electrical energy transfer device configured to: couple the external energy source to the plurality of electrical energy storage devices during a recharging phase in order to transfer energy from the external electrical energy source at a power level above 2.1 MW to the plurality of electrical energy storage devices; and decouple the external electrical energy source from the plurality of electrical energy storage devices during a locomotive phase, wherein the plurality of electrical energy storage devices are configured to provide locomotive power to the high occupancy capacity on-road transportation vehicle during the locomotive phase, wherein the electrical energy transfer device is disposed on the high occupancy capacity on-road transportation vehicle; one or more controllers disposed on the high occupancy capacity on-road transportation vehicle, the controller configured to: sense an available power source from a catenary; and switch two or more battery cells from a series coupling to a parallel coupling during the recharging phase in order to achieve a recharging time of the plurality of electrical energy storage devices via the electrical energy transfer device of less than 3 minutes for power delivered above 2.1 MW.