By Mike Calise, President – Americas
Humans are designed to survive. We’re wired for immediate responses and innate fight-or-flight reactions against the many threats of the physical world. Waiting around for things to happen makes us feel vulnerable and uncomfortable. We’re programmed to make the most use of our time and optimize our resources for ultimate survival.
In the 21st century, we have entered a convenience-driven culture. The advent of on-demand transportation, same-day delivery, on-demand food delivery, movies, podcasts, videos, and instant stock transactions have cultivated a society that depends heavily on convenience. Comfortability, accessibility, and convenience is a requirement in consumption. We expect convenient and comfortable solutions in our daily lives, so why should we fuel our vehicles differently?
The Electric Revolution
Electric vehicles (EVs) are undoubtedly the future of transportation. Auto manufacturers are transitioning to all-electric vehicle lines, oil and gas companies are diversifying with investments in EV charging, and governments are restricting the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. These actions encourage renewable energy growth, with trillions of dollars in private and public funding earmarked for e-mobility. Electric transportation is here, and the blueprint for highly accessible charging infrastructure is already laid through the ubiquitous electrical grid. As we shift toward this new fuel economy, we have an opportunity to enhance the way we think and act about our vehicle-fueling experience.
A World of Opportunity
When the low-fuel light illuminates in your gas-powered vehicle, you react by searching for the nearest gas station. But what if your vehicle could efficiently refuel while you sleep, work, shop, eat, entertain, or partake in your daily life?
It’s now possible for you to install EV chargers anywhere with a grid connection and, in some cases, even off-grid, allowing you to better leverage your time. The gas station model that you take for granted will not likely go away, but you’ll also have the flexibility to seamlessly integrate charging into your daily destinations. You won’t have to think about charging in the future – it will be ever-present.
The Charging Culture
Society has grown accustomed to charging at home, work, and even on airplanes and in our cars. The EV charging experience can be like charging a cell phone. Home charging offers a level of convenience not possible with ICE vehicles. Talk to any EV driver, and you’ll quickly discover that the cost savings and comfort of charging from your home are some of the best perks of owning an EV. However, not everyone lives in a single-family home, and how many times have you forgotten to charge your phone?
We now have the capability to access electrons virtually anywhere we go – with the opportunity to treat EV charging the same way. Public charging provides everyone the opportunity to charge when and where they need it.
Getting Down to Business
Businesses’ demand for public EV charging presents a massive opportunity. On-site EV charging can increase the time spent near a business, boost property value, improve air quality, add a source of revenue, and enhance corporate sustainability initiatives. It also provides a fantastic customer amenity.
Companies like Starbucks and McDonald’s are strategically offering free Wi-Fi at brick-and-mortar locations to increase traffic. Indeed, some recent studies have shown that on-site charging can increase customer dwell time by up to 50 percent.
The Greed for Speed vs. the Need for Speed
In this culture of convenience, we demand immediacy. For a truly convenient experience, EV charging needs to be quick, reliable, and easy. This is the natural evolution of how technology ultimately serves our immediate response both in the vehicle’s performance and the instantaneous ability to charge everywhere – and it’s where direct current (DC) fast charging comes in. By fully recharging your vehicle in minutes, you can power up at dedicated charging depots at your favorite store, coffee shop, or other charging-friendly retailers. These experiences are here today for consumers. Retail locations, parks & beaches, charging Superhubs are rapidly adding on-site DC fast charging to provide drivers with the fast, reliable, and convenient charge they need.
Technology Efficiency and Convergence
While Henry Ford is often falsely credited with saying, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”, it illustrates how society often doesn’t know what to ask for in emerging technologies. For example, we didn’t know to ask for app-based ride-hailing, media streaming, on-demand transportation, a date from someone online, or instant gratification in the palm of our hand.
Steve Jobs noted that businesses should “…figure out what [customers are] going to want before they do.” The same holds for the e-mobility industry. People who charge at home also want freedom and flexibility. Expanding drivers’ options that best fit their needs, lifestyle, and comfort level will make EV charging more attractive.
Options breed confidence. When the first EV launched in 2010 in Japan, sales struggled. Drivers were apprehensive about this new technology; they could charge the car at home, but what would happen when they left the house? What if they wanted to travel outside their city? Or if they couldn’t get home in time to charge? These obstacles chipped away at driver confidence to the point where the manufacturer was compelled to invest in over 500 DC fast chargers between cities. This allowed drivers to make the transition to electric with the confidence that they wouldn’t get stranded.
