Collaboration Leads the Fast Charge to an EV Future

Jun 12, 2013 10:00 AM ET
Campaign: GM Greener Vehicles

GM BeyondNow

General Motors and BMW AG reached an important milestone in ensuring electric vehicle customers have faster and more charging options.

Following several days of joint testing, GM and BMW AG engineers are confident that DC “Combo” Fast Charge stations from several suppliers will consistently allow an electric vehicle to take on an 80 percent charge in about 20 minutes.

The industry-coordinated early confirmation of DC Fast Charge hardware and software will accelerate efforts to roll out SAE Combo DC Fast Charge infrastructure in the coming months.  Validating a standardized technology is pivotal to ensuring charging stations are compatible for every EV make and model, an important step in easing consumers’ range anxiety and increasing the number of EVs in the marketplace.

“This unprecedented cooperation among OEMs and equipment suppliers demonstrates the maturity of this important technology that will help speed the adoption of electric vehicles around the world,” said Britta Gross, GM director, advanced vehicle commercialization policy.

Just as most major automakers adopted the SAE’s 120V/240V AC connector standard to assure plug-in vehicles could access all charging infrastructure, eight automakers – GM, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche – have committed to adopting the SAE combo fast charge connector, assuring standardization of the DC Fast Charge connectors.

This new combined AC and DC charging, or combo, connector provides added ease of use for DC Fast Charging, including a single charge port on the vehicle, and allows electricity to flow at a faster rate, making EVs more convenient and reliable to use for consumers who may not  have  access to overnight charging at home.

The first electric vehicles expected to benefit from SAE’s new industry standard for DC fast charging are the Chevrolet Spark EV and the BMW i3. The DC Fast Charge option is expected to be available a few months after the Spark EV launches in California and Oregon this summer.