Rivian charging network

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cwerdna

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Rivian is building its own EV charging network, but with an adventurous twist
Work has already begun
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/08/rivian-is-building-its-own-ev-charging-network-but-with-an-adventurous-twist/

Hmm... it seems likely they may not bother installing CHAdeMO at their stations. And, it's unclear if the CCS stations will actually be usable by or blocked for non-Rivian vehicles.
 
That's very cool; a very targeted set of destination chargers. But I'm not sure why they would bother to install CHAdeMO at their stations; that would be a huge cost increase for almost no benefit to Rivian or their customers.
 
The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.

If fact it can be cheaper as even at the 200amp stations the Chademo cord doesn't need liquid cooling.
 
cwerdna said:
Rivian is building its own EV charging network, but with an adventurous twist
Work has already begun
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/08/rivian-is-building-its-own-ev-charging-network-but-with-an-adventurous-twist/

Hmm... it seems likely they may not bother installing CHAdeMO at their stations. And, it's unclear if the CCS stations will actually be usable by or blocked for non-Rivian vehicles.

Typical "best case scenario" speculative article. Rivian would be smart to allow all to charge since it would appear some locations would get limited use for years until Rivian can reach reasonable production numbers. As we know, the free for life model would be a mistake (Thank you Tesla for showing us that) but being exclusive would be a bigger mistake (thank you Tesla)

The more ideal situation is simply charging others more. Rivian provides charging at 50% off or whatever while others can either pay full freight or pay a fee for perks.

I will say that this "could" create a dicey company personna when you pull up to plug in with your Bolt/LEAF/Whatever and get a message; "Sorry this station is currently reserved for our Rivian customer slated to arrive shortly" :lol:
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.
Please back that up with links showing such. I doubt very much the incremental cost is "almost nothing".
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.

If fact it can be cheaper as even at the 200amp stations the Chademo cord doesn't need liquid cooling.
200 kWh? You talking about kW?

Concur w/jlv. Why deploy fewer plugs for your own vehicle by deploying ones that none of your vehicles are compatible with? It reduces the amount of redundancy and availability.
 
jlv said:
That's very cool; a very targeted set of destination chargers. But I'm not sure why they would bother to install CHAdeMO at their stations; that would be a huge cost increase for almost no benefit to Rivian or their customers.


Indeed, just the thing for people like me. I'm going to fire off an email to Subaru suggesting they do likewise, now that their BEV is closer to introduction.
 
I heard that the first or one of the first Rivian chargers will be in Salida, CO, as someone found the permit. Looks like a bunch of DC CCS chargers with four up to as much as 300 kW as well as some level 2. The permit or agreement with Salida lists the DC chargers as Rivian only but with the possibility of opening them up to other brands later. But the level 2 are going to be open to all EVs.

For me I don't think these charging networks being brand specific is doing EV adoption any favors. It would be like a Chevron only catering to Subaru. I realize it really would be like Subaru owning their own gas stations but that's as close as a real example as we could have, as I can't think of any gas stations owned by the car manufactures. Sure, It is great for Tesla or now Rivian owners, but I don't think it helps EV adoption as a whole. YMMV
 
Talk about cart before the horse. They haven't even sold any cars yet. Doing this feels like obsessing on the color of your new car before you even have the cash to buy it.

I imagine most can agree that having potentially competitive and disparate charging systems is a bad thing. Tesla has done it because they are the #1 EV brand, but nobody else should be trying. Rely on what's already around until you've at least sold some vehicles.
 
An initial map has surfaced, see below. I think these are there DC chargers not their destination chargers, which will be level 2.
If I'm reading things correctly they will be closed loop (Rivian only) for the DC chargers but the destination level 2s will be open to all.

rivian-adventure-network-map.jpg


https://www.slashgear.com/rivian-adventure-network-detailed-fast-exclusive-ev-chargers-take-supercharger-strategy-18664458/
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
By supporting Chademo,.you do open the usage to your road warrior Tesla owners that have the adapter.
I don't know what makes you think Rivian is supporting CHAdeMO.

Your delusion about Telsa owners saving CHAdeMO from it's demise in N.A., just makes me LOL. :lol:
 
Reading the various stories it is not my impression they will have CHAdeMO.

The level 3 network will be Rivian only, so it will surely be CCS. Why include a connector your customer can't use?

The destination network would likely be level 2 chargers only.
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
By supporting Chademo,.you do open the usage to your road warrior Tesla owners that have the adapter.

