Finding space for EV charging infrastructure in Ireland’s dense and compact cities, towns, and villages can be a challenge. Street parking is limited and many residents don’t have access to car parks outfitted with direct current (DC) electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers. EasyGo, has teamed up with Ireland’s leading telecommunications company, eir, to find a solution. eir is working with EasyGo to convert hundreds of former telephone booth locations to DC fast charging locations. EasyGo chose Tritium’s 50-75kW all-in-one, modular DC fast chargers to get the job done and serve the needs of drivers.
EasyGo is the largest private car charging network operating in Ireland. It hosts and operates more than 3,000 chargers throughout the country and has more than 35,000 subscribers. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Maynooth, Kildare. EasyGo’s mission is to provide EV drivers with the network they need to make sustainable transport a reality. EasyGo has approximately 30 employees and offices in Belfast and Cork. EasyGo are supported by Rubicon, one of the world’s leading investment banking firms focused solely on the infrastructure, energy, and utilities sectors.
According to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), about 1 out of every 7 cars sold in Ireland in 2022 were fully electric. Ireland needs a network of fast chargers to keep up with growing demand. Additionally, transport accounts for one-third of Ireland’s energy-related CO2 emissions so increasing adoption of EVs is a key aspect in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan.
Ireland’s eir phone booth locations are great for building that network, but they were never meant to have a large footprint. When EasyGo was tasked with converting the spaces into EV charging sites, they needed an all-in-one charger with a compact footprint that could be easily installed in the same space as a typical phone booth. The chargers would also need to provide reliable, fast charging capable of recharging an EV in a matter of minutes to maximize charger usage.
EasyGo chose Tritium’s RTM compact and modular 50-75kW DC fast chargers. Two RTM chargers can easily fit in the space formerly occupied by a single phone booth. The charger is sealed against the elements (IP65 rated), is liquid cooled, and is modular which means it can be easily upgraded, maintained, and serviced. “The RTM is the perfect solution for tight spaces like the former eir phone booth plots,” said Chris Kelly, Founder and Technical Director of EasyGo. “And its modular design lets us configure it based on site power availability—some sites can handle 75kW chargers, others 50kW. The RTM gives us the flexibility to spec the right charger for the location.”
EasyGo ordered more than 200 Tritium RTM chargers to install at sites around Ireland. The chargers will be configured to deliver 50kW or 75kW based on site power availability.
EasyGo and eir launched their new program in May 2022 and installed Tritium chargers at 70 locations in the counties of Offaly, Mayo, Cavan, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Tipperary. EasyGo are actively engaged with other local authorities to identify 120 additional locations across Ireland to install new Tritium DC fast chargers, and this program will be delivered at zero cost to county councils.
“Electric vehicles are a critical part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan which sets out a target of almost one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030,” said eir CEO Oliver Loomes. “We are proud to partner with EasyGo and each of these county councils to assist in the installation of EV charging points across the country. This new infrastructure will benefit the community the way the public payphone service once did. Today, EasyGo and eir are in discussion with county councils across the country, and we hope others will follow this lead. By replacing unused infrastructure with fast EV charging, we are helping to make the transition to electric vehicle ownership a viable alternative for people across Ireland.”
Tritium’s stand-alone RTM75 50kW-75kW DC fast charger is perfect for retail environments or anywhere a compact, all-in-one charger is required.
During the past few years, the global electric vehicle (EV) industry has experienced tremendous growth. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, total global electric vehicle sales went from approximately 3.2 million in 2020 to 10.3 million in 2022. The firm predicts more than 13 million EV sales in 2023 and exponential growth in the coming years—as many as 20 million EV sales in 2025. Global sales of commercial EVs also more than doubled in 2021 and Bloomberg reports that large global truck makers expect 35 to 60 percent of their annual sales to be electric trucks by 2025.
