GM and Ford's Switch to Tesla Plugs Is a Bet Against Faster EV Charging
thedrive.com - 1 year, 7 months ago - Read On Original Website
General Motors announced Thursday it will switch its EV charging connectors from industry-standard CCS to Tesla's NACS. That means most of Detroit now favors Tesla's standard, including Ford, opening up the Supercharger Network to legacy automakers. But aside from expanded charging networks, there's another, overlooked consequence of automakers adopting NACS. It's a sign that carmakers don't think faster charging is the way forward for EVs.
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How could Tesla's deal with GM and Ford impact the wider EV industry?
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muddle standard
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Good for EVs and Bad for EV Charger Firms
arstechnica.com
reignites the charging standard war
thedriven.io
trigger domino effect
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pressure other automakers and the U.S. government to adopt Tesla's charging technology
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add an extra $3 billion to services EV charging revenue
benzinga.com
allowing their electric cars access to its charging infrastructure
electrek.co
EV owners with CCS will have access to more charging stations
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make the NACS connector standard on their vehicles starting in 2025
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will be able to charge their EVs at many of Tesla's charging stations
cnn.com
GM's electric vehicles would be able to charge using Tesla (TSLA)'s charging network
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risks upsetting existing and future owners, who will soon have to contend with more competition for charging space
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puts three U.S. automakers--Tesla, Ford, and GM--on the same domestic EV charging standard
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to access its electric vehicle-charging infrastructure across North America
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allow drivers of GM electric vehicles to charge at 12,000 Tesla Superchargers throughout North America
Launched in 2012 with the Tesla Model S, the NACS plug predates the widespread CCS--and now succeeds it--as the primary EV connector used in the United States. Found at Supercharger stations, the NACS connector is capable of up to 250 kilowatts of DC fast-charging following the upgrade to Tesla's Supercharger V3.
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Which charging companies now support NACS?
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GM and Ford
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Ford and GM
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Tesla
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Tesla charging partnerships with Ford and GM
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Tritium and ChargePoint
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Tesla Superchargers
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Tesla, Ford, and GM
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ChargePoint, Flo, FreeWire and ABB E-Mobility
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General Motors
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General Motors Corp. GM and Ford Motor Co
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list
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EVgo, Blink Charging, ChargePoint and the Australian-based Tritium
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ABB, Autel Energy, Blink Charging, Chargepoint, EVPassport, Freewire, Tritium and Wallbox
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Ford
A Tesla Model Y charges at a Supercharger stall in Boulder, CO. Tesla
But the line-go-up promise of faster, better charging through CCS hasn't been widely realized. That's because the dream of ultra-fast EV charging has stumbled over the basic questions of how to make it happen, not to mention why.
For starters, EV fast-chargers are expensive to build to begin with. While Level 1 home chargers can be installed for under $1,000, Watt Logic indicates Level 2 destination chargers easily jump into the thousands of dollars, and that Level 3 chargers of the fastest sort in use today can cost many tens of thousands of dollars. It estimates that some can run up to $75,000, likely for the quickest 350-kW units deployed in small numbers by Electrify America and Ionity.
But buildout of 350-kW stations has been limited, likely due to high cost and limitations with electrical infrastructure. Delivering the 800 kW that CCS is capable of would cost significantly more, too, all for... What, exactly? To get back on the road in 10 minutes as opposed to 20? Before you've even gotten your quadruple cheeseburger or 32-ounce iced coffee? At a point, making chargers more powerful offers diminishing returns, both for the charger's operator and for the customer.
The fact is, few EVs on sale today can even make use of a 350-kW charger, never mind an 800-kW one. In fact, most EVs can only accept a maximum charge wattage within the capabilities of Tesla Superchargers' 250 kW. It's a sort of inverse chicken-and-egg relationship where cars aren't built to use 800-kW chargers that don't exist, and the chargers don't exist because cars can't use them.
A Porsche Taycan, one of the few EVs capable of charging at 350 kW. Porsche
There's also the fact that cars that could charge at 800 kW would be more expensive to make, and that 800-kW charging still comes with some ugly tradeoffs. Let's be clear; the entire point of DC fast-charging is to quickly get back on the road after draining your battery, like on a road trip. Batteries can be designed for deep cycles, but as a general rule, fully discharging a battery isn't good for it.
The same goes for making a battery accept or discharge a large amount of energy, which generates extreme heat that shortens their lifespans. (For example, during full-throttle driving or DC fast-charging.) The more you heat up a battery, the more life you take out of it, and too much heat can even cause a catastrophic fire. Is the convenience of a charging stop that's 10 minutes quicker really worth taking extra life out of the most expensive piece of your EV? For most of us, the answer is no.
With all that said, NACS may yet have fast-charging potential to rival that of CCS. Tesla has deployed a single V4 Supercharger rated for up to 615 kW, and has promised a more powerful, 1.5-megawatt (1,500 kW) Megacharger. It's Tesla though, so you have to take its promises with as big a grain of salt as you do its claims of self-driving cars and hovering rocket-powered convertibles.
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What is the potential impact of the shift towards NACS on the EV charging industry?
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will now compete with two other main charging port types
cnbc.com
pressure other automakers and the U.S. government to adopt Tesla's charging technology
cnn.com
it will make adapters available so drivers can still use CCS chargers, as well
tipranks.com
allow it to use Tesla's Supercharger Network
electrek.co
Tesla's connector has basically become the new standard in North America
teslarati.com
Electrify America's position in the EV charging space is precarious at best
caranddriver.com
put Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) on the path to be the dominant charging technology in North America
thedrive.com
the NACS connector is capable of up to 250 kilowatts of DC fast-charging
greencarreports.com
puts three U.S. automakers--Tesla, Ford, and GM--on the same domestic EV charging standard
autonews.com
could further fragment the country's charging infrastructure
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greater access to chargers
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could give consumers pondering an electric vehicle greater confidence the technology is here to stay and that they'll be able to find places to top up their batteries
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positive for EV adoption in the United States
Until it happens, it's just talk, and the reasons why it might not should now be apparent to you. They are to Ford and GM, whose switch to NACS indicates they believe access to a broader charging network is more important than maximum charging speed. One could even argue that slower, but nearer and more accessible chargers balances out slower max speeds to some degree. Besides, if the legacy automakers can access more stations without sacrificing access to faster charging that might come one day, it's a win-win for them--and their customers.
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What is the reaction of NACS's competitors?
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scramble to keep up
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pledging to adopt NACS
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they have to adapt if they want to be able to serve those EV drivers
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said it would listen to customers and continue to evaluate the market
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still use the CCS charging standard and have not announced any plans to change
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rallied more than 5%
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adding a second set of charging cables to product lines
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Tesla has modified its EVs in Australia rather than introduce NACS
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signaled support and shared plans to make NACS connectors available
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would feel squeezed
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