Welcome to the Future
EV charging streamlines the process through more advanced technologies. Advancements like Plug and Charge allow drivers pull up to a charger, plugin, and automatically charge their card on file. No credit card reader, no radio-frequency identification (RFID) membership card, no smartphone application, and no hassle.
As transportation continues to electrify, the driver experience will continue to become more convenient and make our lives more efficient. The ability to charge anywhere with a grid connection will amplify the number of fuel points so EV drivers can “gas up” as easily as they would at a traditional fuel pump.
With continued developments in autonomous vehicles, automated charging, and more, the future of convenience is incredibly bright.
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Mike Calise is President of the Americas for Tritium, which provides DC fast-charging solutions. Tritium’s mission is to provide energy freedom to the masses by deploying DC charging everywhere, including city-to-city corridors and inner-city high-density populations and smart cities. Based in Torrance, CA, Mike is responsible for promoting and developing Tritium’s market share in the USA.
In 2013, Tritium launched the RT50. This 50kW charger created a pivotal shift in the industry by not only becoming the most compact direct current (DC) fast charger on the market, but also by becoming the first to achieve an IP65 rating. By achieving these milestones, Tritium opened the door for DC fast chargers to be installed in many new locations, environments, confined spaces, and conditions.
Since that time, Tritium’s product line has expanded but we’ve never forgotten our roots. By upholding the IP65 standard, Tritium can better protect our chargers’ integrity, produce a longer charger lifespan, and provide our customers with a charger built to withstand and thrive in some of the world’s harshest conditions. The IP65 rating enables Tritium to provide significant benefits to our customers, but what does it mean exactly?
Companies have long developed ways to keep contaminants from getting inside their products. Whether these contaminants are big, like tree branches, nuts, bolts, and fingers or small like dust, dirt, grease, snow, and water, companies have long realized that their products can perform better, last longer, and be more reliable if they’re protected from the world’s elements.
For many years, companies would claim that their product was ‘waterproof’ or ‘dustproof’, but there were no standards to define those claims. To prevent companies from misleading the public, a standard was needed to clarify what was meant when a product was described as waterproof, dustproof, etc.
To validate these “waterproof” or “dustproof” claims, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) developed the Ingress Protection (IP) code. The goal of this code is to clearly define levels of product protection from particles (big or small) or water, from gaining ingress (i.e., entering) your product.
The IP code is a system used to grade the resistance of an enclosure when exposed to particles (like dust) or liquid. The code always starts with “IP” followed by a number between 0 and 6 to indicate protection against foreign objects, then a number between 0 and 8 to indicate protection against water. So, when Tritium states that the RTM75 is IP65-rated, that means that the RTM75 has achieved an IP rating of “6” against particles and “5” against liquid.
The numbers in the IP code have clear definitions to indicate the level of protection in each category. For example, using the table below we can see that the Tritium RTM75 is not only dust-tight, but is also protected from water projected in jets. This level of added protection gives charging station owners peace of mind that their investment will be protected during inclement situations, but why else is it important?
As transportation continues to electrify, adequate electric vehicle (EV) charger availability will be required to meet charging demand. Unlike the traditional fuel station, EV charging has the luxury of being able to be installed anywhere with a connection to an electrical grid. This opens immense opportunity to install charging not only where EV drivers travel, but also where they work and live. The possibilities are truly endless as retail properties, hotels and motels, workplaces, mining and construction sites, homes and apartments, and anywhere else with a grid connection can immediately become a charging destination.
Many chargers on the market only have an IP54 rating or lower, meaning that the charger is not dustproof and is only able to withstand splashes of water. These chargers usually have vented openings to draw outside air into the charger to cool it. Since IP54-rated EV chargers draw air into the system but are not dust-sealed, they typically require dust and dirt filters to keep particles out of the electrical systems. And, like most filters, these need to be regularly changed, adding service costs. Similarly, since IP54 enclosures are only splashproof, they run the risk of suffering issues or even failure in the event of exposure to water or severe weather.
In markets where EV chargers are heavily deployed, early indications show that the combination of dust and moisture ingress can result in early ageing of the power electronics system, sometimes reducing the lifespan to as little as three years. Since a normal lifespan of an EV charger is around 10 years, that is a 70% reduction!
To truly meet driver demand, DC fast charging is not only necessary but required. EV drivers can’t always afford to leave their vehicle charging for many hours. They have places to go, people to see, and appointments to keep. A greater level of speed and convenience is required to enable longer trips, provide a safety net, and provide those who may not be able to access charging at home with the opportunity to go electric. And, as drivers we’re accustomed to the gas and petrol station experience, with the ability to fuel our vehicle in 10 minutes or less. DC fast charging provides all these things, while simultaneously untethering drivers from the fuel station experience.
