Rivian charging network

[cwerdna]

Rivian is building its own EV charging network, but with an adventurous twist
Work has already begun
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/08/rivia ... ous-twist/

Hmm... it seems likely they may not bother installing CHAdeMO at their stations. And, it's unclear if the CCS stations will actually be usable by or blocked for non-Rivian vehicles.

[jlv]

That's very cool; a very targeted set of destination chargers. But I'm not sure why they would bother to install CHAdeMO at their stations; that would be a huge cost increase for almost no benefit to Rivian or their customers.

[DougWantsALeaf]

The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.

If fact it can be cheaper as even at the 200amp stations the Chademo cord doesn't need liquid cooling.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Rivian is building its own EV charging network, but with an adventurous twist
Work has already begun
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/08/rivia ... ous-twist/

Hmm... it seems likely they may not bother installing CHAdeMO at their stations. And, it's unclear if the CCS stations will actually be usable by or blocked for non-Rivian vehicles.

Typical "best case scenario" speculative article. Rivian would be smart to allow all to charge since it would appear some locations would get limited use for years until Rivian can reach reasonable production numbers. As we know, the free for life model would be a mistake (Thank you Tesla for showing us that) but being exclusive would be a bigger mistake (thank you Tesla)

The more ideal situation is simply charging others more. Rivian provides charging at 50% off or whatever while others can either pay full freight or pay a fee for perks.

I will say that this "could" create a dicey company personna when you pull up to plug in with your Bolt/LEAF/Whatever and get a message; "Sorry this station is currently reserved for our Rivian customer slated to arrive shortly"

[jlv]

The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.

Please back that up with links showing such. I doubt very much the incremental cost is "almost nothing".

[cwerdna]

The cost of having a dual protocol charger vs. Ccs only is almost nothing, especially for the sub 200kWh chargers. They are commodity.

If fact it can be cheaper as even at the 200amp stations the Chademo cord doesn't need liquid cooling.

200 kWh? You talking about kW?

Concur w/jlv. Why deploy fewer plugs for your own vehicle by deploying ones that none of your vehicles are compatible with? It reduces the amount of redundancy and availability.

[GRA]

That's very cool; a very targeted set of destination chargers. But I'm not sure why they would bother to install CHAdeMO at their stations; that would be a huge cost increase for almost no benefit to Rivian or their customers.

Indeed, just the thing for people like me. I'm going to fire off an email to Subaru suggesting they do likewise, now that their BEV is closer to introduction.

[danrjones]

I heard that the first or one of the first Rivian chargers will be in Salida, CO, as someone found the permit. Looks like a bunch of DC CCS chargers with four up to as much as 300 kW as well as some level 2. The permit or agreement with Salida lists the DC chargers as Rivian only but with the possibility of opening them up to other brands later. But the level 2 are going to be open to all EVs.

For me I don't think these charging networks being brand specific is doing EV adoption any favors. It would be like a Chevron only catering to Subaru. I realize it really would be like Subaru owning their own gas stations but that's as close as a real example as we could have, as I can't think of any gas stations owned by the car manufactures. Sure, It is great for Tesla or now Rivian owners, but I don't think it helps EV adoption as a whole. YMMV