After Emissions Scandal, Volkswagen Pledges Charging Stations Across The US (siliconvalley.com)

Here's how the Volkswagen emissions scandal ends in California -- and the rest of America. An anonymous reader quotes the Bay Area News Group: In a decision with lasting implications for the growth of electric vehicles, state regulators on Thursday approved Volkswagen's plan to invest nearly $1 billion in California's EV network as penalty for its diesel-emission cheating scandal... San Jose and San Francisco are two of six cities slated for expanded community charging stations. A Volkswagen subsidiary, Electrify America, also will target low-income communities for at least 35 percent of the projects... The first phase calls for $120 million to build 400 charging stations with between 2,000 and 3,000 chargers. About $75 million will be used to develop a high-speed, highway charging network, mostly consisting of 150 kilowatt fast-chargers. The other $45 million will build community charging stations in six metro areas: San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego. Another $44 million will build a "Green City" in Sacramento. It will provide access to zero-emission vehicles to low-income residents, through ride-sharing and other programs. As part of the 10-year comprehensive plan, Electrify America will build a nationwide network of fast-charging stations with universal technology.
That nationwide network is expected to cost another $2 billion.

Comments

Time to regulate

[bobstreo]

Charging stations and connectors.

I want one standard for charging, and one type of connector, so I can drive up to any charging station without worrying about it being the wrong kind.

It's almost as bad as if Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Toyota and Honda had special stations that only worked with their cars.

Re:Time to regulate

[ckatko]

>I want one standard for charging, and one type of connector, so I can drive up to any charging station without worrying about it being the wrong kind.

While clearly that's ideal. I'm not sure how hard it would be. I mean, some cars will be able to charge faster than others. So even if the charger "knows" the maximum rate, the charger may not be rated as high and it'll still charge slower. And this is assuming all vehicles are running the exact same voltage at the connector and converting it to what they need. Except that could also be a PITA because then the internal voltage converter is going to have to take up weight, may be physically large, and is an additional conversion efficiency loss (read: lots of heat).

I'm sure a "best compromise" can be made. But it's certainly not a simple endeavor. We don't know what electric cars are going to be like in 2030, or even 2020. What if a new battery technology comes out (with drastically different charging profile / voltage / current ratings) and all our chargers are "adapted" to lithium-ion? We'll need another "compatibility layer" on top of the existing one which could be another source of inefficiency (supporting "new" chargers and "old, 2017" chargers requiring separate large DC-DC transformers). Who knows.

Whatever "standard" comes out really needs to be a group effort with FORWARD compatibility as a key.

Re:Time to regulate

[Smidge204]

The standard is SAE J1772-2009.

The only EV manufacturer that doesn't have a J1772 port is Tesla, but they still include an adapter for it.

Some US manufacturers want to use the CCS1 plug style, which is backwards-compatible with J1772.
=Smidge=

Re:Time to regulate

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

You must regulate to avoid some company playing the "embrace, extend and extinguish" game. At some point some one will try to fragment the converging standard. Unix had a common protocol for authentication and file system sharing. Microsoft came up with Active Directory that allowed unix hosts to be controlled by AD but windows machines could not be controlled by unix servers. You don't want any vendor to play this game.

Right now electric vehicles are bought by people who do the research and learn the facts before buying. If it hist mass market, there will be lots of less informed buyers. Uninformed consumers mess up the workings of the invisible hand of the free market.

Re:Time to regulate

[AmiMoJo]

Standards like CHAdeMO and CCS allow the vehicle to tell the charger what voltage to produce and query the maximum available current.

The chargers use switch mode power supplies too convert AC to DC with high efficiency. They can produce a wide range of voltages.

Re:Low income communities

[mentil]

Low-income area means people who can only afford a used Corolla, not a new $35k car. Those subsidies are going bye-bye long before the lower classes are going to be able to afford electric cars (and of course, a tax credit means nothing if your net income tax each year is $0.)

Not the real reason

[campuscodi]

Their not doing it to make amends. The EV market is growing, they're just laying the groundwork for their future business.