Not only does DC fast charging provide the best charging solution along highways and corridors, but it has great potential to be integrated as part of daily life. Instead of the current fueling destination model used in the petroleum and gasoline industry, public charging provides the opportunity for a fill up anywhere. Whether you’re getting groceries, picking up dinner, visiting a friend or family, or even going to the doctor, you can plug your EV into a DC fast charger and leave with a full charge.
Since DC fast chargers can be installed anywhere, they also need to be built to thrive anywhere. Whether the property is on a beach, in the mountains, or in the desert, the charging solution needs to be able to withstand snow, rain, dust, wind, heat, cold, and any other environmental condition.
At Tritium, that’s why we have invested in achieving an IP65 rating for all our chargers. If a charger can be built sufficiently resilient and robust, EV drivers can feel more confident pulling up to a charging station, and charging station owners can rest assured knowing their investment is always online, furthering e-mobility around the world. By building and testing our chargers for the world’s toughest and most extreme conditions, we can better ensure that EV drivers can achieve a quick, efficient, and reliable charge every time they pull up to a Tritium charger.
Contact our sales team to learn more about Tritium’s chargers and the IP65 difference.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a slowing global economy, 2020 was a turning point for e-mobility. Electric vehicle (EV) sales showed resilience with a 6 percent increase during 2020, while total automotive car sales decreased by 25 percent. The 2020 global fleet of over 2.3 million EVs boosted the EV market share to 3.2 percent of the entire automotive industry worldwide.
This growth in EV adoption was fostered by the injection of industry investments and government mandates for clean transportation. The change was also enabled by improvements in charging infrastructure, including customer convenience with integrated payment options, connector standardization, scalable technology, and fleet electrification. As we look back on 2020 and forward to the new year, the future for e-mobility is incredibly bright.
Key 2020 Takeaways
There was a substantial rise in the accessibility to new capital by the major EV automakers as the EV market share grew, translating into a significant production expansion effort. For the first time on record, private-equity firms globally did more cleantech deals during 2020 than in oil and gas, according to PitchBook data as of early December.
Larger valuations of the future EV market size are expected to ease access to capital in the coming year.
Focus on Driver Convenience
The e-mobility industry made significant strides during 2020 to make things easier and better for the drivers. Perhaps most importantly, the ease of use of the technology is rapidly approaching the ease of filling up at a gas station.
For example, the development of Plug and Charge technology has emerged, a universal data sharing and communication protocol across system platforms. Plug and Charge enables EVs and charging equipment to communicate, authenticate, and bill customers via the charging cable. This technology provides drivers the freedom to pay their charge without the need for an RFID membership card, a smartphone application, or a credit card reader.
Introduction of Future-Proof Hardware
One significant evolution in 2020 EV charging was the Modular Scalable Charging (MSC) hardware platform to enable scalable electric vehicle charging networks. The MSC platform, developed by Tritium, provides customers with the flexibility to increase their charger’s power level as EV charging capabilities advance and “pay as you grow.”
Under MSC flexibility, charger power can be increased in 25kW increments, starting at 25kW and increasing to 350kW and beyond. This technology represents a future-proof, ‘no regret’ charging investment for businesses and fleets as they continue to scale up their charging infrastructure.
Fleet Electrification
The e-mobility market’s reach expanded beyond passenger vehicles during 2020 into classes like buses, trucks, and other vehicles. Fleet electrification is critical for energy freedom and provides a benefit for the end customer. While we await 2020 totals, the International Energy Agency reports that global sales of electric trucks hit a record in 2019 with over 6,000 units, while the number of models continues to expand.
According to a new report by Allied Market Research, the global electric bus industry was estimated at $18 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit $31 billion by 2027. This expansion would translate into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 percent from 2020 to 2027.
The future of fleet electrification is bright, with rising demand for electric buses including fuel-efficient, high-performance, and low-emission designs, increasingly stringent government rules and regulations for vehicle emissions, and a reduction in battery prices.
Looking Forward to 2021
Customer convenience will continue to increase in 2021 as EV charger companies build on scalable technology and Tritium uses the DC bus architecture to create more affordable and flexible e-mobility applications.