EV charging infrastructure is growing as well. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there were nearly 1.8 million public charging points worldwide in 2021. Nearly 500k chargers were installed globally just in that same year. According to the IEA, the average annual fast charger deployment growth rate in 2021 was 48 percent. BloombergNEF estimates that between now and 2040 the growing global EV fleet will require between 340 and 490 million chargers to stay on the road. The firm also predicts that the cumulative global investment in global charging infrastructure will exceed $1 trillion between today and 2040. They estimate that fast chargers will deliver 50 percent of EV energy demand and will account for 60% of total charging investment.
There is undoubtedly a huge push to build global DC fast charging networks. The US government is providing more than $5 billion in funding and incentives to build a coast-to-coast fast charging network, and many countries in Europe are rolling out similar programs to spur EV charging infrastructure growth. 2023 will be a big year for EVs and EV charging, but there’s more to the story. In this article we’ll explore some trends and predictions for the EV and EV charging industry in 2023 and beyond.
On February 15, 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Biden Administration announced standards for chargers purchased and installed with NEVI funding. These include:
Chargers used in NEVI projects must also meet Buy America standards:
Tritium will soon announce the company’s NEVI solution, which is expected to meet all the requirements outlined by the FHWA and the Biden Administration, and will be built in our new Tennessee facility.
NEVI is accelerating EV charging infrastructure rollout in the US, but we’re just at the beginning of the exponential growth curve. Many states are just getting started with their NEVI programs and most won’t be ready to install chargers until later in 2023. We predict that NEVI chargers will start to be deployed en masse in 2024.
Norway proudly proclaims that it’s the EV capital of the world—for good reason. In 2022, 73% of new cars sold in Norway were EVs and the country plans to transition its entire fleet to EVs by 2025. The country is fueling the transition with a combination of incentives and taxes on fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Norway is expanding its DC fast charging network to keep up with its growing EV fleet. The country of 5.3 million people has more than 18k public charging stations total and more than 5k DC fast charging stations. That gives the country one of the highest ratios of EVs to charging stations in the world. Demand for DC fast chargers remains steady in Norway, and the country is installing the fastest-available chargers along highway corridors to facilitate longer trips with EVs and electric trucks. We anticipate that Norway will continue to build out its charging networks, upgrading low-speed chargers with high-speed DC fast chargers in 2023.
Germany also saw rapid growth in EV charging infrastructure in 2022. The number of public charging stations grew from around 25k to 30k over the course of the year. Most of those were DC fast charging stations. Germany has approximately 13,192 kilometres (8,197 mi) of Autobahn (highways), where DC fast charging is key to crossing the country in short timeframes. German automakers have been at the forefront of fast charging, producing some of the fastest-charging cars in the world. Volkswagen (VW), the world’s largest automaker in 2022, released a series of EVs under its brands VW and Audi in 2022 capable of DC fast charging. The flagship Audi e-tron GT is capable of charging at a maximum rate of 270kW and most VW EVs charge at a maximum 120kW rate. DC fast chargers will be key for German EV owners and many charging stations in Germany have already upgraded to ultra-fast 350kW-plus DC chargers.
Both countries will also be deploying more heavy freight electric trucks, which have large-capacity battery packs and can especially benefit from 350kW-plus charging. We anticipate Germany and Norway leading the charge to 350kW DC fast chargers in 2023.
In 2022 many companies began electrifying their fleets. Walmart purchased 4,500 Canoo Electric Delivery Vehicles (EDVs) and reserved 5k GM BrightDrop electric vans for last-mile deliveries. The company also trialed Freightliner eCascadia and Nikola heavy electric trucks for larger deliveries. Amazon also recently rolled out a fleet of Rivian electric trucks to 100 cities across the US and plans to eventually deploy 100,000 electric trucks for deliveries. The United States Post Office is also going electric, promising to spend nearly $10 billion on a fleet of more than 60k EVs by 2028.
