[Chevy Bolt News]

In a White House press release, the Obama Administration has announced their plans to set up 48 alternative fuel networks in 35 states and it’ll span nearly 25,000 miles of highways.

Those 48 EV charging corridors will have plenty of roadside signs to direct motorists towards the closest charging station and we can expect to see an existing of planned charging station every 50 miles or so. For those interested, the Federal Highway Administration has a publicly accessible list of corridor locations with indicators to let you know which ones will be getting signage and what of the type of fuels they offer.

Not only will electric chargers be installed, some stations will even offer compressed natural gas, hydrogen, or other fuels.

This undertaking is going to cost a pretty penny so the government has opened up to $4.5 billion in loan guarantees this past summer and they’ll be partnering with 28 states, utilities and vehicle manufacturers, including General Motors Co, BMW AG and Nissan Motor Co, and EV charging firms in order to reach their goal.

On top of this, 24 state and local governments will be showing their support by agreeing to purchase hundreds of electric vehicles for government fleets and adding new EV charging stations.

In the past 8 years alone, EV charging stations have jumped from just 500 in 2008 to 16,000, a significant increase and we’ll probably see another large jump thanks to the new charging plan.

 

[Bazinga]

It'll be great if Canada would follow and install some chargers at those highway stops. Recently went on road trip and they only had gas.

 

[SparkE]

If you read the press release, the 'funding' is mainly loan guarantees (which is good, in that it isn't PURE pork, and bad in that this won't be happening in the next 6 months), and that the designated routes are (often, not always) already there. This 'expansion' will in many cases just be 'labeling' routes, and adding 'EV Charging available' signs on freeways (like the 'lodging', 'food' and/or 'gas' available signs that currently exist). BUT, the good news is that this will (hopefully soon) create a complete east-west EV route from coast-to-coast, filling in the currently 'dead' spaces in the infrastructure. The bad news is that this doesn't appear to be a program to install 4- or 8- bay 50 kW charging stations along major corridors.

Personally, I think that the MOST important thing for wide acceptance of EVs is a *reliable* network of super-fast-charge stations along major roadways where the 200-and-over mile range EVs can stop for 20-30 minutes for a fill-up, then continue. These stations need to be between cities (they already exist mostly IN cities), very close to freeway on/off-ramps, and they need to be redundant: multiple charge stations per site, and (eventually) 100 miles or less apart (so that one failure doesn't kill your trip). Today they would have to be 50kW (as that's the max *available* standards) but they would/should become 90-130kW chargers when those standards (and the chargers, and the cars that can use them!) become available in the next 12-16 months (the new CHAdeMO and CCS2.0 standards).

My two cents.

 

[DucRider]

Much of what SparkE said are the same conclusions drawn in this study and paper presented in Qubec this summer.
http://driveoregon.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Drive-Oregon-DCFC-Paper-EVS29-June-2016.pdf

Oregon had one of the first fast charging corridors completed, and this study is based on the usage patterns and driver feedback.

Of particular note is the fact that some of the least used stations are crtical to the infrastructure - they are the "in between" spots that are vital for long distance travel. Those in or near population bases are more heavily used, but without all the "links in the chain" the charging network is a fail.

 

[Raymondjram]

The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) is the national entity to set up common standards for all automobiles (as with the IEEE and EIA standards for computers), which they have done with excellence in the past, such as the dispensing hose diameter standard for gasoline pumps, and others. The SAE J1772 standard established the common electrical interface for the first EVs since 2009, and every manufacturer, except Tesla Motors, follows it for the Level 1 and Level 2 EVSE (Electric Vehicle Standard Equipment), an intelligent "extension" that allows the power and communications interfacing between an EV and a electrical outlet while imposing user safety.

SAE now has the DC Fast Charging standard, also known as CCS, which is what many EVs need for the next level of power supply to directly charge the battery at a much higher rate than the EVSE. So all the major EV manufacturere worldwide will use it, even the Europeans and Koreans! As before, only Tesla Motors and some Japanese manufacturers are not supporting it. Yet, TM has an adapter that allows the Model S and X to charge at a SAE J1772 CCS station, so only the CHAdeMO users are exempt, unless someone also makes an adapter for them.

Since this is a market driven economy, there is no need for any auto manufacturer, not even GM or Ford, to supply any SAE chargers at all. They never did the same for gasoline pumps, either! Only Tesla Motors, acting as an exclusive supplier (just as what Apple has been doing with their equipment) of their own Superchargers, and convince early buyers to that feature as a part of their Model S and X purchase. But TM have just announced limits to the Supercharger usage for future sales, so that myth is gone, especially for the future Model 3!

I have built my own Level 2 EVSE (see my signature) for less than $250, and I can build my own SAE DC fast charger, too (soon we will see kits). But I also know that as the EV market grows, the same gasoline base service stations acroos the world will add the SAE fast chargers to their services for three basic reasons:

1. The SAE CCS standard guarantees 100% compatibility for all EVs (TM with adapaters, too).
2. The DC Fast Chargers will allow the stations to keep their gasoline consuming customers who have converted to EVs (they stay longer and spend more money).
3. The installation of the DC Fast Chargers cost much less than a new gasoline pump (which also uses electricity!) and allow a fast ROI (return on investment).

So now you all know why there is no need for GM or any manufacturer to do what TM has done, because no one is doing it or needs to. As more SAE CCS stations appear, more EVs can use them, and more EVs will be purchased, continuing the trend tha gasoline vehicles had for over a hundred and twenty years before.

 

[SparkE]

You are forgetting that most people are going to be 'filling their tank' at home - something that one generally can't do with ICE vehicles. Anybody who has a garage already has electricity available, and it is most convenient to fill overnight. Plug in when you get home, full 'tank' the next morning.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The SAE CCS standard guarantees 100% compatibility for all EVs (TM with adapaters, too).

I know of no adapter that lets you charge a CHaDeMo (capitalization random) equipped vehicle like a Leaf or iMiev with an adapter. Fortunately, the fast charge stations that just recently arrived in my area have both kinds of charging cables.

 

[eops]

You are forgetting that most people are going to be 'filling their tank' at home - something that one generally can't do with ICE vehicles. Anybody who has a garage already has electricity available, and it is most convenient to fill overnight. Plug in when you get home, full 'tank' the next morning.

Also add in the fact that depending where you park when away from home might allow you to charge. If owners of parking lots are smart they will have spots that are EV friendly and it doesn't take a lot of work to make that happen.