An alliance of seven major automakers that includes GM as well as BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis has shaken hands on building a network of EV fast chargers that will include tens of thousands of individual “high-powered charge points” across North America.
GM and the six other companies will create the network as a joint venture, with the alliance expected to launch formally later this year and the first stations to start operating in summer 2024.
Via Mercedes-Benz.
The joint venture – the name of which has not yet been revealed to the public – aims at offering a minimum of 30,000 fast chargers in its completed network. These chargers will offer charging via both Combined Charging System (CCS) and North American Charging Standard (NACS) connections.
This plan echoes Electrify America’s intention to retrofit its stations with NACS connectors as well as building all its future stations with both NACS and CCS. The NACS charging standard was first developed by Tesla, offering more compact and lightweight connectors than CCS, and is currently being further developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for greater durability and performance. GM EVs will switch to NACS connectors by 2025.
The joint venture will place its fast charging stations on highways and in cities first, especially along busy connecting corridors and on road arteries used by large numbers of vacationers. The stations will use only renewable energy and will exceed U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program standards.
NACS (black) and CCS (gray) charger dimensions compared
The stations will be open to all EVs able to use CCS or NACS connections regardless of manufacturer. Additionally, the stations will feature extra conveniences wherever possible, according to statements by GM and others. These will include canopies for weather protection in many locations and restrooms.
The automakers also say they will turn many of the stations into hubs for other forms of convenience and refreshment. Fast food, and various stores will also be located in the same “complex.” Without offering much detail, Mercedes-Benz remarks that some “flagship stations will be equipped with additional amenities, delivering a premier experience designed to showcase the future of charging.”
The network will also be linked to the automakers’ individual apps, providing an electronic connection enabling users to place reservations, plan routes, and otherwise travel more smoothly and efficiently.
All CEOs from the joint venture’s founding partners made statements emphasizing that the goal is to hasten EV adoption by providing a far-flung, highly useful fast charging network for electric vehicle drivers.
GM CEO Mary Barra remarked that The General is committed to “delivering EVs our customers love” along with improving access to fast charging since “the better experience people have, the faster EV adoption will grow.”
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Comments
So Tesla, with the majority of sold cars, won the EV charger war, and everyone accepts the Tesla adapter as the North American standard.
How is the charger going to know that the juice being received is from a windmill or solar panel?
What a windmill next to every charging station? What if someone is still using a charging station you have a reservation for? You going to unplug them and plug yours in? How dumb. You don’t need a reservation to fill up at a gas station.
Sounds like you really know what you’re talking about.
This reads like a fairy tale. The chargers will only use renewable energy? LOL, will this network have its own dedicated distribution grid? Of course not. This is propaganda they will tell you they are sourcing renewable energy but in reality it is all mixed on the grid. Good luck getting much solar energy in February in the upper Midwest.
Running on 100% renewable energy is such a simple concept it is par for the course half the people here are totally clueless on a simple concept.
Lets say a station purchases 30,000 kwh a year from the local utility – further – the station commits to purchasing the ‘energy’ from a renewable supplier so then, the utility purchases 30,000 kwh extra from this renewable supplier..
The fact that the electricity actually is added to the broad mix of sources on the way to the charging station is a TOTAL IRRELEVANCY.
Everything else in daily life works the same way. The Gasoline at the pump may be branded by one company, but it is sourced from several. The fact that a given company is for accounting purposes purchasing so much gasoline from one refinery and another percentage from another company does not change the fact that the total percentages of purchase match the various decisions by gas station distributors.
The natural gas coming to your house in most areas you have the choice of the company you want to supply it..
This is exactly what happens; – the fact that the gas is intermixed with other company gas DOES NOT change the fact that a defined block of gas was purchased from a given supplier at the wishes of a particular consumer.
The solar panels on my house manufacture more electricity (by about 1%) of the electricity I actually use, so for accounting purposes, I purchase most years NO utility electricity for my home. The fact that in actuality, I’m really supplying my small neighborhood loads during the day time and charging my cars at night using central station electricity IN NO WAY changes the fact that the electricity I am generating is electricity that the utility never has to purchase from a central station – since they are purchasing much less HIGH COST electricity during the peak days when the purchase price of electricity is extremely dear.
My Utility just LOVES this arrangement since although, they have to purchase electricity for me at night with no compensation from me, they also must purchase much less expensive electricity during the day since I provide it, and in the balance, the utility is more profitable due to their overall lower cost of purchase of electricity from all sources, than if they would have to suffer purchase of extremely expensive electricity otherwise.
