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EVgo reportedly adding Tesla plugs to their DC fast chargers

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Here's a news story that may be of interest to some:

Tesla partners with EVgo to deploy Tesla connectors on their nationwide charging network

In brief, EVgo is adding Tesla plugs to some or all of their DC fast chargers. (It's not clear if all EVgo stations will be upgraded or just some of them.) The rollout is starting in San Francisco, apparently this month, with upgrades nationwide beginning next year.

I've seen similar reports on several EV-centric news sites, but they're a bit sparse on details. My impression is that most EVgo stations max out at 50kW (or less), so these won't be competing with Superchargers in speed unless and until EVgo upgrades to faster hardware. (I seem to recall seeing reports that EVgo has deployed at least a few 100kW units, but even that's slower than all but Urban Superchargers.) There's also no word on convenience -- in particular, will you still need to activate the unit as you would for CCS or CHAdeMO charging, or will plugging in initiate an authentication and charge your credit card, if you register your car and credit card with EVgo? There's also no mention of whether these units will show up in Tesla's in-car navigation. (The reports do say that EVgo has collaborated with Tesla on this project, so such integration is not inconceivable.)

Despite the unanswered questions and caveats, this is good news, since it increases charging options without requiring owners to buy the $450 CHAdeMO adapter.
 
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Great idea. Looks like most of their stations are 50 kW, though they do show a couple at 100 kW. It would be neat if, working with Tesla, they can eventually do CHAdeMO->Tesla at the 100 kW (or more) level.

I've always thought EA was being short-sighted by only providing a single CHAdeMO per site. (Yes, I realize they have a not-so-hidden agenda to support VAG cars.)
 
Great idea. Looks like most of their stations are 50 kW, though they do show a couple at 100 kW. It would be neat if, working with Tesla, they can eventually do CHAdeMO->Tesla at the 100 kW (or more) level.

I've always thought EA was being short-sighted by only providing a single CHAdeMO per site. (Yes, I realize they have a not-so-hidden agenda to support VAG cars.)
The EVgo solution is just a repackaged Tesla CHAdeMO adapter bolted to the side of an ABB charger. All the ABB chargers deployed by EVgo so far are 50kW 125A Max units. EVgo have deployed higher power chargers made by BTC, but EVgo have not settled on the Tesla adapter mounting for those yet. In any case, you will still be limited by the 125A max rating of the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter, even if the charger can do more.

You can see in the picture below that the CHAdeMO cable must be plugged in at the front of the accessory box and the Tesla cable comes out of the back of that box.

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Plugshare - Whole Foods Market St. SF
 
The EVgo solution is just a repackaged Tesla CHAdeMO adapter bolted to the side of an ABB charger. All the ABB chargers deployed by EVgo so far are 50kW 125A Max units. EVgo have deployed higher power chargers made by BTC, but EVgo have not settled on the Tesla adapter mounting for those yet. In any case, you will still be limited by the 125A max rating of the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter, even if the charger can do more.

You can see in the picture below that the CHAdeMO cable must be plugged in at the front of the accessory box and the Tesla cable comes out of the back of that box.

Thing is that the circuitry that does the handshaking translation between the charger and car would be the same regardless of power level. For a fixed installation such as this one, EVgo could easily spec a heavier duty DC power pathway than the regular portable off-the-shelf CHAdeMO adapter offers. As can be seen in the photo, the EVgo CHAdeMO receptacle and Tesla-side cabling/plug are already different than the portable CHAdeMO adapter - no doubt with Teslas help. So for the BTC chargers you mention, it would be neat if they could get them to the 100 kW level. Might only require a minor firmware mod to change max power level.
 
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Thing is that the circuitry that does the handshaking translation between the charger and car would be the same regardless of power level. For a fixed installation such as this one, EVgo could easily spec a heavier duty DC power pathway than the regular portable off-the-shelf CHAdeMO adapter offers. As can be seen in the photo, the EVgo CHAdeMO receptacle and Tesla-side cabling/plug are already different than the portable CHAdeMO adapter - no doubt with Teslas help. So for the BTC chargers you mention, it would be neat if they could get them to the 100 kW level. Might only require a minor firmware mod to change max power level.
Other pictures show the red molding color of the Tesla adapter present in the EVgo CHAdeMO receptacle. So, I'm sure most of the guts are the same.

There was a rumor that Tesla was testing high power CHAdeMO in Japan. The rumor came from someone that was at a CHAdeMO interoperability event where prototype chargers and vehicles are tested. I would imagine that any EVgo program to support higher power through CHAdeMO for Tesla vehicles would leverage that effort. At some point, actively cooled CHAdeMO connectors will be a thing, but until then, 200A (80kW) should be possible. I have to wonder whether Tesla has any motivation to help charger manufacturers like ABB, BTC, and ChargePoint provide native Tesla DC charging in North America without this kind of adapter kludge. It was reported that the new ChargePoint Express 250 units can support a third cable. It would be interesting to see SC V2 speeds on Tesla vehicles from these new ChargePoint units that can be paired or even the Plus system that can be arrayed with the Power Cube.
 
