$9900 Nissan Level III chargers come to the US

[lne937s]

Just saw this in my twitter feed
http://nissannews.com/newsrelease.d...itomo-bring-low-cost-electric-car-quick&mid=1

11.10.2011 , HONOLULU

NISSAN, SUMITOMO BRING LOW-COST ELECTRIC-CAR QUICK CHARGER TO U.S. MARKET


- New charger ‘fills’ Nissan LEAF in under 30 minutes -

Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) today announced that it is bringing an innovative, low-cost DC quick charger for electric cars to the U.S. market. The DC quick charger is being launched as part of a global collaboration with Sumitomo Corporation, with the first installations planned for early 2012.

Nissan and Sumitomo also announced that they are looking to Nissan North America’s preferred home charging station partner AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) to be their wholesale and retail distributor, as well as the preferred provider for U.S. installation services.

Nissan announced the development at a press conference associated with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Honolulu, where Nissan also is offering test drives of the all-electric Nissan LEAF, the only 100 percent electric car designed for the mass market. The new DC quick charger can support all plug-in vehicles capable of quick charging on the CHAdeMO standard, including the Nissan LEAF which is available to U.S. consumers equipped with an on-board quick-charging port.

The starting price for the charger will be $9,900, about a third of the cost of models available on the global market today. The quick charger will come in two different models: a version for indoor use, designed to help accommodate fleets such as daily rental cars; and an outdoor model, which is specifically designed for public and commercial charging uses – such as public spaces, corporate campuses, and retail centers. Nissan and Sumitomo Corporation, together with its U.S. subsidiary Sumitomo Corporation of America, currently are taking pre-orders for the charger, with an online ordering system launching in January 2012. AeroVironment will help manage installation and distribution.

“This charger is the first of its kind, and it’s truly revolutionary,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, sales and marketing, NNA. “A low-cost DC quick charger unlocks the potential for unprecedented electric vehicle use and adoption. We anticipate thousands of these chargers will be installed across the country, enabling electric cars like the Nissan LEAF to be driven for even greater distances and durations.”

Nissan Motor Co. previously announced joint promotion of the DC Quick charger with Sumitomo Corporation in US market. The newly developed DC quick charging unit retains the high performance of current quick chargers but is nearly half the size – making for a more compact footprint and easier installation. Through this new charger, which operates on a 480v current, charging time for the all-electric Nissan LEAF will be under 30 minutes, from a fully depleted state to 80-percent charged.

 

[GeekEV]

Nice! That's a pretty reasonable price. I wonder if it could run off 240v, etc...

 

[TonyWilliams]

No contact info !!!

 

[TomT]

That should insure that it gets screwed up and over priced...

"Nissan and Sumitomo also announced that they are looking to Nissan North America’s preferred home charging station partner AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) to be their wholesale and retail distributor, as well as the preferred provider for U.S. installation services."

 

[GeekEV]

If we buy one for Vacaville, will they replace the closed one for us? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[KeiJidosha]

Nice! That's a pretty reasonable price. I wonder if it could run off 240v, etc...

"Through this new charger, which operates on a 480v current, charging time for the all-electric Nissan LEAF will be under 30 minutes, from a fully depleted state to 80-percent charged. "

 

[GeekEV]

Granted, that's it's "normal" operating voltage. Many such devices can operate on a variety of power configurations, amperages, etc. I wouldn't expect them to get into such technical details in a press release, so it's entirely possible that this one does too and they just didn't mention it. Hence my wondering...

 

[mbutter]

If done by AV: $9900 plus another $20,000 for installation (plus permit) :lol:

 

[DrillbabyDrill]

If done by AV: $9900 plus another $20,000 for installation (plus permit) :lol:

Seriously though, what does it take to change the transformer from the pole if you need 480v? Do commercial buildings already have this type of voltage setup? If not, it seems like that would be an added expense.

 

[TickTock]

The kicker will be if it's three phase or single phase. A lot of people have 200A 240V sub panels for their welding, etc. But three phase is much more uncommon in a household. If it's single phase, this is going to be really tempting to a lot of homeowners even if it doesn't make financial sense (cents?).

