US companies follow Tesla on EV plug design + Scotland publishes new charging vision
The latest news from the world of EVs
Hello, I’m Tom Riley and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top stories in today’s edition… US companies are moving to adopt Tesla’s plug design, Scotland publishes its new charging vision, and the Trade Secretary warns of being over-reliant on China.
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US market follows Tesla on EV plug design
Background: Yes, I know that headline sounds boring, and I know it’s about the US rather than the UK, but this is I feel an important story for the EV world.
Context: As we are all aware, every EV has a charging port. And after the initial models about a decade ago, since November 2017, in Europe, every high-powered DC charger has had to be equipped with an EV connector called the 'Combo 2' (CCS2). This is one that all modern EVs have in the UK and allows one to charge at home, using an AC supply, and also at rapid chargers, with DC supply.
And what? Well, while all over the world the ‘Combined Charging System’ (CCS) has been adopted by carmakers and charging networks, there has been one country where there’s been tension… America land.
Why? While European carmakers have adopted ‘Combo 2’, Tesla in the US has had its own special connectors since 2012 competing against the country’s ‘CCS1’. This has led many charging networks to add adapters to their devices so Teslas can use them, and it also kept Tesla’s Supercharger network in the US largely private.
However… Last year, Tesla opened up the designs for other manufacturers to use its connector and rebranded it ostentatiously as the ‘North American Charging Standard’. Known as NACS.
The result? It seems the NACS (Tesla) connector is quickly becoming the preferred option for drivers, charging networks, and now also carmakers. In the last couple of weeks, both Ford and General Motors – two of the nation’s biggest carmakers – have signed partnerships with Tesla to use their connectors. Likewise, major charger manufacturers will be adopting NACS including ABB, Blink, Chargepoint, EVGO, Tritium and Wallbox.
What next? NACS is only just starting seed in the US, however, while Europe is currently fairly dominated by CCS, could this change if it made sense for each global player to be using the same plug – rather than being diverged across the Atlantic?
Surely not? The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) association, which promotes CCS as the global standard for charging around the world, has continued to back CCS as the standard but has noticeably warmed to NACS in recent weeks. In a recent press release, CharIN launched a new task force intending to subject NACS to a standardisation process, noting it’s not perfect yet but that many of its members, which includes carmakers and manufacturers, want to use NACS.
Last thoughts: Given the UK’s rapid chargers all have CCS, plus carmakers including Tesla, it feels unlikely NACS will ever invade our island. Though, I think this story underlines how the EV sector is still so new and developing all the time. CHAdeMO was the future once…
Scotland’s new vision for EV charging
Background: Yesterday the Scottish Government published a new vision for its public charging network. Over the coming year, the vision will be consulted on by Transport Scotland who will then publish an implementation plan.
Summary: There are a few components to the vision, though the central piece is that going forward, the network ChargePlace Scotland (CPS), over the next few years will transition towards a public charging network that is “largely financed and delivered by the private sector”. Furthermore, as the Minister for Transport, Fiona Hyslop says: “As the network grows, there are also clear opportunities for the private sector to support the operation of existing ChargePlace Scotland charge points under new arrangements, and ensuring this move is seamless and aligned with the Vision is critical.” You may recall this new direction was first revealed in this newsletter about a month ago.
Detail: You can find a copy of Transport Scotland’s press release here and the full vision here. As a reminder, CPS is presently the fifth biggest charging network in the UK, according to Zap-Map, and operates more than 2,500 chargers.
Reaction: A spokesperson for ChargeUK, the voice of the EV charging industry, welcomed the publication of the vision that “will deliver for the needs of Scotland, grown at scale and pace in partnership with private Charge Point Operators”. The EV Association for Scotland also welcomed the “commitment to ensuring a just transition” and also the recognition that “public intervention will be needed where private investment on its own will be unviable, ensuring that no area should be left behind.”
Final thoughts: This seems like a positive move for Scotland’s charging infrastructure - especially on their desire to have one that remains working for everyone - and it will be interesting to see the implementation plan when it launches later this year on how that becomes real.