In Europe, Amazon is also planning to spend €1 billion to electrify its delivery fleet. Many other companies are already switching to electric delivery vehicles to reduce noise and air pollution in cities. In early 2023, Germany opened up its first electric truck corridor designed specifically for heavy freight vehicles. The 600-km (373-mile) stretch of the Rhine-Alpine corridor across Germany has six charging locations that feature ultra-fast 300kW charging specifically for heavy trucks. Swedish truck maker Volvo also started delivering their heavy freight EV, the VNR electric, across the world. The truck gets a range of 440km (275 miles) from its massive 565kWh battery and is capable of easily hauling heavy loads long distances.
Many rideshare fleets are also going electric or partially electric. US-based rideshare company Revel is fully electric and in Europe Uber has teamed up with Hertz to make 25k EVs available to rideshare drivers. Uber also says that nearly 50k drivers in the US have rented a Tesla through the program and have completed more that 24 million fully electric trips. Uber plans all of its trips to be “zero emissions” under its Green Program by the end of the decade. US rideshare company Lyft has also vowed to go 100% electric by 2030.
Tritium has received orders for DC fast chargers from fleet operators around the globe and we anticipate more fleets will continue to transition to electric in 2023.
Many EVs have relied on 400v battery architecture, but the future is 800v and beyond. Twice the voltage means significantly faster charging times for EVs. The Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan, Lucid Air, Hyundai IONIQ 5 + 6, and Kia EV6 already use 800v architecture and they are capable of gaining about 200 miles of range in under 20 minutes. 800v battery systems can also be smaller than 400v systems. We believe that more auto manufacturers will make the move to 800v architectures in 2023 and beyond. Toyota/Lexus is already working on 800v systems and much of the industry is expected to shift to 800v systems by 2025. These faster-charging EVs can take full advantage of ultrafast 350kW+ chargers currently on the market or in development. Tritium is currently planning to release a 400kW charger in the near future to meet the needs of ultrafast charging EVs.
But not every EV needs to charge at blistering speeds. Many commercial and fleet EVs can charge up over an hour-long lunch break or slowly overnight. That means commercial EV fleet owners can be better served by multiple, smaller DC fast chargers. DC wall box chargers offer high-speed charging in a compact, affordable, and scalable package. Tritium is currently developing a DC fast charging wall box for our PKM system. These compact chargers will connect to our PKM power rectification units and provide DC fast charging at scale for commercial fleet EVs. We expect the market for wall box DC fast chargers to grow in pace with the growth of commercial fleet EVs.
Alternating current (AC) chargers were cheap and convenient in the early days of EV infrastructure. But they’re slow, capable of delivering a maximum power of just 22kW. Many public AC charging points are being replaced with DC chargers to improve turnaround. Even lower-power DC fast chargers (50kW) can charge EVs in half the time of the best AC chargers. DC chargers are becoming the standard for public charging. According to the IEA, the rate of DC charger adoption has grown faster than the rate for AC charger installations between 2015 and 2021.
In 2020, Europe installed far more DC fast chargers than AC chargers and in 2021 the number of fast charger installations were up 30% to about 50k units. The United States also saw rapid growth in DC fast charger installations during the same time. More than 15k DC fast chargers were installed in Korea in 2021, 50% more than 2020.
Tritium expects to see continued growth in DC fast charging, and slowing growth for AC charging. We still see a role for AC charging at home where one or two cars can charge overnight, but many public AC chargers simply won’t be feasible for many charge point operators or businesses.
The EV charging market is growing fast. It helps to have experts by your side who can keep up with the changes and developments in EV charging. Our experts monitor and analyze the EV charging industry, its developments and regulations, and the latest trends and developments. Contact us today to learn how EV charging could help your business be more sustainable, efficient, and profitable.
Not all EV chargers are equal. Like EVs, they come in many different configurations and offer different features. Whether you’re shopping for a personal electric vehicle or you’re thinking about electrifying your fleet, sorting it all out can be a chore. Here we’ll briefly explain the different types of chargers, how they work, and what it all means for people who use their EVs for at home or for business.
