Tokyo Electric Power Co, TEPCO has developed a vehicle quick charging station that it says will take a vehicle 25 miles with just a 5 minute charge. This new charging technology is a breakthrough because it allows commuters to charge their vehicles on the road without having to plug them in overnight at home, and takes roughly the same amount of time it would take to fill up with gasoline.

One of the main reasons electric cars have thus far failed to break out into the mainstream is due to the lack of infrastructure in place - namely the fact that there are few recharging stations for electric cars to be repowered while on the move. Well now Tokyo is attempting to address this problem by setting up 1,000 recharging sites.

According to the plans, there will be an initial 200 recharging stations during the fiscal year in 2009 - with this expanding to 1,000 in around three years.

TEPCO has developed a quick recharging system that allows electric vehicles to run for 25 miles on a five-minute charge or 37 miles on a 10 minute charge. The plan is to start installing these devices to coincide with Mitsubishi and Subaru introducing their own electric cars - TEPCO is working in partnership with the two manufacturers.

The recharging stations will be found at Mitsubishi and Subaru dealerships, parking facilities and even shopping malls.