Chargers will get even faster and more efficient in power ratios to charge EVs more quickly. Some high power smart charging systems can power EVs to an 80 percent charge in 15 minutes on average and that number will improve over the near term. Additionally, we will continue to see a rise in fleet electrification and improvements in technology. There will be several focal points in the growth of the EV market this year.
Continued Fleet Electrification
A new study on EV range and fleet suitability found that 64 percent of fleet vehicles could be switched to a comparable fully electric or plug-in hybrid option for less money over the same seven-year service life. The Geotab study also found that for nearly 50 percent of fleet vehicles today, an existing battery electric vehicle is available that would be range-capable for over 98 percent of daily needs.
Companies looking to diversify their business model and think about the future and sustainability will rapidly embrace EV fleets this year.
No Regret, Future-Proof Charging Investments
More homeowners, business owners, and fleet managers will invest in EV charging infrastructure during 2021, thanks to more transparent utility rules on charging rates, rebates from government bodies for charging investment, and more evident economic gain.
And with scalable technology readily available, upgrading to higher power levels will be more cost effective for business owners globally.
Focus on Sustainable Energy Sources
There will be an industry effort to make EVs even more sustainable this year, including gains in battery recycling and repurposing. The use of renewables for generating charging electricity and high-capacity battery storage to retain that energy will amplify the industry effort.
Universal/Standard Connectors
Customer convenience is paramount, and drivers should have the flexibility to charge whenever and wherever they choose. For 240-volt AC home or public charging, the SAE J1772 connector type is the most common. With recent news of CHAdeMO-format charging being phased out by many auto manufacturers, Combined Charging System (CCS) format DC fast charging is leading the market and will continue to become the common standard.
Reduced Footprint and Size of Chargers
Chargers are entirely disconnected from the fuel grid, enabling the opportunity to install charging anywhere and everywhere. At the same time, more homeowners will opt to add a charging unit this year, more businesses will add charging infrastructure as the overall size, cost, and a smaller footprint is continuously reduced.
Continuing 2021 EV market growth presents a host of new opportunities to discuss charging infrastructure and requirements in the near future. We look forward to working with our partners, customers and EV drivers to continue revolutionising electric transportation and innovating the future.
Partially funded by the State of Utah and Rocky Mountain Power, newly installed DC fast-charging stations to expand charging availability for an iconic brand.
[Lindon, Utah, Oct. 7, 2020] — Tritium partnered with EV Structure to install 50kW DC fast chargers at one of the largest Harley-Davidson dealerships in the United States, Timpanogos Harley-Davidson of Lindon, Utah. The installation, funded by the State of Utah’s Workplace Electric Vehicle Charging Funding Assistance Program and incentives from Rocky Mountain Power, showcases Tritium’s RT50 DC fast chargers.
“The partnership with Tritium and EV Structure delivered reduced set-up costs and provided a fast and easy installation process for the RT50 chargers,” said Drew Mumford, the site manager at Timpanogos Harley-Davidson. “With charging beginning almost immediately, our customers and staff were able to utilize technology as a value added service for our dealership.”
Tritium’s robust data tracking system helps the local utility understand EV demand while providing Timpanogos Harley-Davidson with the proper tools to understand this new revenue stream. Tritium and EV Structure will look to partner on more projects in the future to help DC fast charging move into places where people live and work.
“This partnership is a game-changer for the future of e-mobility, giving EV drivers accessibility of charging their vehicles beyond the highways and high-volume traffic areas,” said Todd Ritter, CEO of EV Structure, “DC fast chargers offer a unique advantage, and we went with Tritium, because they provide high quality and stylistic charging units. Additionally, their user-friendly management platform offers 24/7 customer and technical support that goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
Tritium chargers are OCPP1.6 compliant, providing the freedom for Harley-Davidson to use EV Structure’s software solution to monitor and manage charging sessions locally via a cloud-based system. Additionally, Tritium provides 24/7 support systems to detect any failures with the charging units before they happen. In turn, Tritium’s technical support team can ensure that the system operates at its full potential even during high peak periods.
“At Tritium, we’re thrilled to be associated with Harley-Davidson, a company that is such a huge part of America’s automotive history,” said Mike Calise, Tritium’s President of the Americas. “Harley-Davidson offers ‘adventure and freedom of the soul.’ We’re proud to be supporting that vision by providing DC charging everywhere to enable Harley’s future e-riders to charge really fast and ride as far as their spirit takes them.”
