Tesla has opened the eyes of enthusiasts—and other automakers—to the idea that electric cars don’t have to be boring. And while there’s an armada of ambitious rivals on the way from Europe and elsewhere, with long driving ranges and high levels of performance, they’re still going to be a hard sell if, during road trips, they can’t be charged up nearly as quickly as a gasoline car can be filled. With that in mind, four automakers in Europe—BMW Group, Daimler, the Ford Motor Company, and Volkswagen Group—have agreed to work together to set up a network of fast-charging sites.
Europe’s big automakers know they need to solve the issue as they prep long-range EV entries that are slated to begin arriving in 2019, including production models based on the Porsche Mission E (shown below) and Mercedes-Benz Generation EQ concepts. As battery packs match (or exceed) Tesla sizes of 90 kWh and beyond, a quick top-off using Level 3 DC fast charging isn’t at all that fast anymore. Point the blame at the typical maximum power of 50 kW for fast chargers; that’s enough to bring short-range EVs like a Volkswagen e-Golf or a Nissan Leaf up to 80 percent in about half an hour, but it’s simply not fast enough for a road trip in a longer-range EV.
In the meantime, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is the first to tease this emerging new reality. Its 60-kW pack can regain 90 miles of range in about 30 minutes from a typical CCS fast charger, according to Chevy, but beyond that, it’s slower going—requiring the better part of 90 minutes to get to that 80 percent sweet spot. GM has stubbornly resisted getting involved in wide-ranging charging infrastructure projects so far, but it would be in its interest to do so—lest we have stories of long, unproductive waits at fast-charging stations.
Double—Even Triple—the Power Still Is Not Enough
The solution is simple, in theory: Scotty, we need more power! Current CCS fast chargers can be cranked up to 150 kW—in many cases, with existing hardware—which would rival the speed of Tesla’s Superchargers, which officially use either 120 kW or 135 kW. But for long-range EVs, that’s still not enough.
To answer the call for more power, the four companies will collaborate on a network of 350-kW fast chargers, beginning in 2017. BMW Group, Daimler, Ford, and Volkswagen Group have only signed a memorandum of understanding so far, with commitments like financials and logistics not yet disclosed. However, the plan ambitiously aims for 400 fast-charging sites next year, then thousands by 2020, when those longer-range luxury EVs hit the highways.
For these longer-range EVs, the speed of 350-kW charging (assuming 800 V) could be right in line with what the mass market needs to make the leap to an EV. A vehicle with a maximum range of about 310 miles, for instance, would be able to gain 80 percent, or nearly 250 miles, of its range in 15 to 20 minutes with 350 kW, as opposed to 80 minutes with the current 50-kW speeds and 29 minutes, at best, with 150 kW.
New Tech and New Infrastructure
It’s not quite as easy as it sounds, though; a final standard for 350-kW CCS charging hasn’t yet been established, so the hardware is all futureware, and the charging stations themselves could have stricter siting requirements for utility and grid reasons. Each of those automakers belong to the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIn), a Berlin-based organization that includes suppliers, charging companies, and various EV interests and aims to develop that 350-kW standard.
This past summer, as part of a broad partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Energy, the Obama administration announced plans for “a 2020 vision for a national network of fast-charging stations for EVs,” made part of the massive five-year FAST Act transportation bill. That vision includes partnership plans with private companies “to examine the vehicle, battery, infrastructure, and economic implications of fast charging of up to 350 kW.”
The United States might not be all that far behind, provided the federal government keeps its commitment to EV infrastructure and automakers are equally willing to invest in an ultrafast charger network in America.
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