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CHAdeMO will be hosting several sessions in Seoul in conjunction with the EVS37 exhibition and conference.

On Wednesday 24 April 16:30-18:30, CHAdeMO invites all interested parties - members and non-members - to join a technical seminar on/near the premises of EVS37.

There will be presentations on how to think about NACS, updates on ChaoJi, sharing know-how to maintain healthy and high operating rates of CHAdeMO chargers, etc. There will be opportunities to network over snacks.

We will send more information to those who wish to attend. Please register from here if you are interested in joining this event.

If you are attending the Conference, don't miss a special technical session dedicated to CHAdeMO-related subjects.

On Friday, 26 April from 9:00 to 10:40, the below presentations will take place in Room 301 in Hall E (3F)

09:00-09:20 Seeking versatility in e-mobility with CHAdeMO (Tomomi HAKOMORI, CHAdeMO Association)
09:20-09:40 Reliability analysis of e-mobility power's electric vehicle charging network (David PATTERSON, CHAdeMO Association)
09:40-10:00 Thermal sensing test method for ChaoJi coupler (Xiaoqiang ZHU, State Grid Electric Power Research Institute)
10:00-10:20 CHAdeMO 3.1 / ChaoJi-2 demonstrative facility structed in Hitachi/Omika Works, Japan (Hiroaki MIYATA, Hitachi Industrial Products, Ltd.)

CHAdeMO Association, whose mission is to provide safe, affordable and interoperable DC charging, opened an EV-EVSE interoperability test facility in Ise, in the central part of Japan, on 5 March 2024.

The aim of this test centre is to check interoperability and connectivity between EVs/PHEVs and DC fast chargers. The facility will be used by automakers to test whether any defects occur when EVs/PHEVs are connected to and charged by various chargers prior to the launch of new vehicles.

This “CHAdeMO Interoperability Test Centre” is equipped with 13 fast chargers from 10 companies, including Nichicon, Takaoka Toko, ABB, etc. This can cover 75% of the charger models already installed in the Japanese market.

At the opening ceremony held on 5 March, Takafumi Anegawa, President of CHAdeMO Association, said, 'Our main task is to ensure that users do not face problems when they charge their vehicles. With this centre, we will be able to help CPOs realise a charging service without any inconvenience for users.'

DC fast chargers can charge EVs/PHEVs much faster than AC normal chargers. At present, over 9,000 DC fast chargers have been installed in Japan at highway service areas and commercial facilities. CHAdeMO is known for its impeccable track record of no severe accidents, but with the arrival of more and more vehicle brands and models in the market, there have been an increasing number of cases of incompatibility or defects between vehicles and chargers, resulting in the inability to charge.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the world’s first permanent test centre for EV interoperability managed by a not-for-profit organization. Automakers that wish to use the facility or charger manufacturers that wish to install their product are invited to contact the CHAdeMO Association Secretariat.

CHAdeMO’s 39th Infrastructure Workshop was held in hybrid style in Tokyo on 12 March 2024. Around 40 people participated in person despite the rain, and about 150 more joined online.

On the programme: 

  1. Greetings from CHAdeMO, Mr Takafumi Anegawa
  1. V2H energy storage systems for clean living through the use of electricity from home and vehicle, Mr Akira Otsuki, Panasonic Electric Works Co., LTD.
  1. EV fast charger Interoperability Test Centre, UL facilities and service overview, Mr Noboru Kawaguchi, UL Japan
  1. EV charging evaluation services, Mr Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Toyo Corporation/Toyo Technica
  1. CHAdeMO EPAC (eBikes) charging standards, Mr Daisuke Takahashi, CHAdeMO EPAC Working Group 
  1. MOLE Conductive Automated Charging System, Mr Auroskanda Vepari, Director, MOLE
  1. CHAdeMO Activity Report, Mr Kazumasa Arai, Secretariat General

A lively question and answer session took place both in person and online. This workshop was the second one in FY 2023.

The presentation materials are available on the JP site. Please note that most presentations are in Japanese.

On 15 February, CHAdeMO organised the 10th edition of V2G webinar.

