General EV Infrastructure News

Porsche opens Europe’s most powerful rapid-charging park in Leipzig; 7MW, all renewable energy

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. . . Twelve rapid charging points with 350 kW (direct current) and four charging points with 22 kW (alternating current) are now in operation at the customer center, running seven days a week, around the clock and for customers of all vehicle brands.

During a pilot phase that is running until the end of March, rapid charging will be free of charge for all users. After that, payment will be made using the mobility providers’ standard charging cards, according to their respective conditions. . . .

All vehicles with a Combined Charging System connection (CCS2) can use the fast charging function. . . .

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EVgo Announces Opening Of 800th Fast Charging Location

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. . . It's important to point out that while they do have the most locations - now a total of 800, they have less charging stalls than Electrify America because EVgo has fewer chargers per location. Many EVgo locations have only one or two chargers, while the minimum amount of chargers at any Electrify America site is four.

Electrify America recently opened its 400th location, half the number of sites that EVgo currently has. However, Electrify America has close to 1,800 chargers at their 400 locations, and EVgo has fewer chargers than that deployed in their 800 sites.

You may have noted they also said they were "the most reliable" public charging network, an obvious dig at Electrify America's well-documented reliability woes. . . .

2019 was a busy year for EVgo. EVgo opened up 75 locations and signed roaming agreements with Chargepoint and Electrify America. In January of this year, EVgo was acquired by LS Power. . . .

As you might expect, EVgo's largest presence is in the state of California and had this to say about their commitment to electrifying the Golden State:

• In California, where more than half of the EVs in the U.S. are currently located, EVgo’s network of fast chargers grew by 40 percent in 2019. EVgo manages more than 300 fast-charging locations and 750 fast chargers across the state, connecting more than 80% of Californians to an EVgo fast charger within a 15-minute drive. In 2019, the company opened seven EVgo Equal Access Charging Hub (or EACH) locations in California communities most impacted by air pollution – including Anaheim, Compton, Inglewood, Richmond, and San Leandro – helping to promote electrification for all. . . .

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Oilpan4 said:

No need for further government intervention.

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Oilpan4 said:

Looks like they are doing an outstanding job.
No need for further government intervention.

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GM commits to giving its own employees more workplace charging

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. . .Through the effort, it will install 3,500 charging connectors across facilities in the U.S. and Canada—tripling the number of connectors currently available from the company.

Citing “the internal popularity of the Chevrolet Bolt EV,” as well as the upcoming other models from Cadillac and GMC (and by extension, Hummer), the company voiced that it’s “committed to ensuring that all employees are able to conveniently charge their vehicles as the employee EV-owner population grows.”

GMC’s full-size electric pickup is expected to arrive in the second half of 2021, for the 2022 model year, as is a GMC Hummer electric truck for model year 2022. A Cadillac fully electric crossover will arrive for model year 2023.

Rick Spina, GM’s VP of EV/AV commercialization and infrastructure, said that the company wants “to make it as convenient as possible for our employees to enjoy the rewards of EV ownership.”

GM also notes it as a method of employee retention, and an extension of its commitment to sustainability.

The new workplace chargers, all Level 2 (which can add 25 miles of range to the Bolt EV per hour) will be installed at company facilities starting late this year.

According to GM, 900,000 out of approximately one million EV drivers in the region aren’t able to charge at work; and when workplace charging is offered, employees are six times more likely to choose an EV.

As a baseline, GM projects that 6.5% of the vehicles on the road (assuming in the U.S.) will be electric by 2025.

According to GM, 90 percent of EV owners charge either at home or at work. Using an average daily commute of just 22.5 miles a day, the company notes that it takes just an hour to fully recharge at home or at work from that average commute. . . .

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PSA Group Announces Recommended Charging Partners For Europe

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PSA offers a single, simple, “one-stop-shop” to purchase and install charging points.
The PSA Group intends to facilitate the purchase and installation of charging stations for customers of all its brands (Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel/Vauxhall) who opt for any plug-in model.

The French group will recommend charging partners in each country in Europe, who will take care of the installation of both home charging units (single-family homes and multi-family complexes), as well as charging points for companies. . . .

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GRA said:

AAA members get 10% off EVgo rates, and don't have to pay the $8.00/month fee either. Might help those who can't charge at work for free right now, especially as AAA basic membership is less than $5/month and gives you all the usual emergency road services.

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NREL, INL team assesses levelized cost of light-duty EV charging in US in 2019

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A team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Idaho National Laboratory has produced a detailed assessment of the current levelized cost of light-duty electric-vehicle charging (LCOC) in the United States, considering when, where, and how EVs are charged.

The LCOC includes costs associated with the purchase and installation of charging equipment and retail electricity prices, derived from real-world utility tariffs. The analysis is published in the journal Joule.

