Volvo Pushes for Standardized EV Charging
Volvo is calling on its fellow automakers to join the Swedish brand in developing a standardized system for charging electric cars.
To prove that it is serious, Volvo is putting its effort behind the Charging Interface Initiative, an already established group that has put together the Combined Charging System (CCS ), a setup it hopes can becomes a standard for charging all battery-powered cars.
As it is now, the CCS will be able to offer both regular and fast charging capability by combining a single-phase with rapid three-phase charging. The charger uses alternating current at a maximum of 43 kW along with a direct-current charging maximum of 200kW. In the future, that could be increase to up to 350 kW.
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Volvo currently offers a few vehicles with plug-in hybrid powertrains, but the brand plans to offer a plug-in variant of every one of its models in the coming years as their cars are refreshed. A fully electric Volvo is also slated to arrive by 2019.
“We see that a shift towards fully electric cars is already underway, as battery technology improves, costs fall and charging infrastructure is put in place,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Volvo’s senior vice president of R&D. “But while we are ready from a technology perspective, the charging infrastructure is not quite there yet. To really make range anxiety a thing of the past, a globally standardised charging system is sorely needed.”
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Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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