Speakers:
Mark Potter, CTO, 3ti - Presentation available here
Dr Josey Wardle, Innovation Lead for ZEV infrastructure, Innovate UK - Presentation available here

Video recording: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/915862505

How do we find a business case in V2G operations, helping resolve the intermittent supply issue from renewables and generating income and cost savings at the same time? A consortium of British companies has secured £1,344,552 in government funding delivered by Innovate UK to evaluate a rapidly deployable ‘smart grid in-a-box’ solution with a DC microgrid system, which is to be a 'scalable and replicable EV charging solution that will act as virtual power and energy storage facilities according to user preferences and grid demand.'

For our 10th V2G webinar, we welcomed Mark Potter from four-party V2X FastHub project, which brings together Cenex (CHAdeMO Association member), 3ti, Turbo Power Systems (TPS) and GridBeyond for a 17-month collaboration, as well as Dr Josey Wardle, Innovate UK, from the UK's V2X programme which is part-funding the project.

Mark presented the project the consortium will be trialling: 12 bi-directional charge points based on a DC smart microgrid with a 280 kWh storage battery and 20 kWp solar canopy. Their upcycled and prefabricated shipping container, which can be placed almost anywhere, will simplify installation and reduce up-front costs. The bi-directional charging part (with both CHAdeMO and CCS EV charge points) with up to ±30 kW of charge rate will be aggregated to help smooth out peaks in electricity supply and demand. Mark presented a clear comparative analysis of AC vs DC bi-directional costs to explain their choice of DC microgrid as well as a higher charge rate for the expected medium dwell-time use cases.

Josey talked about the UK's V2X Innovation Programme (2022-2025), which is starting its Phase 2 work. She covered the results from the Phase 1 R&D projects and presented the Phase 2 demonstration projects underway, which includes the V2X FastHub project. The V2X programme follows on from the UK's successful V2G programme (2018-2022), which provided much-awaited insights into V2G, employing 650 bi-directional chargers in UK homes and workplaces in total. The UK's V2X programme is part of the up to £65m Flexibility Innovation Programme, funded from the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero's £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).

90 participants from 20 countries attended the webinar. The participants found the webinar insightful, with 'real-world, concrete elements and considerations of V2X implementation,' and 'AC vs DC costs & benefits really clearly explained and useful.'

CHAdeMO Association is always on the lookout for speakers in their V2G webinar series. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Demonstration of ChaoJi-2, the new-generation harmonised plug that operates on the CHAdeMO protocol (CHAdeMO 3.x), will start this autumn at Hitachi’s Omika Works.

While tests of ChaoJi-1 (using the same hardware and GB/T protocol) have been on-going for the past few years at various locations in China, including the motorway between Beijing and Shanghai, this is the first site to test the ChaoJi-2 vehicles and chargers.

The ChaoJi-2 protocol (CHAdeMO 3.0) was published in April 2020, and the ChaoJi-1 documents (together with the testing protocols) were published just last month in China as GB/T standards. The start of the ChaoJi-2 testing marks a new phase in the development of ChaoJi for the market.

During this testing period, the Association and its members aim to correct protocol ambiguities, demonstrate V2X functionality and validate backward compatibility with existing standards. CHAdeMO 3.1-compliant 200-350kW testing equipment is installed, starting with a charging voltage of 450V, it will be eventually increased to 850V in the 2nd phase. Companies who wish to test ChaoJi-2 vehicles/chargers are invited to contact the testing centre; see more information on the slides posted on the CHAdeMO website.

Over the summer, CHAdeMO Association and the Bharat Charge Alliance (BCA) agreed to partner in their effort to implement global two- and three-wheeler charging standards in India based on international/Indian two-wheeler standards. 

The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for CHAdeMO Association to disclose its electric two- and three-wheeler charging protocol to the BCA, which in return is to promote the CHAdeMO electric two- and three-wheeler protocol (based on IEC 61851-25) in the Indian market. 

The BCA, founded in India, is a group of companies that develops two-wheeler and three-wheeler light electric vehicles (LEVs), and promote their development and implementation in society. As their name indicates, they emphasise the importance of building a better charging environment for LEVs and aims to set up a safe, robust and consumer-friendly charging infrastructure.

While battery swapping is starting to gain popularity for electric two-wheelers in India and the ASEAN markets, the BCA wishes to develop DC charging systems using an international and Indian standards (IEC 61851-25/IS 17017-25 and IEC 62196-6/IS 17017-2-6), and approached CHAdeMO for collaboration. 

