Bmw Ev Infrastructure Discussions From The La Auto Demonstrate: Office Two

On a recent trip to Vermont I stopped at Prestige BMW inward New Bailiwick of Jersey on both legs of the journeying. They late installed ii 24 kW DC Fast Charge stations that are accessible 24/seven together with unloosen to role. A robust DC Fast accuse infrastructure is crucial for mass EV adoption.

This is the moment ane-ane-half of a ii component portion postal service on BMW's infrastructure plans, electrical current too futurity. Having spent 4th dimension with BMW'2d EV infrastructure team at the LA Auto Show, (Robert Healey, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Manager, Idine Ghoreishian, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Specialist, as skillful as Cliff Fietzek, Manager of Connected eMobility) I posted the starting fourth dimension 1-one-half of this written written report final calendar calendar week. In that postal service, we discussed the East as good as West Coast Express Charging Corridors, too the but-announced ChargeNow DC Fast programme.

ChargeNow DC Fast:

I reached out to Jeremy Desel, Director of Communications for EVgo, to utter over the deployment accuse per unit of measurement of the 500 ChargeNow DC Fast stations. What Desel told me was pretty impressive: "We select been able to add together good-nigh 100 additional 50kW DC Fast Combo chargers inward one-half dozen weeks, inwards 25 markets."  EVgo for certain didn't waste product thing production whatever quaternary dimension, as expert as began installing Combo stations right away subsequently the annunciation of the partnership amongst BMW for ChargeNow DC Fast. That's skillful intelligence for the i3 (together with all Combo) owners who accept been patiently waiting for Combo (CCS) infrastructure to proliferate. Speaking with Desel he told me they are able to motility apace because EVgo had the foresight to hereafter proof EVgo DC Fast accuse sites. When these sites were initially built, they were designed to live easily upgraded as good as expanded. That fact testament certain plenty as shooting help EVgo come across the 2018 completion appointment to become all 500 Combo stations inward the ChargeNow DC Fast programme installed on quaternary dimension. EVgo currently has 104 Combo DC Fast Charge stations operational inward California, the resultant of the initial stage of the ChargeNow DC Fast programme which began inward 2014.

One appear of the ChargeNow DC Fast expansion programme which wasn't discussed inward business office 1 was the fact that novel BMW i3 buyers volition convey unlimited liberate access to this cyberspace for ii years. To qualify, you lot lot require to purchase or lease an i3 on or after Nov 1st, 2015. If yous bought or leased your i3 earlier that, yous do not qualify together with testament take to pay the electric electric current rates for access to EVgo'sec DC fast accuse meshing. That didn't sit down downwardly proficient with many electric electric current i3 owners, together with nearly expressed their dissatisfaction to it. I wanted to overstep an idea of how the i3 community felt almost this as well as thus I ran a poll inward the BMW i3 FaceBook Group. Sixty percent (109 of 181) of respondents said they weren't happy with it, too felt BMW should allow all i3 owners costless access to the meshwork for ii years, non just novel owners.

Personally, I'G non a fan of offering this diversity of unlimited gratuitous DC Fast accuse access equally a purchase incentive. Nissan announced a similar pattern for novel LEAF buyers called "No Charge to Charge" dorsum inward 2013. I believe it promotes abuse, as good as inwards many instances testament live counter productive every flake stations testament live unnecessarily overused merely because they are gratis. Even Tesla is having issues amongst unnecessary Supercharger purpose. They lately sent out letters urging Model due southward owners to solely role the Superchargers when they select to for long journeys. Free, unlimited purpose volition issue inward i3 owners plugging into DC Fast accuse stations within close proximity to their homes, as well as those stations so won't live available to the drivers who really postulate them to complete a long journeying.  I'd much prefer to run across BMW offering i3 owners a discounted accuse per unit of measurement, or a express number of gratuitous sessions as a purchase incentive. This gratis promotion is clearly a marketing tool that BMW plans to usage to attract novel i3 customers, inward add together-on to I don't mean it went unnoticed that many electrical electrical current i3 owners weren't happy amongst it. Although I couldn't acquire whatsoever comment on this, I got the feeling that BMW may live working on something they tin can offering to current i3 drivers, as skillful equally i8 as good as eDrive owners, so residual tuned.

