First 350 kW charging station in U.S. is open!!

[SparkE]

First 350 kW charging station in U.S. is open. They are in MA and they opened on May first.

https://insideevs.com/electrify-americas-first-350-kw-ultra-fast-charger-to-be-launched-on-april-25/

https://www.plugshare.com/location/152111

It is at Chicopee Marketplace and installed by Electrify America. There are 8 plugs, but only 4 can be used at the same time, so it is a 4-slot station.

Two CCS stations rated at 350 kW.
Two CCS stations rated at 150 kW.
There is also *one* CHAdeMO plug rated at 50 kW.

The company has said that they are limiting all the plugs to 50 kW at this point in time (most likely working out bugs). However, plugshare comments have mentioned Bolts charging at 54 - 56 kW (at under 50% SoC), and a Kia SOUL (CHAdeMO) charging at 68kW.

 

[SparkE]

The Charging station in Baker, CA ("worlds tallest thermometer) still isn't on-line. It is now almost a year overdue (it was supposed to open in June '17). It is an EVgo spot that will charge at "up to 150 kW" and appear to be the ABB DCFCs installed in Fremont, CA (0-350A @ 200-600V). This station will allow easy EV travel between SoCal (anywhere <200 mi from Baker) and Las Vegas. Since L.A. has loads of DCFCs, a 2-DCFC trip to Vegas will be possible from San Diego or even Tijuana.

 

[SparkE]

Also, the CEC (Calif Elec Comm) chargers that were approved and budgeted WELL OVER a year ago still haven't opened. Well, there is one in Redding (NorCal). They will create 50 kW (at a minimum), 2-plug (in most places) charging along the major freeways in the state, making EV road travel possible to almost anywhere in the state. (and it IS the third largest state in the nation, 800 miles N to S).

EVgo, on the other hand has gone on a Tesla-esque run this year of installing DCFCs in the state, for example making the drive from Sacramento to Reno, NV or to South lake Tahoe doable in a Spark EV (DCFCs every 30 miles or so).

 

[keijidosha]

The Charging station in Baker, CA ("worlds tallest thermometer) still isn't on-line. It is now almost a year overdue (it was supposed to open in June '17). It is an EVgo spot that will charge at "up to 150 kW" and appear to be the ABB DCFCs installed in Fremont, CA (0-350A @ 200-600V). This station will allow easy EV travel between SoCal (anywhere <200 mi from Baker) and Las Vegas. Since L.A. has loads of DCFCs, a 2-DCFC trip to Vegas will be possible from San Diego or even Tijuana.

Latest post on PlugShare hints it might be open by June 15th;
“According to a 4/27 post by Buzz Therm (the gift shop) on Facebook, the charger is planned to be open by June 15th. -- checkin created before location officially marked open”

 

[gpsman]

So far this does not excite me.

The Bolt EV was shown pulling 56 kw from the wall.
If the cooling system was on at the same time, this means probably less than 50 kw going into the battery.

This charge rate will save you about 1 or 2 minutes over a typical DCFC that can put 46 kw to the battery.

A 4 kw boost is not much. And you can only utilize that speed below 50% charge and under ideal temperature conditions.

Not a game changer for any Bolt EV.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

So far this does not excite me.

The Bolt EV was shown pulling 56 kw from the wall.
If the cooling system was on at the same time, this means probably less than 50 kw going into the battery.

This charge rate will save you about 1 or 2 minutes over a typical DCFC that can put 46 kw to the battery.

A 4 kw boost is not much. And you can only utilize that speed below 50% charge and under ideal temperature conditions.

Not a game changer for any Bolt EV.

It's true that the power levels are not a game changer when looking at a single Bolt EV plugged into a single charger. What really excites me is that there will soon be a nationwide network of these chargers, with multiple connection points at each. Also, with more power available, those cars that can draw more will be able to move along sooner, decreasing the amount of time you may have to wait in line at a congested stations.

We know that the 2019 Bolt is more business-as-usual. A normal car would have a minor refresh/facelift after about 3 years. Maybe the 2020 Bolt will have an improved charging rate / taper profile. One can hope.

 

[SmokingRubber]

I'm all for more DCFC ... but for me ... I will still take my ICE car on road trips. DCFCers are comparable in cost to gas. At least it's not enough of a difference to entice me into spending +60 minutes at some out-of-the-way charging station every 2½-3 hours of driving.

Example: Pismo Beach to Las Vegas is approx 410 miles.

In my ICE car I'd have to top off once near Barstow. Google says the whole trip would take approx 6½ hours, plus a 30 minute gas/break = 7 hour trip and about $48 gas (32 mpg).

My Bolt would require two stops and the route isn't as straight. Add an extra 20 mile diversion up to Bakersfield for a DCFC. Then 90 minutes to charge? Let's just say 60 minutes. So, 130 miles to Bakersfield ... then another 130 to Barstow, and another 60 minutes on the DCFC tit. Then it's only 155 miles farther to Vegas. That's a total of 9 hours and two DCFC charges at about $13 ea.? So that's $26 in electricity to get there, not including the full tank I started with. Then it's approx $39 to get back home.

I'd rather pay the extra $20 to chop 2 hours out of my one way journey.

Like I said ... the more DC Fast Chargers the better!!!! But ICE fill ups are still more convenient. If more hotels had L2 destination chargers, I might be more likely to take the Bolt. But, I leased the Bolt to be my daily driving commuter car. I get free (to me) L2 power at work. I'm capped at 15,000 miles a year. Until I can charge my battery in 15 minutes, I have to stick with my ICE car on trips.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Until I can charge my battery in 15 minutes, I have to stick with my ICE car on trips.

This is certainly your prerogative, and I'm not arguing with that. On the other end of the spectrum, if DCQCs were as common as gas stations, I would give up my ICE car today. I simply don't want the continued expenses, mess, or affiliation with Big Oil. To each his own.

 

[SmokingRubber]

Until I can charge my battery in 15 minutes, I have to stick with my ICE car on trips.

This is certainly your prerogative, and I'm not arguing with that. On the other end of the spectrum, if DCQCs were as common as gas stations, I would give up my ICE car today. I simply don't want the continued expenses, mess, or affiliation with Big Oil. To each his own.

If DCFCers were as common as gas stations, that would affect my opinion. Right now, chargers are not as frequent so not only do I have to spend more time filling up, I also have to drive way out of my way to find a charger.

If infrastructure for the Bolt was on par with Tesla, there's no doubt I'd be a traveling man. In reality though, my Bolt's infrastructure is suited well for commuting. I personally don't travel too often (approx once a month do a 500 mile RT), so while I'd LOVE to have more DCFCers available, I probably wouldn't use them often in the Bolt.

We use my wife's daily driver ('16 Mazda CX5) for travelling, but when it's time to replace it, it's going to be an electric vehicle. No idea which EV right now, but definitely an EV. I imagine the infrastructure and charging speed will both improve between now and then so it's very likely that car will also be our traveler. That's probably 3 or 4 years out though.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Interesting. I didn't get that from your previous post. It read more like you were saying that DCFC has to be as convenient as gasoline before you gave up the ICE for travelling. I personally don't think EVs will ever get to "300 miles in 15 minutes" type of charging speeds. Nor do I think they need to.