Interested in presenting your research, either oral or by poster presentations, in the field of international experts?

Then, it is definitely a good idea to submit your abstract to EVS37, which take place in Seoul next April (23rd to 26th of April 2024). EVS, or the International Electric Vehicle Symposium (and Exhibition), already the 37th edition since its inception in 1969, is a prestigious conference that 'has grown to become the largest and most prominent global event in the electric vehicle industry, showcasing current and emerging technologies both in the market and under development.'

CHAdeMO member or not, if you are interested and have questions, please contact info@evs37korea.org
Submission deadline is Tuesday October 31st, 2023.

CHAdeMO Association is opening permanent connection test centres to further enhance the interoperability of CHAdeMO charging and minimise charging issues in order to improve the charging experience for EV drivers.

In 2013, CHAdeMO launched a state-of-the-art third-party certification programme for chargers to enhance ensure safety and interoperability, working with a number of certification bodies worldwide. However, as the number of CHAdeMO EVs and charger models increases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to guarantee interoperability. In view of this situation, CHAdeMO Association will open permanent connection test centres at UL Japan in Ise and in Tokyo, where connection tests with some 20 chargers can be conducted at any time throughout the year.

These test standards will be made available to the Association’s Regular members from this month.

Testing event (November 2022)

These centres will initially be equipped with eight CHAdeMO-certified chargers, which EV automakers will be able to test their EVs for interoperability test from this month. A further eight chargers will be added early next year. Another test site in the Tokyo metropolitan area will also be set up by the second quarter of 2025. Vehicle manufacturers will have to bear the costs of connection tests, but testing at CHAdeMO connection test centres will be cheaper than the current practice of conducting individual test events.

Test results will be published as a white list so that the CPOs can consult the testing results before deciding on deployment. For more information, see member page on the CHAdeMO site.

In October, CHAdeMO Association Europe's Tomoko Blech attended C-Move in São Paulo, Brasil to share CHAdeMO's point of view on safety and certification with Southamerican stakeholders.

C-Move was held on 5-6 October concurrently with the Veículo Eléctrico Latino-Americano exhibition at Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo, where many e-mobility stakeholders gathered to discuss future directions. Tomoko participated in a panel entitled 'Interoperability of charging interfaces: the importance of standardisation and conformity testing,' together with Daniela Soler from CharIN, moderated by Rodrigo Vicentini of ABVE/Keysight.

In her presentation, Tomoko explained how CHAdeMO places the highest priority on safety and set up a certification system to guarantee interoperability already ten years ago. She also touched on the importance of backward compatibility, reporting on the status of the next-generation plug development and the Association's policy of ensuring backward compatibility even if the plug shape changes in order not to lose the trust of early adopters.

During the discussion, there was consensus on the importance of standardisation and certification to improve the reliability of EV charging and the confidence of EV users. The use of multi-standard charging with established standards was encouraged to jump-start e-mobility in regions where EVs are just starting to become widespread.

In September 2023, CHAdeMO Association Europe's Tomoko Blech went to Łódź, Poland, to share CHAdeMO members' V2G experience in the panel about smart charging.

At the New Mobility Congress held at EXPO Łódź, a major e-mobility event in the CEE region organised by Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA), Tomoko was part of the roundtable called 'how to charge in a smart way?' on 27 September.

The panelists represented various industry sectors (DSO, technology providers, EVSE manufacturers, CPO..), legislators (the Ministry of Climate and Environment) and policy advocates coming together. While recognising diverse challenges, 'Smart charging EVs is key to secure transport electrification and energy transition' was a conclusion the panel agreed on.

Tomoko shared the experience of the CHAdeMO Association members and discussed how V2G technical feasibility and its benefits are well demonstrated, but suggested that in order to overcome some of the challenges (legislative, financial, consumer sentiments), starting with V1G is a reasonable approach that can ease and accelerate V2G adoption.

On 19 September, CHAdeMO Association's Director of Public Relations, Tomomi Hakomori, spoke at the Technology Symposium of EVM Asia 2023 (19-21 Sept) held at MITEC (Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre) in Kuala Lumpur.

In the Technology Symposium was collocated with the EVM2023, which is 'the region's No.1 exhibition on electrified vehicles, mobility, manufacturing and auto parts exhibition' acceding to the organiser, attracting over 250 exhibitors and 20 000 visitors from 12 countries.

