Note – this video mistakenly references the Chevy Volt when it should be the Chevy Bolt EV.
Notes that the industry needs more DCFS chargers, easily accessible.
The video producer suggests we need a government program to get more chargers, pointing to Europe (he attended college in the UK). It is not a government program issue – its a wide open space issue, as he later notes in regards to Australia. But then comes back to insisting we need a government infrastructure program for charging.
This addresses the issue I identified for my own use, last year. For me it is not the vehicle range, so much, but the speed of charging when traveling long distances. The Chevy Bolt is a great EV – but maxes out at about 50-55 kwh in its maximum charge point while others are now charging at 100 kwh or more.
But due to battery chemistry, you cannot charge at the full rate from empty to full. Hence, as this video notes, you really want to do several short, fast charges, on a trip. But this requires easy access to DCFS along the route.
Even with the availability of DCFS, there will need to be enough to support charging multiple vehicles simultaneously. Last year, a single DCFS for CCS was put in a city 150+ miles to my south – and that is the only charger between here and the next charging station over 250 miles away. Pull in to the only DCFS – and its in use – you may find yourself with a long wait for charging!
That said, we do not need a government infrastructure for charging and I do not understand why Sam seems to think that is the solution. Visit Plug Share to see how many chargers have been installed in the US so far – it is quite amazing how many there are now and that is growing. Second, many businesses see EV charging as an opportunity – the McDonald’s in a small town north of me has installed their own EV chargers. While selling electricity they also sell burgers, fries and coffee. At some point, you can see Starbucks doing a deal like this too. Many hotels have installed Level 2 chargers – making it easy for guests to charge their EV that evening or overnight.
There are other issues. I do not yet see a path forward for, say, people in the western US towing a small trailer to a destination in the mountains. Under tow, your range will drop drastically. Charging options in many destinations are limited, at best (e.g. may be an AC or 220v outlet – but none in a USFS or BLM campground in remote western lands and unlikely there ever will be a solution there). Not sure how this will be handled.
