Implementing a proper road trip with an electric car “simply” requires ultra-fast charging above the 100 kiloWatts charging rate. Tesla Motors Supercharger system has proved this , with the 120 kiloWatt charging rate giving Model S owners a 1 hour (or less) recharge time for up to 265 miles of range. While that’s not quite as…
The debate over electric car fast charging systems has been going on for years, and the only sign of a settlement is that some of the automakers are investing in dual-protocol fast charging infrastructure. While it’s a great interim solution, as a practical matter the existing dual-protocol DCFC stations can…
All electric car drivers face a bugaboo – charging station reliability, availability and compatibility. It’s always a hit-and-miss affair whether a given public charging station will be functioning, or not. Some of us rely on public charging stations to get around (personally, I cannot charge at home) and others are…
This morning, PG&E announced a massive new charging station network of over 25,000 charging stations in its service territory. This is a departure for charging networks, in California, for direct ownership by the utility company, however PG&E says they will only own the infrastructure and will contract out the billing…
Last week, a partnership announcement between BMW, VW and ChargePoint looked to me that it was slanted towards the ComboCharging System. In other words, it looked like a continuing salvo in the DC Fast Charging market-share war between the Japanese automakers (Nissan et al) and the German/US automakers. Today, after…
The Kansas City metropolitan area is one of America’s Big Cities, but for some reason it’s electric car charging network has been limited in number, with very few fast charging stations. All that’s about to change thanks to a new joint announcement from ChargePoint and Kansas City Power And Light.…
Why should Tesla Model S owners be the only EV owners capable of taking long distant trips? What’s needed is fast charging infrastructure located along highways between major cities supporting cars other than Tesla’s. Existing DCFC infrastructure for the rest of us is only been located inside cities, and not…
Will the public charging networks be ready for the Chevy Bolt and other 200+ mile range electric cars due around 2017? It’s exciting that GM has unveiled the Chevy Bolt electric concept car. Assuming they can successfully get it on the market, the 200+ mile range and $30,000 MSRP should…
There are big dreams and goals for electric car adoption in California, around the U.S. and around the world. California’s goals are something like 1 million plug-in EV’s by 2025 which seems to me to be achievable, unless this dalliance with fuel cell vehicles causes the state to undermine battery…
I’m beginning to think the real future of electric vehicle charging has to switch to a filling station model. Today most public electric vehicle charging uses a parking lot model, because the typical charging rate (Level 2 AC at 6 kilowatts) gives 20-25 miles of range per hour of charging.…
BMW today joined the ranks of automakers demonstrating seriosity about electric vehicles. The way I measure this is if the company is not just building an electric car in significant quantity, but is working to support build-out of electric car charging infrastructure. We have a “chicken and egg” situation between…
This slide deck covers electric vehicle charging, especially fast charging, in China. Where in Japan/North America/Europe the conversation about fast charging includes J1772’s Combo Charging System, Japan’s CHAdeMO, or Tesla’s proprietary SuperCharger, the conversation is different in China. They’re developing their own standards and not cooperating with the rest of…
The CarCharging Group may be the first company to validate Tesla’s new strategy on patents. CCG has announced its intention to integrate the Tesla Supercharger technology into Blink fast charging stations. CarCharging Group started its life building charging stations on the ChargePoint network, but last year it bought the Blink…
Tesla Motors has opened their patent portfolio, hoping to encourage other automakers to use that technology to speed up electric vehicle development. At the same time we’ve learned BMW, Nissan and Tesla Motors are talking about collaboration around Tesla’s Supercharger system, despite a history of in-fighting between automakers on fast…
Tesla Motors appears to be in serious talks with at least two other automakers about electric car fast charging plans. Th talks bring together the three automakers with the most credible electric car development: BMW, Nissan and Tesla. The content of their discussions are hush-hush, but we know it’s related…