M Hakomori's presentation was among the six opening speeches on the first day of the conference. In his presentation titled 'The latest charging standards in the world,' M Hakomori talked about the global trends of charging standards and future prospects, as well as CHAdeMO's approach to safety, certification and bi-directional power transfer. He emphasized that while the specifications and charger certification system have ensured the safety of CHAdeMO, interoperability with the EVs will further increase with the Testing Center, which will begin operations later this year.

The attentive audience showed keen interest in the topics covered and asked various questions especially around global standards, safety and bi-directional charging.

On 20 September, the Association has released the Design Guideline for External Charging ver.2.0.1 to its Regular Members.

The document was published in cooperation with Gulplug, a French start-up CHAdeMO member located in Grenoble, France. It now includes technical and operational requirements for safely integrating or retrofitting the Automated Connection Devices - Underbody (ACD-U) charging systems to CHAdeMO chargers/V2X equipment, EVs and PHEVs with little or no modifications to the on-board interface and components that already exist in the vehicles.

 

An example of ACD-U charging system retrofitted to an electric vehicle on the market can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxq3NDEm1Zw

The Guideline is adapted to ACD-U systems up to the max current of 125A and is partially compliant with the upcoming IEC 61851-26 ED1.

The CHAdeMO technical guideline for integrating wireless (WPT), pantograph and long-plug charging systems to CHAdeMO vehicles ('Design Guideline for External Charging ver.1.0') was published in September 2022.

On 12 September 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration of China officially approved and released the three key standards for ChaoJi-1, the next-generation DC charging technology using the GB/T communication protocol.

Ref: China National Standard Announcement No. 9 of 2023

The three documents released are:

  • GB/T 18487.1-2023 Electric Vehicle Conductive Charging System Part 1: General Requirements,
  • GB/T27930-2023 Digital Communication Protocol between Off-Board Conductive Chargers and Electric Vehicles, and
  • GB/T 20234.4-2023 Connecting Devices for Conductive Charging of Electric Vehicles Part 4: High-Power DC Charging Interface.

ChaoJi-1 uses the new, harmonised coupler and compatible charging system with CHAdeMO 3.1, the latest version of CHAdeMO vehicle charging, but operating under the GB/T communication protocol. This version is not only suitable for high, medium and low power charging (up to 1.2MW*), but also considers the current and future adaptability and upgrade capabilities to meet the needs of safe and fast EV charging.

The three standards released this time propose high-power temperature runaway detection technology with Chinese technical characteristics, ensuring the accurate determination of serious faults under high-power charging conditions including:

  • a layered and upgradable communication protocol architecture to support future needs and functions that will continue to emerge,
  • a new DC control pilot circuit and a safe charging system model, which achieved high level of charging safety and reliability,
  • DC charging system compatibility laying the foundation for the future unification of global DC charging technology, as ChaoJi is designed to be compatible with all of existing DC fast charging standards.

The ChaoJi project started in 2018 between China and Japan, later joined by an international collaboration forum. ChaoJi-2, operating under the CHAdeMO protocol, was published in 2020 and the conformance test protocols in 2021. Despite some project delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, prototype testing for the latest version (CHAdeMO 3.1) is starting in Japan.

CHAdeMO3/ChaoJi2 trial site equipment

In China, the State Grid Corporation of China and other operating companies like ATC have constructed over 80 high power** DC chargers with ChaoJi interface. These chargers are located in more than 30 charging sites across Shenzhen, Shanghai, Sichuan, Fujian, Guandong provinces, and along the highway from Beijing to Shanghai. They are being tested by various EV OEMs since 2022.

The harmonised ChaoJi connector has already been published as an IEC PAS (publicly available specification) 63454:2022 (ChaoJi connector standard), and the experts are currently actively discussing vehicle adapters as well as interoperability and safety of such adapters between different DC charging systems in the respective technical committees (SC 23H/PT 62196-7 and TC 69/ahG 17) at the IEC.

 

ChaoJi Demo Project along the Beijing-Shanghai Highway

*1500V x 800A
**maximum output 500A, highest voltage 1000V, maximum output power 480kW

On 13 June, at EVS36 in Sacramento, California, CHAdeMO President Takafumi Anegawa addressed the global e-mobility community on why CHAdeMO has made a significant contribution to the development of fast charging technology.

