ECOtality Installs First Blink® DC Fast Charging Station

[jamesanne]

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ECOtality Installs First Blink® DC Fast Charging Station at Portland Fred Meyer
DC Fast Chargers key to expanding range of electric vehicles

PORTLAND, Ore. – Monday, October 24, 2011 – Alongside Oregon elected officials and electric vehicle (EV) advocates, ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, today celebrated the Company’s first Blink® Direct Current (DC) Fast Charge installation at the Hollywood Fred Meyer store in Portland, Oregon. The UL-listed Blink DC Fast Charger provides the fastest EV charging rates currently available and can charge a Nissan LEAF to 80 percent capacity in under 30 minutes.

“The Blink DC Fast Charger provides electric vehicle owners a faster and more convenient method to charge and is critical to extending the driving range of EVs,” said Don Karner, President, ECOtality North America. “This installation at the Hollywood Fred Meyer in Oregon marks the start of the Blink DC Fast Charger rollout, as we begin deploying these stations over the upcoming months in EV Project markets. ECOtality is excited to partner with local stakeholders in this first step toward the full electrification of the nation’s transportation network with this advanced charging technology.”

“With a third of all oil burned in cars, electric vehicles will play a key role in breaking America’s addiction to oil and giving us back control over our own economy,” said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley. “Today’s installment of a fast charging station at the Hollywood Fred Meyer is a step in the right direction to get more electric cars on the road. I’m thrilled that Oregon is a leader in electric vehicles and I look forward to helping more Oregonians say ‘goodbye’ to gas stations.”

The Blink DC Fast Charger is rated at 60 kW (200-450 VDC, up to 200A) and provides a quick and safe method of charging EVs. Ideally suited for high-traffic commercial locations and major transportation corridors, the dual-port charger features two CHAdeMo compliant EV charging connectors and provides an intuitive connector dock for storage and protection. The charger features two interactive touch screens and a 42” color display for media and messaging. With real time communication capabilities, the Blink DC Fast Charger features an internal energy meter, which supports energy usage data evaluation.

"We are witnessing a growing demand for electric vehicles, and want to provide a service that meets our customers' needs," said Michael Ellis, president of Fred Meyers Stores. "We're excited to partner with ECOtality and be a part of the development of this critical network."

Working closely with the local utility, Pacific Power, and food retail chain, Fred Meyer, the installation is the first deployed within The EV Project and one of the first fast charge locations open to the public in the nation. The Hollywood Fred Meyer location was chosen using criteria developed through the Micro-Climateâ„¢ process, which takes into account a variety of factors including traffic patterns, regional attractions, and retail hubs, as well as the input from many regional partners.

“Pacific Power shares Fred Meyer’s commitment to improve our communities and the lives of everyone living in them,” said Pat Egan, vice president of customer and community affairs for Pacific Power. “We applaud the company’s dedication to sustainability and are pleased that Fred Meyer and ECOtality chose the Hollywood District as a site for the first publicly available Blink DC Fast Charge facility in Pacific Power’s service area.”

ECOtality is the project manager for The EV Project, and is tasked with supervising the construction of the largest deployment of EV infrastructure to date. The $230 million public-private initiative is funded with a $114.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The EV Project includes 16 states and major metropolitan areas, and will result in the installation of over 14,000 charging stations, over the course of three years.

 

[drmanny3]

I just got a PR notice from them about this installation. What is really cool is that they used two CHAdeMo compliant EV charging connectors. The more of these that are installed the more likely a defacto standard is set. We can hope.
Manny

 

[Randy]

It was UL tested and approved with the 2 Chademo connectors, so that's how they have to manufacture and install them.

If / when the SAE combo connector gets approved and moves forward, ECOtality would have to resubmit new versions of the 3 DC Fast Charger models that were UL tested / approved and have them re-tested and approved all over again (which is very time consuming, not to mention costly).

I think it will quite some time before that process can occur, so it's Chademo...

Randy

 

[Spies]

I do like the two cable design and combine that with the fact that the Leaf has the connector on the front of the vehicle allows two Leafs to pull in nose to nose and plug in. This way when the first Leaf finishes charging the second Leaf should immediately start charging without any down time. This also allows that first Leaf to pull out and leave room for a third Leaf and the process continues. At least I believe that is the theory. I am still glad Nissan choose to put the charging sockets on the front of the vehicle as opposed to the sides like everyone seems to be doing.

 

[drmanny3]

I understand that this unit can charge two cars at the same time. So you could park next to the car being charged and assuming that you are there when it finished you could then pull the unit from one car and attach to the other.
Manny

 

[Drivesolo]

Awesome! I can't wait to this this out... but unfortunately they are gonna have to build 2 or 3 more along the I-5 corridor between Seattle and Portland before I can get down there to give it go.

I may have missed it somewhere in the article, but what is the rate and/or fee that Blink/Fred Meyer charges us that unit?

 

[Spies]

I understand that this unit can charge two cars at the same time. So you could park next to the car being charged and assuming that you are there when it finished you could then pull the unit from one car and attach to the other.
Manny

Hmm, that is not what I remember reading before but of course if that is the case it would be even better! I doubt it though since the unit at least according to this press release is rated at 60 kW which is what a typical single connector CHAdeMO unit would be rated and if that was to be split between the two connectors it would charge half as fast.

 

[richard]

I understand that this unit can charge two cars at the same time. So you could park next to the car being charged and assuming that you are there when it finished you could then pull the unit from one car and attach to the other.
Manny

Not at the same time. My understanding is that two cars can be plugged in at the same time. When one completes charging, the other one starts.

