Automakers Pursue Different Paths for DC Quick Charging Protocols

In the past year-and-a-half, nearly 30,000 American drivers purchased a plug-in electric vehicle. And nearly all of them use the same J1772 coupler to connect their vehicle to the electrical grid for everyday charging. Having a common standard for AC charging of electric vehicles has given consumers the confidence to know that all future electric vehicles and charging equipment will be compatible when refueling at both the 120v and 240v levels. Unfortunately, automakers are taking divergent paths for offering Quick Charging up to 500 volts using DC. The new approach taken by SAE’s J1772 committee to combine AC and DC charging in a single inlet could compete for the next several years with the existing CHAdeMo Quick Charging protocol.

“The longer this continues with more than one standard, the more challenging it is for service providers like ourselves, and for consumers,” said Arun Banskota, president, electric vehicle services at NRG Energy, which manages the expanding eVgo network. “We don’t have a dog in the fight. I simply want there to be one standard so that we can serve every customer, and costs at our charging stations are minimized.”