About Tritium
Tritium is an industry leading technology solutions partner for charging infrastructure. We design and manufacture cutting-edge DC fast charging hardware and offer a range of innovative technology-engineered solutions for robust connectivity. Driven by a mission to provide energy freedom through a vision of DC charging everywhere, Tritium is pursuing a world where drivers can go as far as they want, wherever they want.
Tritium has deployed over 4,500 charging stations in 38 countries and provided over 600,000+ charging sessions. Their award-winning chargers have been installed across the globe for customers like Nissan, ENEL X, Honda, NASA Visitor Center, Topgolf, Circle-K, Harley-Davidson, IONITY, CalTech, Speedy’s convenience stores and many others.
With offices in the U.S., Australia and the Netherlands, Tritium is driving the global transition to e-mobility. For more information, visit https://www.tritium.com.au
About EV Structure
EV Structure is a pioneer in electrified transportation infrastructures. EV Structure designed, engineered, installed and now services over 70,000+ EVSE along with putting in the 1st charging stations in the history of the electric vehicle movement since 1998. EV Structure is a full electric vehicle charging integrator that is nationally staffed with licensed electrical engineering in all 50 states, electrical contractors in 28 sales, all 50 states for service technicians along with their own backend OCPP network and 1 of 5 national voluntary carbon credit aggregators. With today’s unstable utility grid demands, EV Structure is now Integrating off-grid DC fast charging with Hydrogen FuelCell technologies for true ZERO emissions electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The EV Structure Co. LLC and its sister companies The Electric HighWay Co. and Hydrogenstructure are based out of the engineering capital of the world, Pasadena, CA, with 7 offices nationwide and growing www.evstructure.com
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Tritium Media Contact:
Sarah Malpeli
408-806-9626 ext 6840
[email protected]
EV Structure Media Contact:
Todd Ritter
866-647-5638 x1
[email protected]
Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 20, 2019 – Tritium, a world leader in electric vehicle (EV) DC fast charging technology, has signed a deal to provide nine Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast chargers to Nissan, to help support the leading EV automaker’s sponsorship activities ahead of and during the UEFA Champions League Final in Spain.
The nine chargers – which can add 50km of range in just 10 minutes – will make up part of the Nissan & UEFA operations hub at the IFEMA event centre during the lead-up to the final, alongside 20 AC 22kW chargers.
The deal was announced at the Tritium Stand (#E9) at the EVS32 conference in Lyon, France.
Brice Fabry, Zero Emission & Ecosystem Director, Nissan, said: “The UEFA Champions League is a fantastic showcase for Nissan electric vehicles, and this year we will be doing more than ever to electrify the final in Madrid. Tritium are able to turn around a turnkey solution for charging infrastructure quickly, so we’re very happy to welcome them to the team.”
The Veefil-RT sports the world’s smallest physical footprint for a 50kW DC fast charger and can be installed within hours.
In addition, the chargers will be adapted to suit Nissan’s specific branding requirements for the event.
“We have dedicated staff who worked closely with Nissan’s design team to develop the branding and imagery required to maximise Nissan’s visibility during the event, and each charger will sport these ‘skins’ throughout,” said David Finn, CEO, Tritium.
“Nissan has been synonymous with electric vehicles and the Nissan LEAF has pushed E-Mobility to the forefront of the public consciousness. We look forward to helping Nissan stand out during their festivities throughout the week as they continue to drive the vision of an e-mobility future.”
At least two of the chargers will remain on-site following the final, with the remaining seven to be deployed by Nissan elsewhere in Spain.
About Tritium
Tritium is a technology company that designs and manufactures the world’s most advanced DC fast-charging equipment for electric vehicles (EV). Established in 2001 to provide power-electronic systems and battery energy-storage applications, Tritium became one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies with the launch of its first DC fast charger in 2014. Since then, Tritium has become a leading global DC fast charging (DCFC) supplier with installations in more than 29 countries. Tritium currently holds around 50 per cent of the world-leading market in Norway and around 15 per cent of the wider global market for 50kW fast chargers. Tritium customers include The NRMA, Chargefox, Charge.net.nz, EDF Lumins, Fortum, Grønn Kontakt, IONITY and Stromnetz. Tritium’s global headquarters and main manufacturing plant is in Brisbane, Australia. Additional sales and manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam and the Los Angeles region ensure attention to key markets in Europe and the Americas. For more, visit WWW.TRITIUM.COM.AU.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 20, 2019 – Tritium, a world leader in electric vehicle (EV) DC fast charging technology, has signed a new deal with IONITY to supply its Veefil-PK 350kW DC high power electric vehicle (EV) chargers for 120 new IONITY charging sites across Europe.
The contract with IONITY is Tritium’s largest-ever deal for its flagship Veefil-PKs and will see an average of four to six chargers installed per site across 23 countries in Europe, giving IONITY the largest and fastest DC high power charging network in the world.
The deal was announced at the Tritium booth (#9) at the EVS32 Symposium in Lyon, France.
IONITY CEO Michael Hajesch explains why the decision was taken to work with Tritium: “We were looking for an excellent strategic partner able to run with us from the start and scale up our operations in Europe. Tritium obviously fits the bill”.
IONITY is based in Munich and was founded in 2017; it is a joint venture of the BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group including Audi and Porsche.
The deal ensures that Tritium is now the largest supplier to the IONITY network; of the planned 400 sites across Europe, Tritium will supply its Veefil-PKs for at least 220 sites.
“IONITY has a vision for electric vehicle charging which mirrors ours; it’s not just about the speed of the charge but the experience for customers,” said David Finn, CEO and co-founder, Tritium. “These chargers will soon be ubiquitous along the highways of Europe and ensure that the increasing number of EV owners across the continent will be able to drive whenever and wherever they want.
“The sheer number of these chargers will all but eliminate range anxiety while enabling energy freedom and announces to the world that EVs are here to stay.”
Each Tritium high-power charger (HPC) can deliver 350kW of power for fast charging of modern EVs, which can add 350 kilometres of 220 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging. All will be equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) used by a wide range of vehicle manufacturers.
The deal includes 24/7 remote and on-site support, with the rollout of the next wave of chargers expected to be completed by 2020.
Currently, EV drivers have to pay an 8 Euro session fee when they want to charge at an IONITY station.
About Tritium
Tritium is a technology company that designs and manufactures the world’s most advanced DC fast-charging equipment for electric vehicles (EV). Established in 2001 to provide power-electronic systems and battery energy-storage applications, Tritium became one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies with the launch of its first DC fast charger in 2014. Since then, Tritium has become a leading global DC fast charging (DCFC) supplier with installations in more than 29 countries. Tritium currently holds around 50 per cent of the world-leading market in Norway and around 15 per cent of the wider global market for 50kW fast chargers. Tritium customers include The NRMA, Chargefox, Charge.net.nz, EDF Lumins, Fortum, Grønn Kontakt, IONITY and Stromnetz. Tritium’s global headquarters and main manufacturing plant is in Brisbane, Australia. Additional sales and manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam and the Los Angeles region ensure attention to key markets in Europe and the Americas.
By Kevin Pugh, country manager at Tritium.
It’s clear that the ubiquity of battery electric vehicles (EVs) is inevitable, and the data suggests mass uptake is closer than we think: registrations of EVs in the United Kingdom ARE UP 122 PER CENT THIS YEAR.
Auto industry commentators are increasingly discussing the EV future in the United Kingdom nowadays, citing improvements in affordability and infrastructure as the key drivers to uptake.
Among those oft-cited improvements in infrastructure is the Government’s plan to install AN ADDITIONAL 1,000 STREETLIGHT CHARGERS across the nation for £2.5m, while the vehicles themselves are becoming increasingly affordable in line with the evolution of the vehicle’s most expensive part, the battery, which is becoming much more efficient to manufacture.
But this is just half the picture, one which ignores what EV drivers actually require.
Most discussions centring around infrastructure in the UK repeatedly cite the aggregate number of chargers on our roads or in shopping centre carparks, for instance, in an effort to highlight that EV infrastructure is now available widely.
Yet what is rarely, if ever, discussed is the actual power of the charger i.e. how fast a typical charger can charge a vehicle. And it is the charger’s speed which is the critical piece in the EV infrastructure puzzle.
The government can roll out 1,000 streetlight chargers across Britain, but if these chargers are used the way most people charge their vehicles in public, charging from a lamp post will barely register a blip on the average EV battery.
Slow versus rapid charging: it’s night and day
Lamp post chargers are ideally suited for “slow, through the night” charging, where the vehicle is plugged in for many hours.
These will max out at about 3.6kW of charging – that may not mean much to the average person, but when we put it into the context of how long it will take to charge the average EV, the lack of power this entails is striking.
For every 10 minutes of charge, a 3.6kW lamp post charger will add just over two miles of range.
If we expand the numbers, it will take more than 90 minutes to add the amount of range that drivers in the UK commute on average every day – about 20 miles, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT.
But who has 90 minutes to spare to gain just 20 miles of range?