To make sense of EV chargers, the EV industry created three “levels” of charging that roughly correlate to charging power and speed—level 1 being the lowest power/slowest speed. This gives us a straightforward way to categorize and organize EV chargers.
Level 1 charging is the slowest and most accessible form of charging. It uses the standard home wall outlet (120v in US, 220v in EU) and your EV’s onboard charging hardware to charge your EV’s batteries. Level 1 charging usually delivers around 3-5 miles (5-8 km) of range per hour of charging. Not great, but if you leave your EV plugged in overnight you’ll probably have enough power to get to work in the morning. On the other hand, if you’re going on a road trip, it could take more than 30 hours to get 105 miles (169 km) of range. Level 1 charging is slow, but it’s cheap—the equipment comes with your EV and all you really need is an extension cord. If you have a short commute or work from home, you may not need more than level 1 charging.
But if you have a longer commute, or if you can’t wait a few days to fully charge your EV, you’ll need something faster. And if you’re running a fleet, level 1 charging won’t delivery anywhere near the power you need.
Level 2 is the fastest way to charge your vehicle at home. It uses the 240v power lines in your home that are dedicated to high-power appliances like clothes dryers, electric ovens, or central air conditioners. These higher-voltage lines provide more current (amperage) than a standard wall outlet, which means you can charge your EV faster. A level 2 charger can fully charge most passenger EVs in 8-10 hours, which is about three times as fast as a level 1 charger.
Depending on your home, you may need to have an electrician install a second 240-volt power outlet with its own circuit breaker to use a level 2 charger. Some chargers need to be hard wired into your home’s electrical system by a certified electrician and may also require a separate circuit breaker. Many can be used without a dedicated circuit breaker at lower charging levels. It’s also possible to use your existing clothes dryer outlet, swapping out the dryer’s plug for your charger’s when you need to. But before you use any level 2 charger, it’s a good idea to have an electrician inspect your home’s electrical system to make sure it can handle the power draw. High-power chargers and appliances can overload your home’s wiring, causing blown circuit breakers or even fires.
Level 2 charging may work great at home, but it won’t deliver enough power for businesses or fleets. They require more power to charge batteries much faster.
Level 3 charging doesn’t really exist as a category—it’s just a convenient way to categorize everything faster than level 2 charging. When a company or publication mentions level 3 charging, they mean DC fast charging.
Direct current (DC) fast charging is the fastest way to charge up your EV. Lithium-ion batteries store and release DC power, and there’s no way to charge them without first transforming the alternating current (AC) power in the electrical grid to DC power. Level 2 home chargers can only handle so much power. Commercial DC fast chargers connect directly to high-voltage AC power lines and have dedicated infrastructure for transforming it into DC power. Because of this, they can deliver much more power than level 2 home chargers. DC fast chargers can typically charge an EV from 20 to 80 percent in as little as 15 minutes. They are perfect for highways, retail environments, delivery vehicles, and even electrical industrial equipment.
DC fast chargers like our PKM150 are a quick and convenient way for EV drivers to charge up while they’re shopping, taking a road trip, or even grabbing a bite to eat. They will also be essential to “last-mile” delivery EVs that deliver goods from local warehouses to homes and businesses. Walmart and Amazon have both purchased electric delivery vehicles for last-mile delivery and they plan to purchase more in the coming years.
For a deeper dive into how DC fast chargers work, read our article here.
Expect to see more DC fast chargers at shopping centers, restaurants, rest stops, gas stations, and even convenience stores. Unlike gas stations, they can be purchased and installed by any business who has the space to install them. Modular chargers like our PKM and RTM series can be purchased and installed in “base” configurations and then upgraded over time to meet increased demand. According to a recent BNEF report, the world will need approximately 290 million more electric vehicle (EV) charging points by 2040 to keep up with the growing global EV fleet. The U.S EV market alone is projected to grow from $28.24 billion in 2021 to $137.43 billion in 2028.