True, except that these chargers were be scattered across the country and across manny many utilities and co-op grid networks. Each utility can purchase as little as one renewable megawatt per year and claim to be distributing renewable energy. So, it’s possible that every charger has some fractional percentage of renewable power. Even that would be difficult but it would be nearly impossible to accurately say that all of these chargers use 100% renewable energy, which is what they are insinuating. There’s only so much available renewable energy and everyone wants to claim it but you can only sell it once. As I said before it’s propaganda.
Carl – no offense but you guys don’t get it at all.
If you are worried about propaganda and preventing everyone except the privileged few from driving, if you only buy 100% ICE vehicles the gov’t can lock you in your car AND make you helpless when formerly diving if it has:
ONSTAR
Power door locks
Power Windows
An Electric Ignition System.
Where was the complaint about mandatory ONSTAR?
I Complained, but none of you 100% ICE people did.
To have you guys complain about not knowing the color of electricity going through Utility wires makes as much sense as worrying about what color gasoline , and natural gas you are buying.
If you are worried about something, think about the 50% of paychecks coming from govts of all types.
3 Guesses as to where that money ultimately comes from.
What we need is more NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS! Green power personified.
It will never be as convenient as filling up with liquid fuel.
But ICE cars will never match the smooth, instant power of EVs.
Well 100% ICE cars do run pretty smoothly , cleanly and quietly. I like the fact my old plugin VOLT can run on gasoline if it has to.
And the ancient 4 cyl engine just purrs like a kitten.
Never is a long time – we’re in early days.
It’s still, no thanks.
I do not have a EV and will probably never have one, but this infrastructure of charging stations is a must . EVs are the future, like it or not.
Thats 1 charger fir every 30,000 passenger cars. Lines to charge will be longer than the gas lines in 72 during oil embargo.
Relax, its just the beginning of the buildup. Demand will keep the build up going.
I still don’t know anyone who wants an EV. Where’s all of the “demand “?
You may not ‘see’ it, but it is real. Here is a fun fact: Toyota has been the top automaker in California (the US’ largest car market by far) for decades and routinely outsells GM and Ford combined – Tesla in Q2 2023 surpassed Toyota as the top selling brand in California. Tesla also outsold Ford and Chevrolet combined in Q2. YTD the Tesla Model Y alone sold more units than Ford or Chevrolet/Buick/Cadillac. Like it or not, California is a bell weather for what’s to come. While there is not much demand for most legacy auto BEVs, there is significant demand for Teslas. I realize most people on here hate Tesla/Elon, but you gotta give props to Tesla for being the first domestic automaker to surpass Toyota in California since the 80’s. YTD, Toyota leads by 10k, but they have no compelling BEV and have declining sales, while Tesla continues to gain marker share. GM would be picking up market share if they could scale any BEV, but they are battery constrained and continue to make pouch batteries by hand.
The problem is that the number of planned charging stations is woefully inadequate. With approximately 150,000 gas stations in the U.S. and multiple pumps at each it seems that 300,000 charging stations would be a more realistic goal.
Lots of blab about the electric future and lots of new vehicles in the pipeline but the infrastructure is way behind except in maybe a few urban areas.
Not to mention that the US doesn’t have anywhere near the generation capacity to support an entire EV switch over if even passenger cars. Throw in commercial vehicles and it’s a joke.
No new power plants planned and the time from planning to power generation is 8 years.
I still don’t know anyone who wants an EV. Where’s all of the “demand “?
I want an EV, but the local dealers have no information about wiring my garage in preparation for a EV purchase and need at home charging.
Toolmaker:
You didn’t say what brand of car you want to buy and whether new or used, but if it is a New GM:
$1,000 toward a QmeritElectrician wiring up a ‘220’ receptacle in your garage or carport if new Bolt.
$1,500 if a new Caddy EV
If not a new GM any licensed electrician can install them, just as if you bought an electric stove for some place that never had one, at your expense of course.
Low mileage drivers can get along just fine with an existing good condition ‘110’ receptacle.
If u can install a stove, u can install an ev outlet. Usually a range or RV nema 14-50. Insist on a good brand like Hubbell, not fire starter stuff like Homer D. Poe sells.
Many perfectly fine much lower cost alternatives also exist.
How about elaborating what you have in mind?
If you are a toolmaker you should be able to wire it. You can probably figure on $10 afoot for wire. I would use pvc conduit and 3#6 wires and a #10 bare or green for an extra ground (optional but a good idea). YouTube probably has some videos up on how to do it. Visit an electrical supply house for a quality plug and they usually will give you a better price on the wire than a homecenter.
