Uncategorized

Tesla Lets Other E.V. Brands Use Their Super Chargers

Tesla
A Tesla Inc. Model S electric vehicle charges at a Supercharger station in Rubigen, Switzerland, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. Elon Musk has captivated the financial world by blurting out via Twitter his vision of transforming Tesla into a private company. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

 

 

 

Tesla New Pilot Project

Tesla has recently opened up a small sample of its proprietary super chargers to the general public including those who drive other brands of E.V.s. This small pilot project starts out with 10 Superchargers being “unlocked” for general use in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has the most charging points out of any country in the EU. In fact Holland alone makes up roughly one third of the total charging stations present in the EU. For many years now regulations have been inching closer to forcing charger manufacturers to be compatible with all major EVs. In the USA Tesla still uses its proprietary charger but in Europe Tesla has started to use CCS connectors. Granted this port doesn’t work with all EV.s. But those who use a different port such as Nissan have already made it clear they will transition to CSS ports too.

Image Source Electrive.com

How To Charge Your EV At A SuperCharger

Unfortunately the pilot program comes with a lot of hoops you’ll to navigate through. Firstly it’s only 10 chargers, this is done as Tesla want to keep an eye on pricing, congestion and other properties before committing to unlocking their chargers. Next is that to take part you have to live in the Netherlands. At least for now. Then you will have to install their Tesla app and use that to start and stop their charging. Other EV drivers will have to add additional information such as exactly what charging cable their using as at this moment to super chargers cannot automatically retrieve that information from any non Tesla car.

 

This system comes with a lot of caveats. Firstly non Tesla drivers will charged more for the inconvenience of having to make more compatible charging stations. The second and bigger concern is one that existing customers have. They are worried now that more brands can make use of the same charging spots that the idle fees will rise. For those who are unfamiliar, leaving your car plugged in passed 100% charge incurs an idle fee to encourage giving the space up to somebody who needs charge. Tesla announced they will be watching all the data very closely. As much as they have pioneered EVS for a more sustainable future, they are no in the money losing business. For more info on how sustainable EVs are, click here: Electric Car Batteries, Are There Enough Resources

Why Aren’t All Chargers Compatible

Electric vehicle (EV) chargers can be incompatible for a number of reasons. Here are a few of the most common reasons:

  1. Connector Types: There are different types of connectors for EV charging, and not all chargers are compatible with all connector types. For example, the CHAdeMO fast charging standard used by some Japanese EVs is not compatible with the CCS charging standard used by most EVs sold in the United States.
  2. Power Capacity: Different EV chargers have different power output capacities, and some vehicles may not be able to accept the maximum power output of a particular charger. For example, some older EVs may not be able to accept the high power output of a newer, high-speed charging station.
  3. Communication Protocols: EV chargers and vehicles must communicate with each other to ensure safe and efficient charging. Different manufacturers may use different communication protocols, which can make some chargers incompatible with some vehicles.
  4. Geographic Differences: EV chargers may be designed for use in different geographic regions, which can impact their compatibility. For example, a charger designed for use in Europe may not be compatible with a vehicle designed for use in the United States.
  5. Age and Compatibility with Standards: As EV technology and standards evolve, older chargers may become incompatible with newer vehicles or newer charging standards.

To help mitigate these issues, there have been efforts to establish standardized connectors and communication protocols for EV chargers. For example, the CCS (Combined Charging System) standard is becoming more widely adopted, which can help to reduce incompatibilities between chargers and vehicles.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *