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Half 1: How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms
Coming quickly:
Half 3: Why Tesla’s NACS is unlikely to kill CCS
Half 4: Behind the scenes of seven automakers reply to Tesla’s Superchargers
EV charging is altering, however a lot stays to be settled
A flurry of stories over lower than a yr completely altered the US panorama for EV charging. To place these startling developments in context, Charged interviewed greater than a dozen executives, engineers and analysts from automakers, DC quick charging community operators, charging {hardware} companies and different companies. cosystem. Solely Ford offered written responses to (just a few of) our questions.
NACS just isn’t at this time’s Tesla connector
One side of the information that appears to have flown beneath the radar is that the so-called NACS is successfully the following technology of Tesla connector and protocols. The connector itself is barely modified, however backward-compatible with older Teslas. Most significantly, it switches from a low-voltage/high-current combine to 1 with larger voltages however decrease currents. That is essential for the rising variety of makers whose EV batteries can cost at 800 volts at charges as much as 350 kilowatts, for the reason that present technology of Superchargers maxes out at about 250 kW.
One side of the information
that appears to have flown beneath the radar is that the so-called NACS is successfully the following technology of Tesla connector and protocols.
Tesla started becoming the European variations of the CCS connector and protocols to Mannequin 3s and Mannequin Ys it sells in these international locations in early 2019 and it provided a CCS-to-Tesla adapter on the identical time. It thus has appreciable expertise utilizing CCS protocols to regulate charging—and, certainly, has constructed them into its North American-market EVs, utilizing its personal connector, since 2021. Tesla automobiles constructed earlier than then managed charging by way of the CAN bus and therefore require a alternative Energy Line Management module to make use of the present Model 3 Supercharger stations. (It prices $615, together with the CCS-to-Tesla adapter.) These stations are the one ones at which non-Tesla automobiles can cost by way of the corporate’s Magic Dock CCS adapter (on the dozen or so stations the place it has been fitted).
In different phrases, Tesla is already aware of charging by way of CCS protocols—by way of a special connector. (Tesla not presents a method for reporters to contact the corporate for feedback, so we weren’t capable of communicate with Tesla representatives whereas reporting this text.)
A connector just isn’t a community
A peculiar side of Tesla’s offers with Ford and GM is the belief by many EV drivers that becoming a Tesla connector to a non-Tesla EV and offering entry to the Supercharger community will mechanically lead to a charging expertise that’s as seamless, dependable and quick as Tesla’s. That has but to be confirmed.
Certainly, engineers and extra technically literate executives we spoke to had been uniformly cagey when requested whether or not they anticipated their automobiles to cost as quick at Superchargers as they did at CCS stations. The query is most acute for 800-volt pioneer Porsche, but it surely additionally applies to growing numbers of EVs from GM, Hyundai, Kia and Lucid, with extra to return.
It’s too early to supply a definitive reply to that query. Auto engineers at a number of makers at the moment are dissecting the Tesla paperwork, determining the way it features, and negotiating what info they need to present to the Tesla charging station to validate a session. “Finally, validation might be by way of ISO 15118 and Plug and Cost, however [it’s unclear] when that can come to cross,” stated a supply, summarizing statements by a Tesla consultant inside the SAE J3400 working group trying to make Tesla’s connector right into a technical customary.
At this time, to make use of the Magic Dock adapter at these few Supercharger websites the place it’s supplied, drivers of non-Tesla EVs should obtain the Tesla app, which requires them to supply Tesla with private identification info and a bank card quantity. No automaker will wish to hand that information to a competitor, so validation of charging classes at Tesla websites stays an open problem.
Three days after the press launch, the lead automobile engineer on one extremely publicized future EV from a big maker stated, “The [Tesla alliance] caught us off guard and we nonetheless don’t know precisely what was within the settlement they signed.”
It’s clear that the choice to ally with Tesla was one made at CEO stage, then foisted on the engineers who should combine it into future EVs inside a 3-year deadline. Certainly, three days after the press launch, the lead automobile engineer on one extremely publicized future EV from a big maker stated, “The announcement caught us off guard and we nonetheless don’t know precisely what was within the settlement they signed.” Tesla is alleged to have a doc with roughly 40 non-negotiable know-how necessities—or what the engineers must do to include NACS into their largely full automobile design.
The adapter downside
The wild card on this situation is all these adapters. Carmakers will undoubtedly take a look at, validate and warrant the varied adapters they supply. However any adapter provides resistance between the charging station and the automobile. Whether or not they can retain the identical charging charges, whereas sustaining their required margins of security, stays an open query. “That may be our objective,” one automaker exec stated cautiously. “We’re working to make sure minimal affect to the charging expertise with adapters.”
Can carmakers educate their patrons appropriately, given the commonly dismal understanding of EV charging amongst auto salespeople and EV novices? “We hope to ship the correct stage of training” on these matters, stated the exec—once more cautiously.
The Tesla system “just isn’t unsafe,” stated one engineer, selecting their phrases fastidiously, “however there’s no margin for error.” It’s straightforward whenever you solely have 4 automobiles to cost, stated a battery professional. Guaranteeing correct security margins is now as much as every automaker adopting the NACS system.
Teslas have been optimized to cost at Supercharger stations, however till now, EVs from different makers haven’t. A few charging engineers additionally expressed considerations over what they termed Tesla’s slim security margins vis-à-vis overcharging and excessive temperatures inside the charging circuit. The Tesla system “just isn’t unsafe,” stated one engineer, selecting their phrases fastidiously, “however there’s no margin for error.” It’s straightforward whenever you solely have 4 automobiles to cost, stated a battery professional, if you happen to’ve designed each the {hardware} and software program for each the charging station and the automobile. Guaranteeing correct security margins is now as much as every automaker adopting the NACS system, and so they could not land in the identical place as Tesla.
Half 1: How automakers’ disappointment in Electrify America drove them into Tesla’s arms
Subsequent, Half 3: Why Tesla’s NACS is unlikely to kill CCS
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