Rob Healey plugs an i3 into a DC Fast accuse Freedom station   

Another theme we discussed is the fact that many electric current EVgo Station locations don't back up the Combo connector that BMW uses. The competing DC Fast Charge organization, CHAdeMO, which is used past the Asian manufacturers, had almost a iii yr caput kickoff getting established inward the U.S.A. earlier whatsoever Combo (CCS) stations were installed. Because of that, at that place are a lot of EVgo Station locations which are CHAdeMO DC fast accuse units. I wanted to know if those locations would residue CHAdeMO alone, or if they would live upgraded to back up the Combo connection also. To that Fietzek said: "Where at that identify is currently a EVgo Station that is solely CHAdeMO, they testament either swap that station to a dual-connecter unit of measuring of measuring which supports the Combo too, or install a instant station which is Combo. When we are done amongst this projection inwards 2018 there testament no longer alive whatever EVgo Station locations which only dorsum up CHAdeMO, they testament too Combo."

The Future: Better, faster too widespread:

I thus turned the conversation to the future of EV charging, as good as asked the grouping to comment on what'sec side by side for BMW. I specifically pointed to Audi's annunciation amongst regards to their electrical vehicle plans, too the fact that Audi's press conference had but taken place where they said the 2018 eTron Quattro would dorsum upwards 150kW charging. Audi besides promised to offer "Access to Nationwide Network of 150kW charging stations" as good as that these stations would set nearly to live available when the vehicle is offered for sale inwards 2018. 150kW DC Fast charging is a huge stride frontward compared to the 24 kW as practiced as 50 kW DC Fast charging stations which BMW inward add together-on to their partners are currently deploying. So I asked if BMW is going to alive able to hold upwards amongst the contest.

Healey started out talking nigh how speedily the landscape of electrical vehicle charging has advanced. Back inward the days of the MINI-eastward, Healey was the MINI-E technical coordinator. I got to know him so as I was 1 of the MINI-due E lessees as skillful as he was inwards accuse of keeping the fleet on the route. He added: "You've been amongst us from the start, Tom. If y'all stride dorsum but a few years yous lot'll telephone call upwardly how we struggled but to move the wallboxes installed inward the MINI-eastward client'2d garages. So for a spell at that identify we past together with big focused on flat ii charging. Then came the 24kW as expert as 50kW DC fast charging which we are currently deploying, too directly we're already working on charging at much higher speeds. So if you actually think most it, we've actually advanced a lot inwards a 5 to ane-one-half dozen yr time frame. This is the natural progression; to pop off along to introduce faster levels of charging, but we can't sit down downwards as expert as look. We demand to install what we convey available to us right away. We tin can't underestimate the other side of populace infrastructure; the psychological facial facial expression. We involve to get the chargers out inwards that location, they postulate to live seen. This is non solely important for electrical current EV drivers, but for potential EV owners. They want to meet the infrastructure earlier they purchase the auto. We'll maintain to upgrade the infrastructure every bit meliorate options go available."

Audi made tidings inward LA with promising to offering access to a nationwide 150 kW DC fast accuse network.

Fietzek so offered the adjacent:  "Yes, nosotros hold seen some announcements from other OEMs at the demonstrate hither today. We are currently working amongst the other OEMs on increasing the charging mensurate to 150kW as well as higher. (Here Fietzek is referring to The Charging Interface Initiative association - CharIN) Once we concord defined the novel charging degree we postulate to inwards improver to hence make upwards 1's heed the best trend to implement it. We hold got already shown 150kW charging at Baden Baden, together with together with the other German language OEMs we are working on defining the criterion inwards improver to make up 1's nous the costs. We are too supporting an EVgo CPUC computer programme hither inward California to exhibit novel 150kW high-powered charging. Part of our commitment is to furnish exam cars to exam these station too as engineering scientific bailiwick. So yes, we are working on it, but we don't convey whatever word as far every flake when or which cars testament purpose this applied science but all the same." 

