Engineering360: "Four challenges that face EV charging station adoption"

Standardize or die.

No truer words have ever been spoken......however, don't forget what free enterprise is all about! If somebody insists on a proprietary charger for their vehicle, then who are we to stop them from shooting themselves in the foot? There are far too many examples of "Non standardization" and the accompanying pitfalls that result. That being said, they should remember that pain is instructive!!!!

Very true. Just look at Apple.

(but they're the exception, not the rule.)

The tough part is getting those to abandon their proprietary interfaces to adopt the standards. Companies usually will have invested considerable capital in their proprietary interfaces and are loathe to change them.

I believe we have two standalone charging providers nationwide and several regional utility based. The only actual, worldwide charger network is the one Tesla built. The technology patents have all been public for years now. Any company could have used it as their network also.

The problem with the Tesla network is you have to be serious about electric cars and not CAFE credits. You have to have a good battery to charge fast and most companies don't. Nissan never did. Its Leaf Battery can't even handle level 1 (120kw) charging from a Tesla charger. All Model three batteries can handle up to 450KW surge. When level three goes on line end of this year Ill be able to charge from 0 to 100% in 10 minutes.

Our local Walmarts are putting in chargers up to 300kw even though no cars other than Teslas currently on the road use that level of power. It look like they are going with the European Chademo connectors. So one can assume Volkswagon has been instrumental.

The rest of their concerns are smoke and mirrors. You use a credit card at the charger just like you do at the gas pump. As long as the batteries are standardized and the charges are "smart" then you pay at point of purchase. it matters not whose point.

EV's are on track for rapid ramp-up. Though vehicle range continues to improve, it remains the primary consumer concern, along with the related concern of charging accessibility. A limited overall availability of charging facilities would only be compounded by a lack of interoperability between different providers/networks. Governmental/public interest in promoting rapid adoption would argue for universal connectivity regulation.