U.S. Looks to Japan for EV Quick-Charge Plug

[SilverLeaf]

One major hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is the time needed to recharge them. So-called quick chargers that do the job in about 30 minutes address that problem, but one major obstacle to the widespread adoption of quick chargers is the lack of a standardized plug.

That may soon change. Earlier this year the Japanese embraced a standard plug they call CHAdeMO. Now it appears the United States may follow suit. According to a report in Yomiuri Shimbun, the United States (presumably through the Department of Energy) will install 310 CHAdeMO-equipped quick-chargers in Arizona, California, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon and Washington. Those markets happen to be where the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are currently available.

As Yomiuri Shimbun notes, widespread adoption of CHAdeMO by the United States and Japan almost certainly would make it the world standard for 440-volt DC charging. The Nissan Leaf already features a CHAdeMO-ready socket. This is the first large-scale use of the standard outside of Japan, and speaks to the foresight of the Japanese automakers in rallying around a standard.

CHAdeMO, adopted by Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru and 154 other Japanese companies, is a riff on charge de move, or, roughly, “charge for moving.” It’s also a pun on the Japanese phrase “O cha demo ikaga desuka,” which means, “Let’s have a tea while charging.”

 

[SilverLeaf]

The article above is from Autopia on Wired.Com. This link is included below.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/12/u-s-looks-to-japan-for-ev-quick-charge-plug/

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Wake me up when they install Charger #2, after the locked-up one in Vacaville.

Lots and lots of talk talk talk from ECOtality et al about how they're going to install L2 chargers, L3 chargers, upgrade Avcon chargers, partner with BestBuy, partner with Arco, etc etc. All well and good, but at some point they have to stop printing press releases and start digging trenches.

Been the same song since June, and here's January around the corner, and I don't see a single public charger installed. At some point, credibility will require electrons.

 

[LakeLeaf]

+1

 

[turbo2ltr]

...in Arizona, California, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon and Washington.

Hmm, where have I heard this before?

 

[evnow]

This is just ev project. People who don't follow EVs closely (like ABG or Wired) just report it as new.

 

[MikeD]

Groundloop: Now that ETEC's Level 2 EVSE's have been UL Listed (as of 12/30/2010), there should be no good reason not to begin installation of those EVSEs.

By the way the CHAdeMO plug is also sometimes referred to as the TEPCO plug after its developer, Tokyo Electric Power Company.

I notice with interest that the original post does not mention the plug's competing standard being developed in this country by an SAE committee to extend the J1772 plug standard so that a single plug receptacle can be used for all levels, i.e. AC 120v Level 1 and 240v Level 2 and DC 480v Level 3 charging. See http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/earthobservationsSCC/IEEE_SAE_J1772_Update_10_02_08_Gery_Kissel.pdf for more info. This standard was not expected to be finalized until Jun 2011, so perhaps it is premature to consider it dead like this article implies.

 

[DarkStar]

Wake me up when they install Charger #2, after the locked-up one in Vacaville.

WAKE UP!

1st Public CHAdeMO DC Quick Charge Station in Portland, Oregon

 

[AndyH]

<snip>I notice with interest that the original post does not mention the plug's competing standard being developed in this country by an SAE committee to extend the J1772 plug standard so that a single plug receptacle can be used for all levels, i.e. AC 120v Level 1 and 240v Level 2 and DC 480v Level 3 charging. See http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/earthobservationsSCC/IEEE_SAE_J1772_Update_10_02_08_Gery_Kissel.pdf for more info. This standard was not expected to be finalized until Jun 2011, so perhaps it is premature to consider it dead like this article implies.

The linked doc is from 2008 - we have more current info in the forum: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=640

No, the SAE's J1772 Hybrid Task Force will likely continue until they've completed their standard. By that time, though, I expect CHAdeMO L3 to be the de facto standard making the SAE's project irrelevant.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Wake me up when they install Charger #2, after the locked-up one in Vacaville.

WAKE UP!

1st Public CHAdeMO DC Quick Charge Station in Portland, Oregon

Sorry, was thinking selfishly local. Second in California.
Or really, the first ECOtality/EV Project public install. That would be good.

 

[Nubo]

Wake me up when they install Charger #2, after the locked-up one in Vacaville.

Lots and lots of talk talk talk from ECOtality et al about how they're going to install L2 chargers, L3 chargers, upgrade Avcon chargers, partner with BestBuy, partner with Arco, etc etc. All well and good, but at some point they have to stop printing press releases and start digging trenches.

Been the same song since June, and here's January around the corner, and I don't see a single public charger installed. At some point, credibility will require electrons.

Part of the problem may be this very uncertainty over the final standard?