[GJETSON]

I don't see much movement in new battery tech, but improvements in charging technology could make a big difference.

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...r-is-more-efficient-smaller-and-half-the-cost

 

[raitchison]

Sounds great what I want to know is will this new tech work with existing EVs or will the EV need to be built (or perhaps modified) to work with the new chargers.

 

[GJETSON]

Sounds great what I want to know is will this new tech work with existing EVs or will the EV need to be built (or perhaps modified) to work with the new chargers.

The voltage and amperage provided by these chargers can be just what we have now...nothing new required. The point was they are smaller, and cheaper for the charger installer.

 

[SparkE]

Half the cost. Yes. Thus urban businesses (say, malls) might install 50 kW DCFCs so that customers can add some miles while visiting their business. The goal wouldn't be to enable long distance travel, but to allow people simply add 50 or 80 miles while at the business.

 

[redpoint5]

I don't know why malls would supply low power DCFC. They couldn't be free, otherwise they'd just be clogged up with local bums. So if they aren't free, who is charging at the mall when they can charge at home for less?

Perhaps a few of these might be appealing to those who are brave enough to own an EV but not have access to home charging, or the very occasional stray EV that ventures into town from a long distance trip.

None of these chargers are economically viable unless they are getting heavy use, or generate a lot of extra business to justify their expense.

 

[SparkE]

People who can't charge at home. People living in apartments. Renters who can't have 240V installed. Or just people that need an extra 40 miles to finish their day.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

People who can't charge at home. People living in apartments. Renters who can't have 240V installed. Or just people that need an extra 40 miles to finish their day.

You still need to bill upfront, but you should patent that idea.

Either way, many situations would benefit from these lower-cost implementations. I'm not sure I agree with the pricing that they've quoted for other DCFC ($75,000 per unit versus $35,000 for their own). Maybe with planning and permitting? I know that Tesla recently claimed in a permit that one of their 20-unit Urbancharger sites only cost $150,000.

Regardless, it makes the ROI a bit easier to justify, especially for roadside diners and fast food restaurants.

 

[madmike]

I think these will be much more heavily used as EVs with faster charging times appear. Get me to 80 percent in less than 30 mins and I ll take more road trips in my ev

 

[redpoint5]

I want 10 miles per minute before I partake in DCFC, which equates to a 150 kW charger and a battery (3x faster than Bolt) that can accept that furious charge. That's 375 amps at 400v though, so nothing to scoff at, and I don't know how the chargers would supply that without wreaking havoc on the grid. It would likely need to be battery buffered, but then there would be the possibility of exhausting the battery buffer if people back to back charge.

Lots and lots of mostly economic hurdles to overcome to make actual fast charging a reality.

 

[Enzeder]

I want 10 miles per minute before I partake in DCFC, which equates to a 150 kW charger and a battery that can accept that furious charge. That's 375 amps at 400v though, so nothing to scoff at, and I don't know how the chargers would supply that without wreaking havoc on the grid. It would likely need to be battery buffered, but then there would be the possibility of exhausting the battery buffer if people back to back charge.

Lots and lots of mostly economic hurdles to overcome to make actual fast charging a reality.

...or 375 amps at 800 volts ;-)

Wonder if they have something like that in the eCOPO Camaro? I've read it's 800 volts, but haven't seen amperage mentioned.

 

[wonderbolt]

Wards on the new DC fast charge technology is the cover story for Dec

https://www.wardsauto.com/sites/wardsauto.com/files/WardsAuto OEM Big Story Dec 2018.pdf

 

[ga2500ev]

Here is an interesting observation from the article:

Currently, BEV owners charge at
home or work 80% of the time in
the U.S., with the remaining 20%
occurring at public outlets. But
that may not hold true if ultrafast
public charging becomes
ubiquitous.

It just seems to me that the comparative costs of home to ultrafast public charging is going to price the latter out of the market. For example, I finally saw a Bolt charging on a 50 kW DCFC offered by Georgia Power in downtown Atlanta. Stations like these are generally empty because the price is currently $0.25/min to use. What I found nuts was that Bolt was charging when I first pulled up, skipping a charge because I was running late, and I was shocked to find it still there and plugged up 90 minutes later when I returned. That type of cost is why I believe that most folks won't ultra fast charge. I ended up paying 60 cents for my 40 minute or so L2 charge and even more amazing when it was still there more than 2 hours after I first saw it. A minimum price of $30. Maybe it was a Georgia power company car and there was no charge...

ga2500ev