If you’re interested in installing a DC fast charger for your business, contact a member of our sales team today:
Filling up your car with gas is straightforward: Liquid gasoline flows out of the pump and into the tank. The flow rate is linear, meaning the amount of gas flowing out of the pump stays the same over time. You’d be surprised if the pump blasted 10 gallons of gas into the tank in the first few minutes, then took 30 minutes to fill up the rest. However, electric vehicle (EV) charging is non-linear, meaning the rate of energy flow from the charger to your car’s battery is not constant.
Lithium-ion batteries are far more complex and delicate than a simple gas tank. Charge them too quickly and they can get too hot or even be damaged. Overcharge them and they’ll be damaged. Let them sit without charging or discharging and they’ll lose capacity. To prolong battery life, EV manufacturers develop charging routines, or “curves,” to manage the charging process in the most optimal way and retain capacity over time. Now let’s learn why lithium-based batteries need charging curves and how EV makers and charger makers work together to deliver them.
Very simply put, lithium-ion batteries store and release energy via a chemical reaction. During this reaction, lithium ions move from one electrode to the other through an electrolyte, either shedding or gaining electrons along the way. Run a current of electricity through the battery and it “charges.” Connect the terminals to a circuit and they discharge.
Charging and discharging lithium-ion batteries generates heat, and excessive heat can reduce long term battery life. Fast charging lithium-ion batteries is a delicate balance between speed and heat. Charge them too quickly and they’ll overheat. To keep batteries cool while charging them quickly, auto manufactures vary the amount of charge over time. Typically, fast charging has two phases, a constant current phase and a constant voltage or “topping charge” phase. During the constant current phase, the battery charges as fast as it can without overheating. You may have noticed that many EV manufacturers say their cars can fast charge from 20 to 80 percent in a short amount of time. That’s the constant current phase, which is the fastest in the charging cycle. After the constant current phase, the charger moves into the constant voltage phase, which is slower. Charging the EV battery from 80 to 90 percent may take as long as charging it from 40 to 80 percent. As the battery nears full charge, it’s critical to make sure it doesn’t overheat, thus charging is slower.
Every EV has its own unique charging curve. When you plug your EV into a DC fast charger, it tells the charger how it needs to be charged. Your car constantly communicates with the charger, relaying information about the battery’s current state of charge. This communication is key to maintaining battery temperature during charging, and the overall health and longevity of your car’s lithium-ion battery. Tritium chargers use multiple communication standards to communicate with cars, including DIN SPEC 70121, ISO 15118, and CHAdeMO. Different cars use different standards, but manufacturers are working to create a more universal experience through a standard called Plug & Charge.
With Plug & Charge, there’s no need to enter payment information. Payment and/or charging network membership info is stored onboard in the car and is transmitted securely to the charger instantly. The system uses cryptographic tools to secure communications between the vehicle and the charging station, protecting the driver’s personal information, the vehicle’s systems that are “touched” during the charging process, and the charger itself from malicious attacks during the charging process. Plug & Charge will make charging up your EV much faster, easier, and more convenient.
The power grid runs on alternating current (AC), but EVs use direct current (DC). Direct current does what it says: Flows in one direction directly. Alternating current flows in alternating directions, flip-flopping from one to the other, 50 or 60 times per second. AC is great for transmitting power over long distances, but it can’t be stored in a battery. To charge a battery, AC power needs to be changed into DC power. DC fast charger systems use something called a rectifier to transform AC power into DC power for charging. Rectifiers essentially redirect alternating current into a single-direction of flow—direct current. That DC current flows into the DC charger, which ensures the EV receives the right amount of power when it needs it.
If you’re considering an EV, you might want a home charger. To learn more about different charger types, check out our article on different levels of charging.
If you’re a business owner who’s interested in installing a DC fast charger, contact one of our experts today: