GM might cool EV charge ports like microchips

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EVFaster DC charging has required a new generation of cable cooling, but General Motors is also looking at cooling of the charge port, a patent filing indicates. Published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) April 25, 2024, and originally filed by GM October 18, 2022, the patent application in question deals with cooling of EV...

Tesla pause sparks EV charging rivals in $5B federal buildout

Tesla SuperchargerAmid uncertainty about the future of the Tesla Supercharger network, rival charging networks see an opportunity to grow. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently fired most of the Tesla Supercharger team, but has since reversed that move and attempted to hire people back. Tesla has also made it clear that it will continue the buildout of whatever new...

Gravity’s urban fast-charging “trees” could rival Tesla Supercharging

Gravity curbside EV chargerThe Gravity charging company on Wednesday unveiled a new design for EV charging stations that it believes will be the foundation of a massive urban fast-charging network. Styled as Distributed Access Energy Points (DEAPs), the chargers take the form of what Gravity calls "trees," taller structures in which the charge cable dangles from an extended...

Study: EV interest waning amid concerns over cost, charging

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUVConsumer interest in EVs has decreased compared to last year, according to a new J.D. Power study. On Thursday, J.D. Power released the results of its 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration study. For the first time since the study's launch in 2021, analysts saw a decline in consideration of EVs by new-car shoppers. Of those car shoppers...

Megawatt charging for electric big rigs is starting to arrive

Megawatt charging connector at WattEV charging station in Bakersfield, CaliforniaAfter a few years of slow rolling, megawatt charging for electric commercial trucks is arriving in a substantial way. WattEV this week announced the opening of a solar-powered charging station for medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial trucks in Bakersfield, California. Announced in 2021, it's the fourth station WattEV has opened, following three...

Musk: Tesla Supercharger network plans $500M expansion despite layoffs

Tesla SuperchargerDespite recent layoffs, the Tesla Supercharger network is due for an expansion, CEO Elon Musk claims. Tesla will spend "well over" $500 million on the Supercharger network this year, Musk said Friday on X (formerly Twitter), the social media network he owns, adding that this investment will fund "thousands" of new chargers and is separate from any...

BP seeks stranded Tesla Supercharger sites in $1B EV charging buildout

Tesla Model 3 (Europe-market refresh) BP is eying Tesla Supercharger sites as part of a planned expansion of the oil giant's U.S. charging network, Bloomberg reports. The company said it "is aggressively looking to acquire real estate to scale our network, which is a heightened focus following the recent Tesla announcement." Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this month fired most of the...

Here’s how California seeks to cut the cost of home EV charging

Lucid Connected Home Charging StationSpikes in electricity rates can raise the cost of charging an EV at home, but California has a solution. As explained in a recent post on The Equation, from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), California is considering adding a fixed charge on electricity bills from its largest utilities in exchange for a reduction in the per-unit price of...

Survey: Local governments see EV charging as costly, lower-priority

Rivian Waypoints chargers at Holland State Park, MI - Photo by Diane Dawson Wilks, c/o Michigan DNRMore local governments across Michigan see EV charging as a relevant issue, but the number is still fairly low, according to a new University of Michigan survey, and those interested in EV charging see cost as a barrier. While the survey is Michigan-specific, it's the traditional hub of the auto industry and probably represents a greater awareness...

EV charger reliability gains will take more than a Tesla connector

Tesla chargingNearly every EV brand in North America is adopting Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector and gaining access to the automaker's Supercharger network. But despite that network's fairly good reputation for reliability, the NACS connector alone may not guarantee an overall improvement in charger reliability, says one expert. Joerg...