EVgo Further Extends Nation’s Largest Fast Charging Network to Tesla Drivers - EVgo

February 11, 2021 – EVgo, the nation’s largest public fast charging network for electric vehicles (EVs), is expanding its offering for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) drivers to charge at more EVgo stations across the country, upgrading hundreds of its stations with integrated Tesla connectors. This will further EVgo’s reach as the only EV charging platform that is both 100% renewable electricity powered and capable of charging all three fast charging standards (CHAdeMO, SAE Combo or CCS, and Tesla) without the need of a separate adaptor. This, combined with EVgo’s industry leading uptime of 98%, will further extend the benefits of EVs to more U.S. drivers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

EVgo will deploy more than 400 integrated Tesla connectors at existing EVgo stations, with an additional 200 connectors reserved for new stations planned for 2021 in key cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, and Miami.
 
You mean one made by Tesla? I think Elon said 1Q21. Then there's the third party one by Setec.
Thanks, I hadn't seen that. But at $1000, I'm not interested.

In my opinion, it's great that one charging network is accommodating Tesla's connector. But there are many others that aren't, and it would be good to see Tesla bend a little more towards the other USA mainstream alternatives. Hopefully (1) Tesla will offer a CCS, and (2) it will be affordable. A $40 adapter (e.g. 14-50) would be a no-brainer. I could also convince myself to spend $95 (e.g. J1772). But $400 (e.g. CHAdeMO) is only justified if you have a special use case... not something one would just toss in the equipment bag just in case. Hopefully the CCS will strike the right balance, but I fear it will not.
 
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EVgo seems to be installing more of these. As I posted over on MyNissanLeaf:
From Plugshare's activity feed, someone submitted a bunch of new pics of various Bay Area stations with the CHAdeMO adapter attached to the side, thus adding Tesla connectors. It's possible they were added by EVgo.

Examples:
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You - I've used these in the past 6 months or so when they were part of DrivetheARC. They definitely didn't have the CHAdeMO adapters bolted to side back then.

Tesla - San Francisco includes numerous locations outside the city of SF now. And, there's Tesla - Los Angeles.
 
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In theory, this should be a relatively simple mod to any existing station. The CHAdeMO adaptor/box just needs to be bolted on, and then the holster for the CHAdeMO plug replaced with one that fits a Tesla plug. No new wiring needed, nor any software changes. I'd bet an experienced tech can get it all done in under 30 min.

I think the only real questions are, how quickly can they get the parts from Tesla, and how much additional revenue are they getting for the investment?
 
In theory, this should be a relatively simple mod to any existing station. The CHAdeMO adaptor/box just needs to be bolted on, and then the holster for the CHAdeMO plug replaced with one that fits a Tesla plug. No new wiring needed, nor any software changes. I'd bet an experienced tech can get it all done in under 30 min.

I think the only real questions are, how quickly can they get the parts from Tesla, and how much additional revenue are they getting for the investment?

Good questions. It does somehow seem EVgo has some sort of relationship going on with Tesla. I view this as positive. I hope EVgo keeps expanding their program and Tesla keeps supporting them.

The second question is a little more interesting. At least one location I know of that has the attached Tesla CHAdeMO adapters, also recently became an urban Supercharger site. (Whole Foods in Los Altos CA.) So I'd guess EVgo is getting almost no additional revenue from it. However EVgo does have a lot of other sites that don't have Superchargers nearby.

Northern California AAA members can sign up for free EVgo membership so no monthy fees to get the 'good' rate. (EVgo Promotion) The per minute rate works out to a bit more than Supercharging. But if you need it, you need it...
 
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Since Seattle was mentioned, there are now some in the Seattle area now: Tesla - Seattle. More accurately, I'd call them Western WA as it includes numerous cities outside Seattle and even outside the county that Seattle is in (King). Tacoma is in Pierce County.

(I lived in King County for about 9 years in 3 different cities...)
 
Good questions. It does somehow seem EVgo has some sort of relationship going on with Tesla. I view this as positive. I hope EVgo keeps expanding their program and Tesla keeps supporting them.

The second question is a little more interesting. At least one location I know of that has the attached Tesla CHAdeMO adapters, also recently became an urban Supercharger site. (Whole Foods in Los Altos CA.) So I'd guess EVgo is getting almost no additional revenue from it. However EVgo does have a lot of other sites that don't have Superchargers nearby.

Northern California AAA members can sign up for free EVgo membership so no monthy fees to get the 'good' rate. (EVgo Promotion) The per minute rate works out to a bit more than Supercharging. But if you need it, you need it...
With the new Peak / Off-Peak pricing at Bay Area Superchargers, the EVgo Promotion price (~$0.36/kWh) is slightly lower than the Peak Supercharger price ($0.40/kWh). However, you will have to spend more time at the EVgo station.