IHS Automotive has released a report documenting the growth of fast-charging technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) which the company says is driving the growth of the electric vehicle recharging market. The cumulative number of stations established worldwide will expand by a factor of more than 100 times over the period 2012 to 2020 the report says, with total fast-charging stations for EVs set to reach 199,000 locations globally in 2020, up from just 1,800 in 2012. The number of these stations is expected to rise more than threefold in 2013 to 5,900, tripling to 15,200 in 2014. Overall growth will subsequently continue at a rapid pace through 2020.
“The length of time it takes to recharge an EV continues to be one of the major stumbling blocks inhibiting the widespread adoption of electric vehicles” said Alastair Hayfield, associate research director at IHS Automotive. “Compared to the time it takes to refuel an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, the recharge time for EVs is incredibly slow - at about four hours to charge a 24 kilowatt-hour (kWh)-capacity battery using a 6.6 kW on-board charger. If EV auto manufacturers could overcome this obstacle, it could lead to a high rate of adoption from environmentally minded consumers as well as those seeking to cut gasoline expenses. That's where fast charging comes in.”
Fast-charging systems offer a high-voltage DC charge instead of a slower AC charge, meaning that a vehicle can be recharged in as little as 20 minutes. Widespread adoption of such systems could therefore be a major step towards EVs becoming equivalent to ICE vehicles with regard to refuelling.
“IHS believes fast charging is a necessary step to promote higher adoption of EVs, but there will need to also be better consumer education regarding behavioral changes that may need to happen when owning an electric vehicle - such as charging overnight or at work” Hayfield added.
Fast-charging systems currently in use include the Japanese-backed CHAdeMO system promoted by Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and various Japan-based industrial concerns such as Fuji and Tokyo Electric Power. Another is the combined charging system (CCS) which was submitted for international standardization in 2011 and is supported by Audi, BMW, Daimler, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Porsche and Volkswagen. BMW, GM and Volkswagen have announced they will introduce fast-charging EVs based on a CCS standard at some point in 2013. Tesla has also introduced a third fast-charging method dubbed “Supercharging” which operates at a higher power rating than either CHAdeMO or CCS. However a proprietary plug interface means that only Tesla vehicles can use them.
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