 

[mwalsh]

Not at the same time. My understanding is that two cars can be plugged in at the same time. When one completes charging, the other one starts.

That was my understanding too.

 

[DarkStar]

I may have missed it somewhere in the article, but what is the rate and/or fee that Blink/Fred Meyer charges us that unit?

There is currently no fee associated with the use of these Blink stations.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Great news! I think I'll drive over to our potential first Blink DC charger install in San Diego and get an update.

 

[MikeD]

It would be of interest to Leaf owners for someone to actually charge a Leaf from ~0% SoC to 80% (or even other approximate SoC values) and report the time required. It would also be relevant to give the outside temperature (and probably the voltage to the charger which may vary between QCs) ...

I just used an Eaton QC yesterday to charge from ~50% SoC to ~80%, and it took 30 minutes (~6.2 kWh used(?)).. The QC was drawing(?) ~70a at the beginning and gradually declined to ~12a at the end (input voltage ranged from 394v to 392v if I recall correctly). Temperature was around 70 degrees (+ or - 5).

 

[evnow]

So, may be, before my lease is up, they will install in Seattle area too. With any luck - I may even be able to go to Portland !

 

[LEAFfan]

I understand that this unit can charge two cars at the same time. So you could park next to the car being charged and assuming that you are there when it finished you could then pull the unit from one car and attach to the other.
Manny

Not at the same time. My understanding is that two cars can be plugged in at the same time. When one completes charging, the other one starts.

That is correct! Two can be plugged in at the same time, but only the first car will be able to charge.
Btw, the OR QC install was actually the SECOND;Phoenix has the first Blink install, it just hasn't gone online yet. :lol:

 

[DarkStar]

It would be of interest to Leaf owners for someone to actually charge a Leaf from ~0% SoC to 80% (or even other approximate SoC values) and report the time required. It would also be relevant to give the outside temperature (and probably the voltage to the charger which may vary between QCs) ...

I just used an Eaton QC yesterday to charge from ~50% SoC to ~80%, and it took 30 minutes (~6.2 kWh used(?)).. The QC was drawing(?) ~70a at the beginning and gradually declined to ~12a at the end (input voltage ranged from 394v to 392v if I recall correctly). Temperature was around 70 degrees (+ or - 5).

30 minutes to go from 50% to 80%? That doesn't sound right. Are you going off the timer on the DC Quick Charger? That timer isn't a calculated number until "done" it is just the maximum amount of time the DC Quick Charger will operate before it automatically turns off.

From 0% it will take about 25 minutes to get to 80% and another 20 minutes to go from 80% to 100%.

 

[abasile]

From 0% it will take about 25 minutes to get to 80% and another 20 minutes to go from 80% to 100%.

I know you've had access to a QC in Portland. Did you personally measure those charge times? Or could it be that it takes 25 min. to charge from "low battery warning" (~ 17%) to 80%? I've heard conflicting information as to exactly what that "under half an hour to 80%" refers to.

 

[DarkStar]

From 0% it will take about 25 minutes to get to 80% and another 20 minutes to go from 80% to 100%.

I know you've had access to a QC in Portland. Did you personally measure those charge times? Or could it be that it takes 25 min. to charge from "low battery warning" (~ 17%) to 80%? I've heard conflicting information as to exactly what that "under half an hour to 80%" refers to.

I didn't use a stopwatch, however my experience using the DC Quick Charger matches what I've been told (and quoted above). I've been as low as 6 miles on the guess-o-meter when plugging into the DC Quick Charger and reached 80% in 20 minutes, then I immediately restarted the charge and went from 80% to 99% in another 20 minutes.

 

[MikeD]

DarkStar: I stand by my previous post -- I sat in my Leaf beside the charger during the entire charging session. The time displayed on the timer counted down from 1 hour (consistent with a maximum 60 minutes of charging as you said), but I believe I also used my watch as confirmation. There was a percent charge that was displayed on the QC that was confusing in that although initially it showed 50% (that I agreed with from my Leaf's 6 bar display), but near the end it was very close to 100% (I arbitrarily stopped it it at 30 minutes), yet my car's SoC display was only 10 bars (which is consistent which an 80% charge).

There is also no getting around the total kWh value of only 6.2, which is roughly consistent with 30% of 24kWh.

Perhaps the results would have been better if a higher voltage had been made available to the QC...

 

[DarkStar]

DarkStar: I stand by my previous post -- I sat in my Leaf beside the charger during the entire charging session. The time displayed on the timer counted down from 1 hour (consistent with a maximum 60 minutes of charging as you said), but I believe I also used my watch as confirmation. There was a percent charge that was displayed on the QC that was confusing in that although initially it showed 50% (that I agreed with from my Leaf's 6 bar display), but near the end it was very close to 100% (I arbitrarily stopped it it at 30 minutes), yet my car's SoC display was only 10 bars (which is consistent which an 80% charge).

There is also no getting around the total kWh value of only 6.2, which is roughly consistent with 30% of 24kWh.

Perhaps the results would have been better if a higher voltage had been made available to the QC...

Since 6 bars is actually closer to 60%, adding 30% in makes sense that the display would show almost completely full (around 90%). I would expect that starting from around 60-65% being plugged in to a DC Quick Charger for 30 minutes should get you to 90-95% SOC. Unfortunately, without an accurate SOC gauge we don't really know where we start and end at.

 

[richard]

Great news! I think I'll drive over to our potential first Blink DC charger install in San Diego and get an update.

Where's this going to be, Tony?