Anegawa's presentation is available here.

Anegawa, the driving force behind the development of CHAdeMO, is himself an avid EV user, and started his talk with his own experience of having used a fast charger more than 1,000 times. ‘Only twice have I been unable to recharge the battery, and one of them was because of a power cut,’ he said with a smile.

After working as a nuclear engineer at TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) for more than 20 years, he switched his focus to EV-related work and founded the non-profit CHAdeMO Association in 2010.

'The CHAdeMO protocol is a non-exclusive, open licensed solution,’ emphasised Anegawa, adding that ‘in the past 16 years since the testing period, no fatal accidents have been reported’.

The main feature of CHAdeMO is safety: not only is it designed to avoid exposing users to unnecessary risks associated with high-voltage electricity when charging EVs, but its safety and interoperability are also guaranteed by the global certification system established by CHAdeMO.

The evolution of CHAdeMO never stops,’ continued Anegawa, explaining that the CHAdeMO protocol is continuously reviewed and updated based on member requirements and market feedback. He cited the example of the bi-directional charging (V2X) function developed immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, which enabled the use of EV batteries as a back-up power source and provided time-critical assistance to the victims.

He further explained that the family of CHAdeMO protocols today supports not only passenger cars but also bicycles, two- and three-wheelers, and heavy-duty vehicles. For example, CHAdeMO launched ChaoJi in collaboration with China Electricity Council (CEC), with the aim of developing an internationally harmonised ultra-high power charging standard for trucks and buses.

To wrap up, Anegawa said that collaboration is important but competition is also necessary to drive innovation and concluded by saying ‘CHAdeMO will never die, because we love EVs like you do.’

EVS36 took place in mid-June in Sacramento, the capital of California. The first EVS to be held in North America since EVS29 in Montreal in 2016, the event was so popular that tickets were 'sold out' weeks before the conference, and visitors who tried to register at the last minute were unable to attend.

CHAdeMO was a Gold Sponsor at this year's event and had a spacious stand right in front of the entrance to the exhibition hall. In addition, co-exhibitors at the CHAdeMO booth also had the honourable opportunity to present their products to the EVS VIP tour members.

V2G

Two production vehicles (Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Nissan LEAF) were placed on the CHAdeMO stand, which can readily offer bi-directional charging. Similarly, a total of four bi-directional chargers (V2G) from Fermata Energy, Tepco, Takaoka Toko and Zerova were deployed to demonstrate CHAdeMO's position as the world's only market-validated bi-directional charging standard. This was complemented by InnovateUK, the UK governmental agency leading the world in V2G investment, whose various V2G demonstration projects over the past few years were on display, confirming CHAdeMO's unparalleled track record in V2G.

High power

The ChaoJi standard for next-generation ultra high-power charging, which CHAdeMO has been working on in cooperation with China's CEC (China Electricity Council), was also on display, including a panel on the progress of the seven ChaoJi station projects already under demonstration on the Shanghai-Beijing motorway in China, and a display of Star Charge's ultra high-power ChaoJi mock up charger used for the same demonstration. There was also a panel display of the ChaoJi 2 (CHAdeMO 3) demonstration underway on the Japanese side (Hitachi), and a working sample of ChaoJi- CHAdeMO adapter, manufactured by Fujikura.

Micromobility

On the micromobility side, the CHAdeMO standard for two- and three-wheelers (eTreego), which has already become an IEC international standard, and the verification equipment (Chroma) were exhibited. Also on display was a CHAdeMO e-bicycle charger and e-bicycle, a design prototype of the new CHAdeMO DC charging standard for electric bicycles , which was being unveiled for the first time. Many people stopped to look at the unusual bicycle charger and standard bicycle inlet.

Other exhibits included a range of connectors from high power 300A to lightweight V2G (Sumitomo Electric), a V2G compatible truck (Phoenix Motorcars), the latest multi-standard charger (Zerova) and panels by a few California EV drivers' groups (Adopt a charger, SacEV); overall, a strong display bringing together the CHAdeMO family of products.

The coffee cart set up in the centre of the stand was also well received, with many conference delegates, exhibitors and visitors stopping by.

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