Speaking of partnering amongst other OEM'sec inward infrastructure projects Healey said: "BMW is open together with willing to run amongst all industry stakeholders that are committed to supporting EV infrastructure projects. The partnership programs that we have got launched bring afforded us a wealth of cognition too lessons learned that we testament keep to share in improver to utilize to the expansion of the U.S.A. charging infrastructure to do expert our electrical current too hereafter customers. The quondam adage 'A ascent tide lifts all boats' is particularly appropriate with EV infrastructure. Working together testament solitary expedite our finish of making electrical mobility more than accessible inwards add-on to appealing to fifty-fifty more than drivers."

BMW is a founding fellow boyfriend member of the newly formed ROEV association

On Interoperability:

Finally, ane cumbersome aspect of public charging is that nosotros don't really accept meshwork interoperability. It'2nd cast of been a chip similar the Wild, Wild, West out inward that location the past v years amongst many unlike cyberspace providers offering many dissimilar types of EV charging equipment, together with real fiddling cooperation amid all of the various stakeholders. An EV driver may have to deport iv or v dissimilar meshing cards, pay an annual or monthly fee for roughly of them, pay for replacement cards too build sure as shooting you convey all of them with yous because you lot never know when you lot'll telephone telephone call for 1. Having truthful mesh interoperability would alive too as well as and so much more than than convenient. Well, it looks similar we may choose taken the outset real stride inward that management.

Soon  EV drivers testament exclusively require to deport i nib of fare. Photo credit: Patrick Connor

BMW as well as Nissan, joined meshwork providers ChargePoint, EVgo too Car Charging Group as the v founding partners of ROEV, which stands for "roaming for EV charging."  In improver to the founding partners, several more than than companies have joined ROEV, including Audi, Honda, Efacec, Portland General Electric, SemaConnect, too BTC Power. They are nonetheless a duo of months away from officially launching the programme, but inwards ane example that'sec happened, a BMW client testament alive able to purpose their ChargeNow carte du jour, or whatsoever participating network RFID neb of fare, to access whatever charging station operated by the participating networks. What isn't clear even so is whether or non using a beak of fare from ane net to access another meshing'sec charging station testament issue inwards an additional fee, similar roaming fees on mobile phones. And since the refer of this novel business house included the word "roaming," I'chiliad guessing inwards that location testament live some shape of roaming fee to access stations from competing networks. The skilful intelligence is that the three founding partner networks, ChargePoint, Car Charging Group/Blink inwards add together-on to EVgo currently office 17,500 of the xix,000 (91%) Earth charging stations inwards the USA, inwards improver to hence interoperability amongst these 3 giant networks lonely is a huge step forwards.

Rob Healey speaking at the ROEV press conference at the LA Auto Show.
Pictured on phase only to the left of Healey is Idine Ghoreishian

Speaking of BMW's participation inwards ROEV, Ghoreishian said, "As much equally it sometimes may non seem similar it, we are indeed listening to what our customers are proverb in addition to constantly working to brand things amend. The goal amongst ROEV is to amend the experience of owning an EV. We've heard our customers complain virtually needing multiple mesh cards, inward improver to we experience ROEV'sec meshing interoperability testament enhance the electrical vehicle ownership experience."  

This of course is all skilful tidings. With Tesla non showing whatever signs of slowing downwardly inwards their relentless pursuit to install Supercharger infrastructure, the CHAdeMO Association continuing to expand their worldwide meshwork too direct the Combo (CCS) criterion offset to genuinely proliferate, all EV drivers will benefit inward the long run. Getting the infrastructure inwards the footing is the almost of import as good as shut hard thing. In my opinion, at around signal inward the hereafter at that identify testament live a single winner inward the "connector wars" as well as it may non l-l alive 1 of the existing "standards" used today. When that'sec decided, it testament be piece of cake to just swap out the connectors on the stations to whatever touchstone is the ultimate winner. For straight off we really just involve to keep to acquire the infrastructure inwards the globe as skillful as the task of which criterion wins will eventually run itself out.

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