Opening up the Tesla Supercharger network to all electric vehicles could reduce the number of new chargers needed in a given location and bring down infrastructure costs.
Making the Tesla charging network available to all vehicle types could result in 500 fewer fast-chargers needed along alternative fuel corridors — major roadways like interstates identified as places to locate high-speed charging for travelers on the go. This is one of the findings in the report Finding gaps in the national electric vehicle charging station coverage of the United States, published in the journal Nature Communications.
Adding so-called Magic Docks — adapters to Tesla Superchargers — or open-sourcing their connector design could greatly expand fast charging coverage requiring, yes, 500 fewer new stations, said Corey Harper, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and one of the authors of the report.
This relatively simple technology adaptation could save between $166 million and $332 million in programming costs by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That program provided $5 billion to help fund the development of a national high-speed electric vehicle charging network. Those projects are coming online almost daily.
Already, car-makers are gravitating to the Tesla charging standard, known as the North American Charging System (NACS). A number of major auto companies including Ford and GM have an adapter available to allow their vehicles to use the Tesla charging stations.
Gravitating toward a single charging standard for all vehicles is only part of the process of making the charging experience easier, more seamless and more available, Harper said.
“A single charging standard, along with Tesla opening up its Superchargers to non-Teslas, would fix this issue and provide an overall easier driving experience for the user,” he said in an email.
Even though major car-makers like Ford and GM have announced plans to transition their electric vehicle (EV) technology to the NACS charging plugs, there are still thousands of cars operating which use the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard, all but setting up two separate sets of charging infrastructure. This bifurcated system has made the effort of expanding charging infrastructure — for all vehicles — all the more challenging. And though states like California and on the East Coast have a high concentration of charging, states like South Dakota have almost none, according to analysis in the report.
“There is a chicken and egg problem with EVs and charging infrastructure. Charging stations need EVs to be profitable, but consumers hesitate to purchase EVs due to a perceived lack of chargers,” Harper said in a statement. “Many states have a long way to go before we achieve the consecutive coverage that would ease the minds of potential buyers.”
The trend toward the North American Charging System standard — known as the Tesla plug — cannot be understated. Large EV charging plaza developers are looking past the CCS plugs and only building out infrastructure with the NACS equipment. The new Lebec Travel Center in northeast Los Angeles County will boast 112 Tesla fast-chargers, as well as conventional fuel pumps. The travel center will include other amenities like an updated and modernized 7-Eleven convenience store.
“We feel we’re on the forefront of the trend for the servicing of the need,” Hamo Rostamian, president of HRI, a California-based commercial and retail developer, told Government Technology in December. HRI is developing the project. The company was approached by Tesla to propose locating some of its Superchargers within HRI’s travel center developments, Rostamian said, adding the company views these facilities as “fueling stations of the future.”
And even though the new White House administration has taken an adversarial view toward EVs by threatening to end regulations and programs which incentivize their sale, California remains committed to expanding EV charging infrastructure. In early January — prior to the start of the new Donald Trump administration — the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award of $122.9 million toward six California projects to develop zero-emission charging and fueling infrastructure.
“I think the number of EV charging ports available to EV owners is one of the biggest developments and this number will only increase with the NEVI program,” said Harper. “Even with a larger number of chargers available to drivers, deployment is still needed in many areas of the country and in underserved areas to improve the EV charging experience.”