Access to Supercharger Technology....

[Mayhemm]

I live in rural Canada. The closest "major" center is around 400km away. A Model S with the 85kW battery should make it without issue. However, once there I'd find myself in need of a charge and without options. There are no public charging stations for thousands of kilometers, nor are high-output NEMA connections readily available for those who happen by. It may be possible to charge reasonably quickly at a campground, but those are closed for six months of the year.

My company is looking for investment opportunities and I'm doing my best to convince them that placing charging stations in remote locations (thereby providing rural residents EV access to cities and beyond) is something worth considering. However, I think this endeavor would be unsuccessful without the high-speed charging capability of Tesla Superchargers. After all, nobody relishes the thought of hanging out for several hours at a roadside gas station while their vehicle charges.

Obviously, these would be more akin to the public chargers currently found in urban areas than "true" Superchargers. They would not be solar powered (not feasible in Northern Canada) and would likely not be free to use (at least initially). Perhaps they would have a traditional J1772 connector at each port as well as a "Super" connector, so drivers of other models of EV could take advantage of them (similarly to how a gas pump can also have a diesel line) What they would have is a Supercharger's ability to fully power a Model S in about an hour.

The question I have is; Does Tesla guard their Supercharger tech like a state secret, or would they be willing to provide it to third-parties (like me) who share their goal of creating an EV-friendly infrastructure? I know Tesla has a schedule for rolling out Superchargers across the USA, but what about Canada? It'll likely be five or ten years before Tesla turns its attention North. Would it not serve their goal to let others assist in building a charging network and thus complete it sooner? Then, if they deem it necessary, they can convert my stations to meet their Supercharger specs (solar, free charging, etc) in their own time. Surely that would be less costly than building them from scratch, and in the meantime they will have gained who-knows-how-many customers who would not have had the opportunity otherwise.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be as clear as possible on this. What does everybody think?

Any insiders out there know who I would contact in order to pitch this plan to Tesla?

Cheers,

David

 

[dsm363]

I'm not sure they'd license or sell their Superchargers at this point but you could always ask. More than likely it would be easier for you to install 80A J1772 chargers which would recharge an 85 kWh pack in a little over 4 hours. Not ideal but certainly better than 9 hours at an RV park. There probably isn't too much of a business case for them though since only the Model S with the twin chargers could take advantage of the 80A.

 

[GSP]

I suggest contacting suppliers of CHAdeMo and "J1772 combo" DC fast chargers. Ask how much to buy their J1772 combo version, and if 100 kW models are available (most are 50 kW). Also ask if they can install Tesla's propritary connector in addition to the J1772 DC connector.

AeroVironment, Clipper Creek, Eaton are some companies to try.

Don't forget the cost of providing power. Get an estimate for a 500 kVA transformer installation, and check with utilities on energy charges and, more important, demand charges.

GSP

 

[Mayhemm]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

I think I may try and contact http://suncountryhighway.ca and see about getting involved in their project(s) somehow. We seem to share a lot of the same goals, such as prioritizing high-current Tesla-friendly chargers, and putting them all over Canada, not just in major centres. The only thing they really lack is a Supercharger-level (Level 4?) system. Although, most of the chargers they've deployed thus far are 90A (HPWC-level) units.

 

[jerry33]

My understanding is that Tesla wants to keep control of the Superchargers so they can be maintained properly--there are quite a few EVSEs that were basically installed and abandoned. I suspect, but don't know, that they would take donations similar to how governments take donations for highways and put up a "This section of highway is sponsored by..." signs. A "Donated by..." plaque on the Supercharger would be the way I would do it.

 

[TXjak]

You might also want to keep an eye on the J1772 Fast DC charging option, since Tesla may offer an adapter for that at some point for vehicles with supercharging capability.