Now that we can finally get ChaDeMo adapters in Hong Kong, we are experiencing some funny issue:
It seems that all (about 5 to 10 only!) ChaDeMo stations in Hong Kong are limited
not in rate, but in
total charging amount, to 25 kWh (don't confuse it with 25 kW charging speed!). This means that the charger is programmed to the following logic:
Since a Nissan Leaf has a 22 kWh battery, charging more than 25 kWh must mean the battery is faulty, or some other non-normal issue. So at 25 kWh, you have to unplug, plug in again, and repeat the tedious "login procedure" to resume charging. With an empty battery, that means three trips back to the charging station
It almost seems like this technology was developed by some entity that wanted it to fail from the onset:
- Incompatible for 25 to 35 % of the stations to a car like the Tesla Model S
- Charging rate inferior to other DC charging like CCS and Supercharging
- Complicated procedure for initiating charging
- Stopping at 25 kWh, pre-programmed assuming cars would never have more than 22 kWh batteries
- Bulky and clumsy plug
- Expensive hardware
Nissan are not on the Hydrogen Fuel Cell dead alley like Hyundai and Toyota, are they?
Having said all that, if ChaDeMo really worked fine and were 50 kWh or more, they wouldn't take much longer than supercharging in reality. Even with a theoretical 135 kW, it's often lower (both spots occupied or other issues), and will also taper off as battery gets more full anyway.