 

[walterbays]

If it's single phase, this is going to be really tempting to a lot of homeowners even if it doesn't make financial sense (cents?).

It could be really tempting to a lot of condominium owners. Having the house, garage or parking space, and utility meter in three different places can make L2 installations challenging. But if 4 people each owned 1/4 of an L3 it might make financial sense.

 

[mitch672]

If done by AV: $9900 plus another $20,000 for installation (plus permit) :lol:

Seriously though, what does it take to change the transformer from the pole if you need 480v? Do commercial buildings already have this type of voltage setup? If not, it seems like that would be an added expense.

Have you ever done any commercial electrical work? a 480V 3 phase transformer installation is first of all a Padmount, meaning it need a utility pole nearby to run the dual 4" conduit to, or it needs an underground feed. Padmount transformers need a "ground grid" installed around the perimiter of the transformer with grouding rods driven to 8', at least 4 to 6 of them, then a copper wire connecting them all at the top, welded to it (there are special kits to do this welding).

a typical padmount transformer is going to run $15-20K minimum for electrical work, minimum. Then you have to either convince the utility to supply the transformer, they generaly want to analyze the payback, and if its too long, you have to contribute to its cost. Also, you need land to put this on, and someone has to pay for the power.

there are very few pole mounted 480V 3 phase setups, there may have been in the past, now its all pad mounts.

only commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet in general have 480V (to run their lighting on 277V, which is more efficient than 120/208), or if the business has a lot of motor loads/elevators that run on 480V. 480V is not that common unless you are talking about large commercial developments/buildings, or malls.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

sounds like we are starting to get some movement here.

 

[TonyWilliams]

a typical padmount transformer is going to run $15-20K minimum for electrical work, minimum. Then you have to either convince the utility to supply the transformer, they generaly want to analyze the payback, and if its too long, you have to contribute to its cost.

My local contractor quoted me a number far lower than that (yes, I've already priced out 480v "typical" installs).

The key is finding the existing transformer in your planning.

 

[Valdemar]

Does anyone seriously think this will help to improve the situation with the QC charging infrastructure in the next couple of years? What I see is that very few businesses are willing to invest even in L2, which is way less expensive than L3. I don't blame them, the number of EVs is very low so why would they spend money on something that will not provide any benefit near term.

 

[davewill]

Does anyone seriously think this will help to improve the situation with the QC charging infrastructure in the next couple of years?

Lowering the bar on install cost can only help...and EV sales is only going to accelerate, especially when the "i" starts to ship.

 

[Herm]

Does anyone seriously think this will help to improve the situation with the QC charging infrastructure in the next couple of years?

Not in the US, but it will help in small countries with highly taxed gas.. the only way we will get a QC network in the US is if the gov pays for it.

Are you willing to spend $10 every week to get your electric car QC?.. or just once every couple of months?, or are you one of those that think $10 is too much?

 

[Valdemar]

.. the only way we will get a QC network in the US is if the gov pays for it.

That's what I'm getting at. EV will not become mainstream any time soon, despite what optimists say, and as such there will be no incentive for private sector to invest into chargers. Underdeveloped charging infrastructure will negatively affect EV sales, it is almost a vicious cycle and w/o influx of government money we won't see many chargers appearing everywhere.

Are you willing to spend $10 every week to get your electric car QC?.. or just once every couple of months?, or are you one of those that think $10 is too much?

I'd definitely use QC if it allowed me to extend the area where I can get to on my Leaf, provided it was reliable and redundant. I wouldn't pay more than the price of gas however, and I wouldn't use QC on a daily basis, but it would let me to take on those longer weekend trips.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

$10 for a qc is a bargain

 

[mitch672]

... snip I wouldn't pay more than the price of gas

"more than the price of gas", thats a pretty open ended statement, isn't it?

The price of going 80-100 miles in a Prius is 2 gallons of gas @ 50MPG, or about $7.00 with gas at $3.50/gallon
If we are talking about going 80-100 mles in a typical 20MPG car, thats 4-5 gallons of gas, or more like $14.00-$17.50

If its a choice of taking the Leaf, and getting a quick charge, to allow you to not use a gasoline car for a trip, I think thats worth a premium, over just the cost of gas, isn't it?