The researchers found that under the baseline scenario, the current national average LCOC in the United States is $0.15/kWh for light-duty BEVs and $0.14/kWh for light-duty PHEVs. For BEVs, this assumes a charging mix of 81% residential, 14% workplace/public L2, and 5% DCFC, and that 84% of residential charging uses L2 EVSE.

For PHEVs, this assumes a charging mix of 81% residential and 19% workplace/public L2 and that 50% of residential charging uses L2 EVSE. These LCOC values are similar to the average residential cost of electricity reported by EIA ($0.13/kWh); however, costs vary considerably (e.g., from $0.08/kWh to $0.27/kWh for battery EVs) for different charging behaviors and equipment costs.

This corresponds to a total projected fuel cost savings between $3,000 and $10,500 compared with gasoline vehicles over a 15-year time horizon). Regional heterogeneities and uncertainty on lifetime vehicle use and future fuel prices produce even greater variations, the researchers said. . . .

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Brattle Group: electric power sector investments of $75B – $125B needed to support projected 20M EVs in US by 2030

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. . .A new study released by economists at The Brattle Group concludes that an investment in the range of $75–125 billion would be needed across the electric power sector supply chain by 2030 to serve 20 million EVs—the target selected for the analysis—including adding 1–2 million public chargers. . . .

The Brattle study shows the following system impacts of the growing EV fleet:

20 million EVs will add about 60–95 TWh of annual electricity demand and 10–20 GW of peak load, requiring 12–18 GW of renewable generation capacity and 1-2 million public chargers. (Over the past 5 years, public EV chargers increased by about 40% per year, a rate that must be maintained over the next decade to install an additional 1–2 million public chargers by 2030.)

Investments will likely be composed of: $30–50 billion for generation and storage; $15–25 billion for transmission and distribution (T&D) upgrades, and $30–50 billion for EV chargers and customer-side infrastructure.

Total annual gasoline savings of $12 billion/year translates to an 8.6-year societal payback period for the investment. If the value of avoided greenhouse gas emissions is included at $50/ton, the payback period decreases to 7.2 years.

The batteries installed in 20 million EVs will have up to 1,600 GWh of electricity storage capacity. They could feed up to 300 GW of power back into the grid to help integrate renewables once large-scale vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operations are viable. This V2G storage capability vastly exceeds the grid’s current and projected storage capability. . . .

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Aral to build more than 100 350kW ultra-fast charging points at retail sites in Germany

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Following a successful 12-month pilot project at five of its retail sites, Aral, bp’s market leading fuel retail brand in Germany, is set to roll out more than 100 ultra-fast charging points across its retail network in Germany over the next 12 months.

The Aral chargers will be self-operated, powered by 100% green energy, with a charging capacity of up to 350kW. A vehicle with the appropriate battery technology can be charged for a range of up to 350 km in just over ten minutes. . . .

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GM fast-charging investment will fuel EVgo network expansion, charge future EVs

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General Motors and EVgo announced a
partnership Friday that will result in the installation of more than 2,700 DC fast charging connectors—all powered by 100% renewable energy—over the next five years.

The announcement marks the first significant move from GM toward helping expand fast-charging infrastructure, and investing in public charging infrastructure, which is something that most other automakers with major interests in scaling up electric vehicles have already done. . . .

GM declined to say what amount it is investing in the effort. . . .

EVgo is distinct among charging networks as it’s geared entirely toward fast-charging. . . .

EVgo’s fast charger locations in metropolitan areas tend to complement the more road-trip-oriented fast charging offered through Tesla Supercharging or the Electrify America network. Based on what the companies described, the new effort will provide a continued push in providing increased charging access to those who live in multi-unit dwellings, to renters who can’t install the equipment, or to those who don’t have workplace charging.

Given GM’s disclosure that the investment will result in 2,700 new charging connectors, with each station offering 4-6 connectors, the push might result in approximately 500-650 new charging-station locations. . . .

According to a joint release from the companies, the project will focus on adding high-power DC fast chargers that can provide most of a charge in just 15 to 30 minutes to city and suburban locations, with a focused effort on “grocery stores, retail outlets, entertainment centers and other high-traffic locations.”

In a call with reporters corresponding to the announcement, GM CEO Mary Barra called the move a “proof point” that the company believes strongly that charging infrastructure is needed for confidence.

“Clearly, having a robust charging infrastructure is something our customers told us was important,” she said, calling such an investment in infrastructure “the next step.”

EVgo CEO Cathy Zoi said that the company is looking at 40 major metro areas for the locations, and that “over the coming weeks” it’s going to be more specific about where the buildout will happen. The average charging session at these new locations is expected to follow existing patterns at a cost of about $5 to $15.

Each of the new EVgo fast-charging stations will be able to charge at least four vehicles simultaneously and will feature 100- to 350-kw connectors. . . .

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