It would appear the network would run the same as the Tesla network. Charge access based on the car, not the plug. So it doesn't matter what kind of plug is used.
 
jlv said:
Your delusion about Telsa owners saving CHAdeMO from it's demise in N.A., just makes me LOL. :lol:
Yep

I drove up to Colorado last week and thought that a CHAdeMO adapter for our Tesla would be a handy thing to have in the car. I wasn't willing to buy one, so I asked the local 500+ member Tesla owner community local to me if I could rent one for a day. Not one person responded. This is a group of people that are committed to EVs and to Tesla advocacy, so I don't think I am too wrong is saying that the lack of response simply represented an overwhelming absence of this adapter in the community.
 
In Colorado we do have a few who have it in a group who do multistate road trips. A few in one of the clubs likes to do events in neighbouring states to promote Tesla and EVs. That said the vast majority of them I have interacted with do not have it and many have not heard of it. Even in the state there are places you can reach more easily with the adapter if you like to go way out which some of us do. I do agree most Tesla owners do not have an adapter and have not heard of it.
 
salyavin said:
In Colorado we do have a few who have it in a group who do multistate road trips. A few in one of the clubs likes to do events in neighbouring states to promote Tesla and EVs. That said the vast majority of them I have interacted with do not have it and many have not heard of it. Even in the state there are places you can reach more easily with the adapter if you like to go way out which some of us do. I do agree most Tesla owners do not have an adapter and have not heard of it.

I would agree. But I think it may change regionally. Here in BC you are somewhat limited where you can go with a Tesla EV if relying on Superchargers. However with a Chademo adapter you can pretty much go anywhere except the Alaskan Highway which will probably open up in the next year or two. We couldn’t have bought a Tesla if the adapter had not become available for the model 3. We don’t use ours a lot but it does get used depending on the routes we take.

Cheers.
 
webeleafowners said:
I would agree. But I think it may change regionally.
True for sure, but Canada (and more so BC and Quebec) is the exception to the rule that CHAdeMO is pretty useless and dying fast.

Colorado is a shadow of Canada, in the sense of 1, not yet having a well developed Supercharger network; and 2, its DCFC network is almost all government developed (in this case, related to VW money.) CCS is on top, and CHAdeMO is a half-paralyzed appendage that might be better than nothing if the adapter is cheap.

A Tesla to CCS1 adapter will be so much more useful, and it will put this sorry CHAdeMO side-show to rest.
Or Tesla can complete its plans for Superchargers in Alamosa and Telluride, and then I won't care one way or another about any adapter ;)
 
SageBrush said:
webeleafowners said:
I would agree. But I think it may change regionally.
True for sure, but Canada (and more so BC and Quebec) is the exception to the rule that CHAdeMO is pretty useless and dying fast.

Colorado is a shadow of Canada, in the sense of 1, not yet having a well developed Supercharger network; and 2, its DCFC network is almost all government developed (in this case, related to VW money.) CCS is on top, and CHAdeMO is a half-paralyzed appendage that might be better than nothing if the adapter is cheap.

A Tesla to CCS1 adapter will be so much more useful, and it will put this sorry CHAdeMO side-show to rest.
Or Tesla can complete its plans for Superchargers in Alamosa and Telluride, and then I won't care one way or another about any adapter ;)

Yah for sure. We are fine for the time being with the 50 KW limitation of the existing Chademo adapter. But if a manufacturer meets or beats with reliability a 100 kw CCS adapter we’ll sell our Chademo adapter. Right now our stops where we use the Chademo adapter are in places where we take lunch anyway so no real time lost.
 
GCR:
Rivian details membership program for electric trucks' charging access, connectivity

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-electric-trucks-charging-access-connectivity


. . . Per the company's website, the Rivian Membership includes unlimited LTE connectivity access, as well as unlimited free charging, including DC fast-charging on what the company calls the Rivian Adventure Network, and Level 2 AC charging at stations dubbed Waypoints.
In keeping with Rivian's outdoorsy branding, many of those charging stations will be located off the beaten path, encouraging owners to go on outdoor adventures. Both the R1T and its upcoming R1S SUV sibling top 300 miles of range.

In addition, Rivian said it would match all electricity used to charge customer vehicles with renewable-energy purchases. That includes home charging and charging at "partner network" sites, where the source of electricity is out of Rivian's direct control.

Many automakers offer roadside assistance, but Rivian is taking that concept a step further with Adventure Extraction, which sends a recovery vehicle should owners get stuck on an off-road trail. More conventional roadside assistance and Charge Assurance for drivers who get stuck too far away from a charging station, are also included.

"As our membership grows, we’ll continue adding benefits, including drive modes, enhanced vehicle capabilities, in-cabin content and gatherings at Rivian spaces and events," the company's website said.

It's worth noting that the terms and conditions section describes this as a "beta membership," implying that even the services launching now might not be set in stone.

Auxiliary batteries and truck-to-truck charging have long been mentioned as part of the tech Rivian is developing, so we'd be surprised not to see these tech pieces used by Rivian Membership.
 
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