Battery Charging Standards and East versus West Rivalry

[Coast2Coast]

I thought about posting this to the thread on battery producers, but this is a different topic - CHARGING -worthy of attention in its own right.

China announced a new generation of battery charging using the CHAdeMO standard, boasting a newer, sleeker connector, 500-kW capability and, perhaps most importantly, bi-directionality. There have been posts and threads about bi-directionality on this forum and others. Bi-directionality allows vehicles to be charged from the grid and for vehicles to charge back to the grid (which in a case like mine, with a very unreliable power supplier, is very desirable).
https://electrek.co/2020/04/28/chad...g-standard-in-a-bid-to-leapfrog-the-industry/

There appears to be an agreement between China and Japan to adopt the new CHAdeMO standard though it's unclear whether this is a state-to-state or firm-to-firm level agreement. China is the biggest EV market in the world. In addition, India and S. Korea are also said to be considering joining the new CHAdeMO standard.

At the moment, different standards in different markets is not a worry. This is often the case when technologies are new. Markets are small and fragmented, and that's the case with EVs. However, in order for markets to grow in size and number, agreement on standards is essential. Without agreement, markets remain fragmented, economies of scale are hard to realize, consumers are confused, investment in charging infrastructure lags, and market penetration of EVs slows.

This is an issue. What should Rivian do? Is it possible to have two different charging systems, one for the left port and another for the right? But this would be costly. When Rivian opens an assembly plant in Asia, like Tesla has in Shanghai, presumably the vehicles produced there could be CHAdeMO equipped. This might be the way to go.

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[EyeOnRivian]

I don't see this as being an issue for consumers. As you say, different standards in different markets is typically not an issue. Take for instance electrical outlets in Europe compared to the US. And that even affects the consumer when they travel abroad with electrical devices. I don't plan on driving my Rivian outside of North America. So unless Canada or Mexico decide go CHAdeMO, I tend to think this would be a non-issue from the consumer stand-point. But I agree that it would be best if we could avoid the different protocols on a global scale, but that ship may have already sailed.

 

[skyote]

No doubt that CCS could accommodate similar features, and this announcement could even accelerate that.

No concern here, and glad to see advancements in the space.

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