ElectrifyAmerica - aka What Am I Missing

You quoted what I wrote before noticing that Domenick already said the same thing, but better. I changed my comment.

Not objecting, just pointing that out in case someone tries to find the comment you quoted from.

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Find a Casino. Most casinos here in the Palm Springs and surrounding areas have free 220 charging. I occasionally go to the "Spa" Casino here in Palm Springs, grab a bite to eat and throw a few dollars into the slots and when I'm done my car is fully charged from almost empty. Sometimes I leave minus a few dollars and sometimes with a $300 profit!!

 

"If you plug in a compatible car, the 350kW units should deliver 200 miles of range in about 10 minutes -- enough to be sure you get home."
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I'm pretty sure there is currently no mass-produced plug-in EV which can be charged 200 miles of range in 10 minutes. There is a limit to how fast battery cells can be charged without overheating, even if the charger and the car's wiring/ bus bars can deliver that kind of power.

Porsche claims the Mission E (aka Taycan) can be charged from 10%-80% in 15 minutes, but even that claim seems questionable. Maybe they can do it a few times, but will the pack last for years if they charge it that fast on a daily (or even weekly) basis?

I expect future EV battery cells will be built with much lower internal resistance so they can be charged much faster without overheating. But that won't happen today, nor tomorrow, and probably not next year.

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Much of the key to the Porsche system is the 800V batteries and charging. Allows the same amperage to put twice the charge on the battery with little to no heat increase (at least on paper). In theory, no worse than Supercharging a Tesla. Since neither Tesla the VW Group (Porsche, Audi, etc) are actually producing vehicles that handle the upcoming ultra fast charge rates, all we can do is speculate. But, as anyone with a LEAF can verify, keeping the battery in a happy temperature place is critical.

 

If that were true, then more power to them! (...pun intended.)

But I don't think it works that way. EV battery cells work at around 3-4 volts. They are assembled into packs in strings, both in parallel and in series. By putting them in series they may reach a voltage of 300-400 or 800 volts, but that doesn't mean the individual cells have a higher voltage just because the pack does.

 

The problem with that is it creates a perverse incentive for stations to not deliver power as quickly as possible.

If you're paying per kWh, then it's in the station's interest to charge you up as fast as possible so that you can move on and another customer can use the charger.

If you're paying per minute, then it's in the station's interest to deliver power as slowly as the customer will accept, so that you have to charge as long as possible (and therefore they don't have to pay for as much electricity).

At least in my area, I find that slow or broken chargers are much more common than cars that are done charging hogging the spots. I've only once had to wait at a quick charge station (and even in that case, I arrived first, but let another person in more of a hurry cut in front of me since I wasn't in a particular rush).

 

The solution here is to charge for energy use (by kWh) while charging, then after a grace period charge a per-minute occupancy fee for staying connected to the charger. My understanding is most DCFC charging is already structured this way; per-minute charging is rare except in states where only utility companies are allowed to sell power per-kWh.

 

If they actually get the rates as proposed I may start taking the wife's Bolt on long trips instead of the Clarity. Currently it is quite a bit cheaper to put gas in the Clarity than pay the ~30-40 cents/kWh that the Electrify America currently charges. The Bolt charges between 50-60kW, has anyone tried a Clarity BEV on a full power DC Combo charger? It was estimated to be able to charge at 40-45kW, I wonder if folks are seeing that. Still, it would be a pain to take a trip with a 90 mile EV. We did 240 mile round-trip trip way back in our Chevy Spark, it was OK mainly due to a great restaurant 1/2 way there that had a charger and a hotel on the coast with a level 2.