For some drivers this will address the issue of a lack of off-street parking (where drivers charge in their own garage or carport overnight), assuming they can find a parking spot near an equipped lamp post, of course.
But there remains a massive issue: that being, the lack of faster public charging coverage.
For those in need of a quick charge, such as fleets or taxis and those drivers who undertake significantly longer-than-the-average daily commute, streetlight chargers will be simply too weak to be relied upon for anything beyond through-the-night charging.
As commentators have discussed, the infrastructure availability is important as it goes a long way to addressing the larger concerns people have when it comes to deciding whether to purchase an EV or not: that is, where can they charge?
But just as pressing is the follow-up question: how long does it take to charge?
Unfortunately, discussions around the number of chargers only tell half the story and generally lack the finer details around what these chargers can do. In this case, performance of charging stations is far more important than proliferation.
More education, and certainly more context, is needed.
Compare a streetlight charger’s power to the following:
The conversation needs to shift up a gear and address power along with paucity
The UK can roll out an infinite amount of streetlight chargers and it will never address the biggest issue facing EV drivers, an issue which will slow or stifle EV uptake across the country: people considering purchasing an EV fear being stranded with nowhere to charge.
Or they fear being stuck charging from a wall socket during an emergency, having to wait too long to get enough range to get to where they need to be.
It’s simply unreasonable to rely on a network of streetlight chargers – in which drivers need to charge for 90 minutes to get just enough charge to undertake the average commute – to address the primary blocker to mass EV uptake.
Boris Johnson’s PRE-ELECTION PROMISE TO PROVIDE £500M to install a rapid 50kW charging network with a charger located within 30 miles of each citizen is more to the tune of what needs to happen to ensure the incoming wave of EV drivers are able to capably and regularly charge their vehicles.
Time will tell if this plan will come to fruition, but at least it’s now part of the discussion.
As a nation, from the government to the media, we need to look at the chargers we are rolling out as infrastructure, and consider factors such as what certain chargers can do, where they are ideally placed, what funding is needed and how quickly these chargers can add range.
Otherwise, the UK will be left with a lot of expensive and ineffective chargers.
Source: HTTPS://WWW.FLEETNEWS.CO.UK
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 11, 2019 – IONITY, a joint venture between Daimler, Ford, BMW Group and the Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG, has today unveiled its next generation charger, which has been engineered, industrialised and manufactured by world-leading electric vehicle (EV) DC fast charging technology specialists, Tritium.
The unique design – unveiled at the IAA 2019 Motor Show in Frankfurt – features a distinctive Halo atop the charger unit which will change the face of highways and charging areas across the continent. The luminating LED Halo emits enough light to remove the need for additional lighting around the charge site, while also providing a secure, welcoming experience for the recharging driver. Sitting atop a 2.6 metre (over 8.5 feet) tall unit, the charger will act as a beacon for drivers along highways across Europe.
Additionally, the unit features one of the most advanced human machine interface (HMI) screens available to EV drivers, offering seven languages, contactless pay options and a frictionless customer experience.
The first site for the new charger is slated for Greve, Denmark, with the subsequent rollout of the Halo chargers to expand across Scandinavia, particularly in Norway.
“We are confident our revolutionary next generation high power chargers will accelerate the breakthrough momentum of the expanding IONITY network,” said Michael Hajesch, CEO, IONITY. “The new design, featuring innovative lighting solutions, an advanced digital user interface and a class-leading engineered architecture will make charging an EV even more convenient for drivers.
“We chose to work with Tritium because of its engineering expertise and its ability to closely mirror our initial concept as much as possible, with the fewest compromises to the design and the ability to quickly turn around the project.”
The path to industrialising a revolutionary concept
The charger – conceived by IONITY and its partner Designworks – is the result of 18 months of research, engineering and testing from Tritium and a significant co-operative effort between the companies to keep to the original design as much as possible.
“The concept of the chargers was revolutionary from the outset, and with this comes the challenge to industrialise the concept in full,” said David Finn, CEO and co-founder, Tritium. “With few compromises, and thanks to some equally revolutionary and innovative engineering from our team and our expertise in small-footprint design, we proved to IONITY that we could make their vision possible.”
Tritium’s chargers, from its award-winning Veefil-RT 50kW DC Fast (Rapid) Charger to its Veefil-PK 350kW DCH High Power Chargers, benefit from the company’s leadership in small footprint. This leadership and flexibility ensured that Tritium could marry the design to the sleek, slim concept originally planned for IONITY.