Budlar:
Actually, Lowes has very good prices on wire…. 6/3 with ground UF (Underground Feeder – direct burial wire – which may also be installed like romex inside) is $185 plus tax for a 50 foot length. Which works out to $3.70 a foot before sales tax. Romex is $100 more – crazy prices on romex lately – when the UF is the tougher cable.
This is ultimately to run a 32 amp load – if you use HUBBELL (good quality receptacle) you can increase the loading to 40 amperes on a 50 ampere fuses or double-pole breaker. #6 might seem a bit heavy to toolmaker, but if he is running this unspliced then the larger wire is needed to carry the heat away from the receptacle.
Do not use LEVITON or other junk since there are all kinds of horror stories as to melted receptacles.
This whole discussion is based on a 40 ampere continuous loading arrangement. As I say it may depend on what TOOLMAKER wants to buy.
GM lately is providing either 48 ampere chargers in the car or like my 2023 LYRIQ, 80 amperes. The ‘Charging Cord’ (Portable Wall Box formally known as an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment – a super DUMB name since it sounds like an electrical service entrance which it is *NOT*) included with a new BOLT EUV and Caddy LYRIQ is a 12 or 32 ampere ‘110/220’ cord with either a Nema 5-15 (standard 15 amp wall plug) or a NEMA 14-50 (standard 4 prong range/stove/recreational vehicle receptacle). This cord is optional for the bolt ev – which comes with a standard 8 or 12 ampere 120 volt cord with standard nema 5-15 plug.
48, 64, and 80 ampere wall boxes taking the place of this cord are also available – however the 32 ampere charging rate is good for roughly 20 miles per hour recharging rate. That is a LOT.
If you are a high-mileage technician or salesman, you might need faster, but 32 amperes is perfectly adequate for 98% of ev drivers.
The ‘110 volt’ choice using the standard cord coming with the car provides 2 or 3 miles per hour. If you only drive on average 30 miles per day, this is usually a fine choice as occasionally the battery can discharge a bit on days you drive much more, to be recouped in future days.
If this cable is run direct buried in the ground – follow all normal procedures and shroud the wire as it goes into and out of the ground to protect it from the lawnmower. If run without a rigid pipe and therefore direct-buried, make a ‘ribbon candy’ bend at each end where it enters/leaves the ground to take care of normal ground movement to avoid a cable ‘snapping’ situation – especially in areas where frost can cause ground movement. Obviously, bury the cable substantially below the frost line for your area.
As far as charging cords go with used cars – you could basically run into most any situation – however the car likely will come with the 12 amp, ‘110 volt’ cord. 2017-2019 BOLT EVs could charge as fast as 32 amperes at ‘220’. Same with 2019 volt Premiers…
All other used Volts, Caddy ELR and CT6 plug-ins charged at either ‘110’ 8 or 12 amperes, or ‘220’ 15 or 16 amps depending on whether 2016 or earlier. BOLT EV and EUV charge, when plugging into ‘110’ at either 8 or 12 amperes.
My LYRIQ will not charge at any slower than 12 amperes at ‘110’ – a change for GM.
Some vehicles, like recent Hyundai, KIA, and Teslas do *NOT* provide any charging cords at all standard. Tesla does provide standard a J1772 adapter only so that the car may be charged with the industry standard ‘charging cord’. Perfectly fine low cost cords are available from ebay. If it is desired to purchase one from the car company themselves, they range from about $250 to $550.
Hope this helps…. As I say, depending on what TOOLMAKER wants to do there are other low-cost options I have yet to mention… But a 14-50 receptacle is likely to be pretty universal, and for most, a 32 or 40 ampere charging rate (7.6 or 9.6 kw ideally) is all likely to be ever needed by 98% of drivers..
budlar, you have cover the bases I needed, especially covering the UF 16/3 and Hubbell recepticles.
Hubbell are the best and what I used when I wired my rotary phase converter.
I need to get to Lowes for that roll of UF 16/3.
Guys, thank you very much
Also, don’t forget that each gas pump can fill at least 5-10 vehicles in the same amount of time it takes to charge an EV. So in reality you need 5-10 times more chargers than gas pumps! LOL. This is a huge scam.
The ultimate goal is to restrict your driving, and mobility.
Bingo!
And to add to that point further, force individuals into utilizing government ran/subsidized mass transit.
You forget about those that can charge at home or at work. This destination charging will be the primary recharging method, by far.
So the strategy is vertical integration. The same small group that manufactures the vehicles will control distribution of the fuel. Our ancestors lived through that sort of concentration of economic power a century ago and didn’t like it very much. Anti-trust laws were enacted to break up the monopolistic/oligopolistic concentration of economic power.