Re:Low income communities

[ls671]

But a second hand EV? When that battery goes, you're looking at a replacement costing over $10.0000.

I am not sure how much money that is but I can't make it come close to the cost of a new battery.

Re:Low income communities

[drinkypoo]

Or you buy a Hyundai. Since 2012 their EVs have come with a transferrable lifetime battery warranty and they have a 6/60k bumper to bumper and 10/100k powertrain warranty. Anyone who buys any EV right now which is not a Hyundai is doing themselves and everyone else a disservice, because the standard should be a lifetime battery warranty.

They are soo behind.

[WarlockD]

I had a VW GTI Jetta that I just turned in just 3 weeks ago. The process was way to simple. My original goal was to just trade it in for a new GTI but VW abandoned the diesal in the states.

So I got a Hyundi Ioniq Hybrid instead. VW is WAY behind on there interior electronics. Even looking at the newer non diesel Jetta had no options in the way of LCD controls. The first time I tried Android Auto, I wondered why the hell everyone doesn't just do this instead of getting some proprietary menu. As a hybrid I have been getting about same mileage as I was from my GTI (about 44mpg per tank) so I am happy with that.

I wanted the Model 3, but no way that's is happening in the next year till manufacturing catches up with the pre-orders and knowing Tesla, a bunch of early small recalls initially too. It just shows that some 3rd tier automaker and build a decent hybrid with an interesting interior. I really hope this is a wake up call for VW because all they seem to have is the bettle.

Too late for VW

[NineNine]

It's too late for everybody who isn't named "Tesla". Tesla's got over 100,000 charging stations installed already. Tesla's chargers are going to be the de facto standard at this point.

Looks good on paper.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Charging stations will offer the most powerful and advanced charging technology ever deployed. 350 kW charging has the capability to add about 20 miles of range per minute to a vehicle, allowing up to300 miles of fuel to be added in only 15-20 minutes for some next generation vehicles

Also not vendor locked, the chargers will not be proprietary.

Re:Low income communities

[AmiMoJo]

EV batteries last the lifetime of the car anyway. By the time the battery is worn out, the car will have fallen apart around it.

Taxi companies have Leafs with over 200k miles and >80% remaining. Some Tesla owners are over 400k with the same.

If you can get a home charger and the range is okay, used EV, especially a Leaf, is a great cheap car. Maintenance is low, fuel costs are low, and the buy price is ridiculously low.

Re:Low income communities

[AmiMoJo]

Most, if not all EVs, won't let you discharge the battery below safe levels. For example, the original Leaf had a 24KWh battery, but you could only actually use about 22KWh of energy from it at most. Then the car would shut down and prevent you doing any damage. Naturally the remaining battery % and range displays were calibrated to account for that.

Older Leafs have a special 80% charge mode that stops charging at, you guessed it, 80%. It was called "long life mode". The newer ones don't have it, Nissan realized that it was pointless. In fact, those taxi firms I mentioned have been doing multiple rapid charges every day, followed by a 100% charge over night.

I actually miss the 80% charge option, simply because when you charge to 100% the regen doesn't work for the first few kilometres. I like having the regen on high as you can pretty much drive with just the accelerator, rarely needing to use the actual brake. The new Leaf, due in September, takes that to the next level with a "one pedal mode" that will bring the car to a full stop if you come off the gas completely.

Re:How to measure battery performance?

[AmiMoJo]

In the Leaf, if you charge all the way up and there is some battery degradation, the display will show less than the full 12 bars of capacity. A few people have managed to lose a bar or two.

It will be different in other EVs, but having driven a few they all seem to have plenty of data on the battery available. When I get my Leaf serviced they also give me a report on the battery. There is also an app (LeafSpy) that talks to a Bluetooth OBD-II dongle that can give you precise information on the Leaf battery, and I've seen similar ones for other vehicles.

As such I think there is actually far less to worry about than with an ICE car. No exhaust, no catalytic converter/emissions, no belts, no radiator, no oil, no gearbox, no spark plugs, no fuel pump, no fuel injectors etc. It's much easier to check that there are no surprises or expensive repairs looming.