ZURICH: ABB has launched the world's fastest electric car charger, the Swiss engineering company said on Thursday, as it presses ahead with plans to spin off the business which could be valued at around $3 billion.

The company's new Terra 360 modular charger can charge up to four vehicles at once, and can fully charge any electric car within 15 minutes, the company said.

The device, which can deliver 100km of range in less than 3 minutes, will be available in Europe and the United States by the end of the year, it added.

Latin America and the Asia Pacific regions are due to follow in 2022.

Chief Executive Bjorn Rosengren said in July that investor materials for the spin-off of its electric vehicle charging business will be ready in the fourth quarter of this year, with a potential flotation targeted for early 2022.

ABB has seen rising demand for chargers and has sold more than 460,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 88 markets since it entered the e-mobility business in 2010.

It wants to keep a controlling stake in the electro-charging business, but is seeking a spin-off to help with acquisitions of both software and hardware companies and attract capital for quick growth.

Reuters has reported ABB's vehicle charging business, which had sales of $220 million in 2020, could achieve a valuation of about $3 billion in a float.