It’s all part of the total control agenda. Once the get the switch over to all electric everything they can turn off/on only those that toe the line. Don’t sure with the policies… no soup for you.
Shortski that’s the best KneeSlapper comment so far today!!!!
All GM cars have had ONSTAR for several years.
Oh!! They have Gas Engines so they can NEVER be shut off and run 24 hours/7 days/52 weeks a year non-stop.!!!!
That’s the Real Fairy Tale.
Hey all you worry worts. This is all free enterprise. No one is stopping anyone from building a competing charging station. The auto companies are just trying to make sure their customers can purchase their TVs because there will be a place to charge them. There may be 150,000 gas stations in America now, but do you think there were that many in the first 5 years after auto manufacturers started selling automobiles. Supply will level out with demand. That is the beauty of the free enterprise system.
Free enterprise …… more like government mandates. Switch to EV or get taxed and regulated back to horse snd buggy.
Let’s see 30,000 chargers for over several million EVs they plan on building by 2025. That shouldn’t create to big of a back up. PIPE DREAMS PEOPLE!!
Obviously, these legacy automakers won’t build 1/10 of what they’ve promised for years, but also keep in mind Tesla has well over 30k chargers in the US right now, plus they are rapidly expanding as are EA, and other companies. This is only a money grab by these legacy automakers as they will receive billions from the IRA to build these and then profit from their long term use. I just hope they don’t half @ss it like VW’s EA.
Summer of 2024? That’s about the time I’ll probably get the Lyriq that I’ve been in the process of purchasing for over a year.
I wonder who is funding this venture for all the car companies to take the credit? Be willing to bet the us taxpayer is funding this whole thing and will keep funding entirely.
30k chargers for what the administration demands to be millions of electric automobiles. I bet neither one happens.
I want to thank all who posted with helpful information on this thread. I’ve copied to a doc. file for future reference, which, at my age, I will need.
First EV will most likely be a Bolt as a more economical trial. Do not like the idea of buying a car, driving it home only to have it sit for 10 to 30 days until the dealer can send the subsidized “official” installer.
Garage is 32 feet wide and would like charge outlets on opposing walls so that, eventually, 2 vehicles can charge at the same time. BTW, this garage has 200 amp service in anticipation of future EV’s.
Toolmaker you are welcome..
One thing about QMERIT $1000 or $1500 offer.
It is for residential garage attached to your home address.
No other garages or commercial garages are allowed.
A note on the Lyriq ‘unlimited 2 year free charging’ in lieu of the $1,500 receptacle installation offer:
In my area there are no EVGO stations within 200 miles. Partner chargePoint will not allow free charging at their stations. So the Bolt alternative $500 credit was the far more valuable and the Lyriq offer I took I now find out is essentially worthless.
I can use my EVGO credit card at ChargePoint stations and run up a charge that I have to pay for myself there.
BIG DEAL.
Of course Neither GM not GM Authority explained how it REALLY worked until AFTER I bought the Lyriq.
Again Nobody wants EVs!!!!!!! I predict a major loss for the car industry pushing these cars on all of us. Keep them. Theyre not perfected yet way too many fires takes way too long to charge !! Who wants to waste their time sitting while its charging
FORGET IT!!!!!!!!!!! Also the batteries at the end of their life span are so toxic to the environment!!!
The collaboration between GM and other automakers to develop a fast charging infrastructure is a significant step forward for the EV industry. This initiative addresses one of the key concerns for EV users – access to fast and convenient charging stations. It’s heartening to see the industry come together to support the growth of electric vehicles. economyev.co.uk will be a valuable source for you.
Hyper VI:
You’re kidding right? The website lists ‘Sustainable Chargers’ (whatever that means), but with MENEKES connectors for the small stuff and CCS2 for the fast charging, neither of which is applicable for North America.
22kw 3-phase charging of course is possible in houses here, but few in the states would pay for a 50 hp phase converter ($5,600) plus electrician’s work ($5,000 to $10,000 depending on whether a 300 ampere larger single phase service is required for the home), plus the cost of the 22kw wall box itself. Then another few thousand for the transformer to convert the resulting 230 Delta 3 phase to 230Y/400 for which the wall box is expecting….Hopefully the european wall box won’t object to the 60 HZ power in lieu of the 50 HZ normally supplied.
More to the point – there are currently ZERO EVs for sale in the States that accept a 22 kw 400 volt 3 phase input. So the owner would have to import a Citroen EV from France.