As such, the industrialised charger features a nearly flush front-facing compartment. With no bumps, no exposed screws or pop rivets, the charging point is entirely smooth and demonstrates the incredible level of attention to detail in the charger’s design.
Further, the HMI is a one-of-a-kind single-pane-of-glass concept. It incorporates everything from the interface to elements of the charger plug, and its unique design will remain exclusive to the Halo charger. It offers users a service in seven different languages, making the process of charging a vehicle as simple and stress-free as possible, while customers of mobility service providers (MSPs) can pay directly via their contactless cards or tokens for tap-and-go payments.
“These are true state-of-the-art chargers which will revolutionise the look and feel of highways across the continent,” said Finn. “When people see these bright halos shining in the distance, they’ll know they can soon charge easily and at the fastest rate possible.”
The IONITY next-generation Halo charger launch follows a run of news featuring unique research, development, engineering and expansion across the globe from Tritium.
Earlier this year, the company LAUNCHED ITS TRITIUM E-MOBILITY INNOVATION CENTRES in Brisbane, Australia, and Amsterdam in order to cater for the increased demand in bespoke solutions such as those requested by IONITY.
Recently, the company announced it signed a deal in the United States with SSA Marine TO SUPPLY THE PORT OF LONG BEACH IN CALIFORNIA WITH 33 MODIFIED VEEFIL-PK 175KW DC HPCS – which will be equipped with a Quick Charging Connector (QCC) from Stäubli – to enable the fast charging of the port’s entire fleet of electric-drive terminal tractors automatically and simultaneously. The project represents the largest automated vehicle charging program at any port in the US.
Last year, the company announced it was receiving a portion of $3.2 million in federal funding awarded to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) by the Department of Energy, to develop an extreme fast-charging system that can connect directly to the distribution grid. The EPRI allocated about US$400,000 for Tritium to develop a custom version of its Veefil-PK high-powered charging head, along with providing input for system design and testing.
Form follows function
The next-gen IONITY chargers are capable of 350kW DC charging and can add 350km/220mi of range to an EV in 10 minutes.
IONITY recently signed deals with Tritium which ensures that Tritium’s chargers – a mix of the existing Veefil-PK installations and soon the next-gen Halo charger – will be installed at 220 of the planned 400 sites across Europe, with up to six chargers to be installed at each site.
“IONITY has a clear vision for the future of EV charging, and the sheer number of chargers and the speed at which they can charge an EV will all but eliminate range anxiety in Europe,” said Finn. “The biggest hindrance to the ubiquity of EVs across the globe is the availability of fast and ultra-fast charging, but IONITY’s network ensures that EV drivers will be able to drive whenever and wherever they want.”
In all, IONITY’s network will establish 2,400 charging points across Europe, enabling hassle-free pan-European EV travel. The 350kW charging network is future-proofed and ensures that e-mobility will be a convenient, reliable and everyday experience.
IONITY has teamed up with site partners across Europe ensuring that more than 90 per cent of the planned IONITY network has already been covered.
About Tritium
Tritium is a technology company that designs and manufactures the world’s most advanced DC fast-charging equipment for electric vehicles (EV). Established in 2001 to provide power-electronic systems and battery energy-storage applications, Tritium became one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies with the launch of its first DC fast charger in 2014. Since then, Tritium has become a leading global DC fast charging (DCFC) supplier with installations in more than 29 countries. Tritium currently holds around 50 per cent of the world-leading market in Norway and around 15 per cent of the wider global market for 50kW fast chargers. Tritium customers include The NRMA, Chargefox, Charge.net.nz, EDF Lumins, Fortum, Grønn Kontakt, IONITY and Stromnetz. Tritium’s global headquarters and main manufacturing plant is in Brisbane, Australia. Additional sales and manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam and the Los Angeles region ensure attention to key markets in Europe and the Americas. For more, visit WWW.TRITIUM.COM.AU.
For Tritium Media Inquiries:
Cameron Wells, Public Relations
P: +61 2 9929 7533
E: [email protected]
About IONITY
IONITY is headquartered in Munich and was founded in 2017; it is a joint venture of the BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, and the Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG. The goal of the joint venture is to build an extensive and reliable 350 kW High-Power-Charging network (HPC) for electric vehicles in Europe to make comfortable long-distance travel a reality. IONITY has attractive national and international locations through its strong partners. IONITY is an internationally registered trademark.
IONITY GmbH
Paul Entwistle
Public Relations
Mobile +49 151 68 91 70 73
Email: [email protected]
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