Latest EV news…
RED FLAG: The Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, warned yesterday that the UK must not become ‘overly reliant’ on Chinese battery technology. It comes as the government is finalising the deal for a gigafactory in Somerset with JLR owner, Tata, and China’s Envision is involved too. Read more (paywall).
RED WARNING: Speaking of which, the UK battery manufacturer AMTE Power has threatened to build its planned new factory overseas unless the UK closes the gap with subsidies offered by the EU and US. Read more (paywall).
NEW CARS: Kia has said it will be expanding its line-up of small EVs – the firm is looking to launch 15 new models by the end of 2027. There will be a particular focus on the European market. Read more.
LIST PRICE: The BYD Dolphin, which the Chinese carmaker’s small hatchback EV, is going to be on sale for £26,000 in the UK with various trim options. The range is about 200 miles depending on which you get. Read more.
SUPER QUICK: Nyobolt is a new EV sports concept that claims to come with breakthrough battery technology – enabling a driver to charge up fully in less than six minutes. This explains why the Nyobolt only has 155 miles of range. And, also, apparently, this rapid charging doesn’t impact the battery life. Read more.
NEW WONGA: Octopus Electric Vehicles has received £150m of new funding to boost its salary sacrifice scheme. This means OEV has so far raised £650m. Read more.
CLEVER CENTRE: The charging network Gridserve is opening a new innovation centre in Swindon. The new centre will be used to develop new developments with smart connectivity, battery storage, and delivering a good customer experience. The best thing about this news though is the picture they’ve used – wherein three blokes are gently caressing a Gridserve charger. Read more.
NEW HUB: Speaking of Gridserve, they have just opened a new hub at Moto Ferrybridge. There are 6 chargers right now working with a smaller grid connection, but eventually there will be 12 there.
FRESH ROLLOUT: Trojan Energy, who make clever on-street chargers that literally plug into the ground, have partnered with Surrey County Council to trial their new ‘AON’ device. These are much more handheld than their first iteration which had a cable attached. The council is also testing out cable gullies. Read more.
ROBUST REPLIES: Following BBC Panorama’s show on EVs a week ago, the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) responded saying many of the claims in the programme were inaccurate. In its defence, the BBC said: “The documentary concentrated specifically on the charging infrastructure because the public and industry experts have identified “range anxiety” as a particular barrier to the expansion of electric vehicles in the UK.” Read more. Or see a BBC letter to a complaint about the show here.
Better news… In a lighter positive commentary, why not read the National World’s Transport Editor on his experience with an EV. Read more.
CAPTAIN VOLTS: First it was car parks, then bridges, and now apparently EVs are going to start burning Scotland’s ferries. Apparently, a report from insurer Allianz gave a much higher risk of fires occurring from carrying EVs, so pre-emptive measures may be required on the ferry crossings in Scotland. Read more.
HIGH BAR: North Lincolnshire is going to use £1.2m of government funding to install up to 800 new chargers, apparently. This is certainly ambitious – works out at £1,500 per charger, which given they are public facing feels like an underestimate. Read more.
BECOS BREXIT: Many carmakers in Europe continue to worry about what the ‘rules of origin’ will do to their imports/exports come next year. The rules, written into the Brexit deal, say that tariffs will apply to cars with 45% materials from outside the UK or EU. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association has now put a figure on the risk to manufacturers who ship to the UK, saying it could add more than €4.3bn over three years. Read more.
GREEN DITCH: Lastly, not directly EV news, though still important… last week the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, reversed on Labour’s pledge to invest £28bn into green industries. Instead, investment will be throttled up to 2027. Read more. However, there is still a plan for Great British Energy, which Labour leader Kier Starmer referred to in a wide-ranging speech yesterday.
By Tom Riley | Check my Linktree for LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok
Given over half the world's EVs have a GB/T or CHAdeMO connector, surely their replacement ChaoJi would make more sense than NACS. Europeans are unlikely to import many American cars, but Japanese and Chinese cars already sell well here. I fondly remember the days of Japanese imports, and the really interesting cars all come from China now.