Charging Station standards

[TEG]

If the proposed standard has been around for 11 years, why didn't Tesla adopt it? If there are competing proposed standards, why didn't Tesla select one of those?

There is something to be said for going your own way when everyone else seems to be bogged down in committee.

It feels like there is some convergence happening now, and hopefully we end up with more standardization, but I gather Tesla remains ready to stay independent if the rest of the industry doesn't get their act together first.

 

[vfx]

There is something to be said for going your own way when everyone else seems to be bogged down in committee.

Also, would you want to launch a tech company product like the Roadster with 5 year old technology?
In the tech world things change so fast that having the connector being slogged in committee might have been the best thing that could have happened.

 

[TEG]

I tried to reconcile and better present a lot of this information here:
TEG.NET: Conductive Electric Vehicle Charging Standards

 

[vfx]

It's HERE!

 

[TEG]

Thanks, VFX!

 

[TEG]

Energy/Environment - Automotive Engineering International Online
The coupler consists of:
• Two pins for power (ac line 1 and ac line 2/neutral)
• One pin for ground
• One pin for signals related to the amount of current allowed for the particular vehicle model being charged
• One pin for preventing the car from being moved while charging is under way.

 

[vfx]

• One pin for preventing the car from being moved while charging is under way.

That pin will have to be attached to some really strong cable!

 

[TEG]

LOL!.... Obviously it is a signal pin to keep the car electronically in "park" while charging.

 

[vfx]

Looks kinda homebrew.

 

[vfx]

Wiring Wars: The Race to Charge the World's EVs

It looked for a while that Better Place would monopolize world recharging networks, but other equally aggressive players have emerged, including Coulomb and Project Get Ready...

 

[TEG]

Green Fuels Forecast

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SAE 2009: J1772 charging connector standard to be ratified in 2009
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]...
[/FONT]The proposed plug was tested and evaluated by the task force which includes representatives from General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Tesla and other companies throughout 2008.
...
The automakers that are participating in the process as well as others have committed to using the standard plug on upcoming electric vehicles including the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, Chrysler's EVs and more. Tesla has also agreed to retrofit its vehicles vehicles with the standard plug.
...
The proposed connector is designed to handle charging from single phase AC circuits with up to 240 V and 70 A. The plug supports proximity sensing to prevent drive-away while plugged in as well as communications over the power-lines to allow the vehicle to communicate with the charge station.
...

 

[BBHighway]

"Tesla has also agreed to retrofit its vehicles vehicles with the standard plug."

I wonder if this will be a freebie or if the owners will have to pay for it. It would be a hit to Tesla to pay for it when they need their cash to get the Model S to market.

Both the cars and the chargers will need to be reworked. It will be quite a while before a lot of J1772 public chargers are available so there''s no immediate rush.

 

[Tdave]

I hope Tesla's switches to the new connector in the production line soon.

 

[graham]

I wonder if this will be a freebie or if the owners will have to pay for it. It would be a hit to Tesla to pay for it when they need their cash to get the Model S to market.

I would be very surprised if they did not charge for it.

 

[vfx]

Lot's of really good news in there. Too bad there is no mention of theft deterrent.

I could see Tesla splitting the cost with the owner paying for parts and Tesla supplying labor for the retrofit.

 

[green01]

I thought last week's Green Car Congress ClipperCreek Tesla charger announcement was old news.

But maybe the news is "The TS-70 is the industry’s first product to market that incorporates the SAE-J1772 standard". And Tesla's well into making a transition.

Green Car Congress: ClipperCreek to Supply Power Control Stations for Tesla Motors

 

[dpeilow]

Elektromotive unveils billing system chargepoint for EVs at EVS24 conference

Elektromotive has announced what it calls the world's first billable three phase fast charge station. The ElektroBay can supply up to 32 amps at 240 V to allow for faster charging than what is possible with other charge points.

The single unit is the first of its kind to provide two separate five-pin power sockets, both able to accommodate the all-new Mennekes plug, which is anticipated to become standardised on all electric commercial vehicles.

This so-called all-new Mennekes plug looks to me like just the 5 pole version of the IEC 60309 standard.

 

[dpeilow]

The reason these guys matter: Green Car Congress: Renault-Nissan Alliance and Electromotive to Collaborate on Charging Infrastructure

To date, it has installed more than 40 charging bays in London and a further 40 in other major UK cities. The Brighton-based company also exports Elektrobays to Sweden, Holland, Germany and Ireland.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance aims to be the global leader in zero-emission mobility and has already started zero-emission initiatives in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, the Principality of Monaco, as well as the US States of Tennessee and Oregon and Sonoma County in northern California and in Japan with the Prefecture of Kanagawa and the City of Yokohama.

So if they are partnering, we could see these Elektrobays popping up everywhere.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There is no need for a new SAE or whatever standard because the IEC 60309 is in use pretty much all over the world for a multitude of applications. It is a long-established and fully formed standard for high power plugs and sockets. Until now, the only thing missing was an ability to communicate with a device on the end - but oh look:

In 2008, Elektromotive integrated the latest Power Line Communication (PLC) technology (developed by EDF), into its road-side charging stations. PLC integration allows the Elektrobay to communicate with a recharging vehicle by sending and receiving digital signals via the power cable without the need for additional wires. The resulting ‘conversation’ can exchange data and discuss billing, power requirement identification, transaction security and safety.

So if the SAE thing persists, I foresee a subset of North America doing one thing and the rest of the world following a different route.

 

[dpeilow]

And then again, we could have a format war: Autocar - Euro-wide electric charging plan

German power company RWE is attempting to standardise the charging infrastructure required for the large-scale adoption of electric cars across Europe, including a standard plug to connect cars to charging points.

The company intends to begin work on the system during the second half of this year, and has already shown a prototype of the plug. Compatible with a domestic 230-volt or the more powerful three-phase 400-volt supply, it can help charge an electric car’s battery much faster than a domestic supply can, as well as offering a secure and weatherproof connection.

RWE claims that using one of its charging points with 400 volts can cut the charging time of an electric car with a 20kWh battery from the six hours needed with a domestic socket to one hour.

The technology has been developed with 20 European car makers, including Daimler, BMW, VW, GM and Fiat, and Japanese manufacturers with a European base, such as Toyota. RWE is testing the charging stations in Berlin, using Smart Fortwos.

 

[vfx]

I guess the good news is that swapping out a car socket it easier than moving the driver side.

*sigh*