EU To Ban CHAdeMO EV Chargers By 2018
The European Parliament is drafting a bill to do away with CHAdeMO in favor of the SAE’s CSS “universal” ev charger. This news comes in spite of the fact that there are more than 2500 CHAdeMO EV chargers in place worldwide, and the fact that the most popular EVs in Europe are from Nissan/Renault and Mitsubishi, which both use the CHAdeMO connector. Here’s more on that story in an article that originally appeared on Gas 2.
Despite having more 2500 charging stations on-line for active duty, it looks like CHAdeMO electric car chargers are on their way out. That is, if the rumors currently circulating about the EU’s parliamentary proceedings in re. electric cars are to be believed. The CHAdeMO Association, for what it’s worth, is taking these rumors very seriously, and issued the following statement:
The European Parliament prepares a draft that suggests to terminate CHAdeMO in Europe at the end of 2018, because “the Combo technology is not fully ready at the moment and as there are more than 650 CHAdeMO chargers already installed in Europe, with more than 1,000 to be deployed by the end of 2013 (Amendment 70 on Page 45).” CHAdeMO Association is very surprised to learn of this suggestion.
The CHAdeMO standard, according to the EU motion, is to be phased out by 2018 in favor of the SAE’s proposed “standard”, the CSS charger. On the CSS’ “pro” column are the blessings of BMW/Mini, GM, Ford, and other automakers. For now, though, the CCS does not exist in Europe, and Mark Kane from Inside EVs points out that the most popular EV on the market, Nissan’s LEAF, uses CHAdeMO. “Will it be wise to force the adoption of a standard that’s only found on a few upcoming, lower volume vehicles like the BMW i3 or VW e-up?” he asks.
Despite the fact that Kane didn’t ask me, I’ll answer: absolutely!
As someone who remembers the horror of the early Firewire connectors, Apple’s proprietary “ADC” monitor ports, and other printer-based plug nonsense, let me assure you that life is better on USB … and life, for EV owners, will be better with standard electric car chargers. If anther standard has to die to make room for the one that would be king, then so be it.
Sources: Inside EVs, via Motorpasion, Green Car Reports.
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“If anther standard has to die to make room for the one that would be king, then so be it.” That’s an argument for a single standard. Fine. It’s not an argument for one rather than the other. Normally you’d go for the one with the bigger installed base, unless there are compelling technical reasons to the contrary.
Technical reasons are one reason for dropping one standard. Another is the openness and the no-royalty burden of the standard. If the other standard would be charging royalty, or it comes with an extension or future amendment of the standard being controlled by only a few party, then it should be dropped like a hot potato.
Do you have any reason to think this applies to CHAdeMO? If I were Renault, I’d offer the standard gratis to a nonprofit foundation. A change damages the resale value of existing Leafs, and hurts the brand’s reputation. Perhaps that is why the others, who don’t yet have pure EVs for sale, are backing a rival.
Nissan use the Type 1 and Chademo plug. Renault does not use the Chademo plug.
The Renault Fluence ZE used the Type 1. The new Renault Zoe use the Type 2 / VDE plug. From now on the cars will have Type 2 / VDE plug and for DC charging it will be VDE with CCS plug.
why not require that after 2018, any Chademo only stations must also have an adapter for CSS? 90% of the cost of a L3 charger is the big feed and the conrol electronics, having a second tap and umbilical is trivial.
Beta or VHS…..a Trac or cassette…..DVD or Blue Ray….IBM or Apple….its all a matter of progress…if the new “standard is better” then bring it on!
And lets not stop with the plugs which we SHOULD have agreed upon years ago. And for crying out loud; can we please have a standard for INDUCTIVE CHARGING systems I might want to install in my garage?
Just what the heck have ASME, ASTM, ANSI and ISO standards groups been doing for the last 10 years? What’s the matter guys; society and technology moving a little too fast for you guys, LOL.
@JamesWimberley:disqus
The combo standard is superior over de CHAdeMO. Cars equipped with a CHAdeMO inlet still need a type 1 (Yazaki) or a type 2 (Mennekes) inlet next to it, so that they
are not dependent of DC charging stations (making it clumsy to implement and
far more expensive). A car equipped with a combo inlet doesn’t. The CHAdeMO
standard also happens to use CAN-bus communication. This is an aspect European
car manufacturers are not happy with! You just don’t want the cars internal
communication system being brought out of the vehicle. A third an up most
important thing is that the CHAdeMO standard cannot be used in conventional
electrical transition vehicles, the combo standard can. Making it cheaper to implement for car manufacturers, and thus stimulating the electrical vehicles market. The combo will win this race… it’s simply better. Oh and by the way… most of that 2703 ChadeMO charging points are stationed in Japan so I don’t no how thats a problem of Europe or the US if the are no longer used here.
All this discussion as though it has to be one or the other standard. It may well prove to be a moot point. The new standard that is also known as a ‘frankinplug’ may well be better than a Chademo. But as an EV driver I really don’t care. I want to be able to charge up! When I pull into a charge station I’ll be looking around for the plug that supports what I’ve got. Much like when I pull into a Gas station I’m looking for the pump that supports the kind of fuel I need. Be it gas or diesel.
I keep hearing about this “ban”, but no actual reference to where this ban is stated. If the EU says that a country shall have X number of CCS chargers installed, this is no ban against Chademo. A charging station serving CCS can’t cost much less than a charging station serving CCS and Chademo. The real expence is the AC -> DC convertion. Adding an extra protocol & plug should not be much of an additional cost.
I am sure the german car industry would love to make it seem like a ban. For the consumer, however, being able to select between Japanese or German (or whatever) EV’s will be the best alternative.
Did the EU get any further with this plan?
I see it is dated 2 years ago and I still don’t see many cars with CSS, but I have noticed that the new “rapids” usually have both CHAdeMO and CCS (and a 3rd connection?) so does it matter any more?
My Outlander has a type 1 and a CHAdeMO.
We have just bought a Soul EV for the other half, which also has a type 1 and a CHAdeMO.
I just stumbled across this “news(?)” item while looking at what to do about a second charging point at home.
it has made me feel like someone looking for a cable to record my LaserDisc to BetaMax