ABB introducing new DC fast-charger in Europe for €9,988
28 March 2012
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| The Terra SC. Click to enlarge. |
ABB launched the Terra Smart Connect (SC), a low-cost DC fast-charger that the company says will significantly improve the business case for installing electric-vehicle (EV) fast chargers throughout Europe. The Terra SC will be available for delivery in Europe in the second quarter, starting at €9,988 (US$13,310) for small volume orders.
The Terra SC is specifically designed for convenient fast charging in commercial and office areas. Unlike some other DC fast chargers, the Terra SC uses the widely available 3-phase 32A input, which eliminates the need for a costly grid connection upgrade. The Terra SC uses a CHAdeMO standard connections, and delivers maximum DC output power of 20 kW and maximum DC output current of 50 A. Output DC voltage range is 180 – 500 V.
ABB will release a standard version with the 20 kW DC charger and a dedicated company fleet version, which also features two integrated alternating current (AC) connections (2 x 3.3kW, 16A, 230V) for 8-hour charging, allowing three cars to be charged simultaneously.
The Terra SC comes standard with outdoor stainless steel housing, a full-color 8-inch touch-screen user interface and the smart connectivity features of ABB’s Terra charger line. (Earlier post.)
ABB says the unit is quick and easy to install at almost any location due to its ultra-thin design and simple floor and wall-mount connections, which create maximum space efficiency.
The launch of the Terra SC demonstrates our commitment to deliver the optimal charging solution for every possible location in the network—both in terms of functionality and affordability.
—Hans Streng, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ABB's Product Group EV Charging Infrastructure
The Terra SC is a web-connected charger that comes with a full range of connectivity features, including remote assistance, management and servicing and smart software upgradeability. Its key optional features include RFiD and PIN code authorization; a billing interface for parking operators; and a web-based statistics module with data per user to support energy usage reporting. ABB’s connectivity suite supports all existing and future connection standards within the same network.
The Terra SC complements ABB’s existing portfolio of fast-charging solutions. ABB’s highway fast chargers—the Terra 51 and multi-port Terra Base Station 100.2—are mainly used along highway locations to offer a 15-30 minute “charge and go” service. The Terra SC is a more cost-effective solution for locations where people can easily spend a couple of hours and don’t necessarily require a 15-30 minute fast charge.
Charging with the Terra SC is therefore suited for company car parks, fleet operators, (off-street) parking operators, rental companies, car dealerships, EV infrastructure service providers, roadside meeting places and shopping malls, ABB sugests.
The growing number of electric vehicles is driving a global market opportunity for charging solutions including sophisticated monitoring systems and software to support the electric grid. ABB estimates that the market for charging infrastructure solutions will be worth $1 billion by 2017.
In 2011, Nissan launched its own quick charger into Europe, available for less than €10,000 (Earlier post.) This CHAdeMo-compliant Direct Current (DC) Quick charger can deliver up to 50 kW of high voltage direct current (DC) electricity, and are also ‘AC-ready' to support the arrival of EVs from Alliance partner Renault designed to 43kW AC quick charge standards. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is promoting infrastructure deployment based on AC-DC Mix Quick Charger strategy.
To jump-start full-scale commercial deployment, Nissan is giving 400 DC Quick chargers for free to cities and regions in Europe.
The 20kw would be excellent for charging at home or at work. However, to expect that people are willing to wait for 1 hour in a public place to drive another 60 miles in their EV is naïve. This ABB charger will fail as a product and it is a big step backward compared to the publicly available 50kW chargers that Nissan and Renault offer.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 28 March 2012 at 03:06 AM
Wonderful! I couldn't work out what on earth was going on with Renault coming our with their Chameleon charger,a s it appeared that Nissan/Renault were backing two incompatible standards.
i should have had more faith in Ghosn and his team!
This means that the Zoe, likely to be by far the biggest selling EV in Europe, will be able to charge at all Nissan points, but also benefit by a fast charger solely designed for Chameleon only costing around $3,000.
Posted by: Davemart | 28 March 2012 at 03:21 AM
ABB offers a whole range of charging solutions for various purposes and locations, including a fully web-connected 50 kW charger for highway locations. It’s true that 20 kW chargers have lower output and don’t charge as fast as 50 kW chargers. But in commercial and office areas, that’s actually a good thing. Because of the lower power output of the Terra SC you don’t need a costly grid connection upgrade to support the charger; it uses 3-phase 32 A input, which is widely available at such locations. More importantly, you don’t really need a highway fast charge at these kind of locations; your battery should be recharged when you return to your vehicle, that’s the only thing that matters. The Terra SC has been designed for what we call convenient charging: park your EV, connect it to the charger, go to the movies or a restaurant and return to a fully recharged vehicle. We are therefore convinced that the Terra SC is the best and most cost-effective solution for company car parks, fleet operators, (off street) parking operators, rental companies, car dealerships, EV infrastructure service providers, roadside meeting places and shopping malls. If you’re on the road and just need a fast charge to keep going, we still recommend using a 50 kW charger like the ABB Terra 51.
Best regards,
Gert Miedema, ABB
Posted by: ABB_EVCharging | 28 March 2012 at 06:41 AM
Hi Gert.
Thanks for your input.
Can the Renault Zoe be charged at one of your chargers?
This is important as it is likely to be the best selling EV in Europe.
Thanks.
Posted by: Davemart | 28 March 2012 at 08:20 AM
Don't forget to vote for GreenCarCongress in Treehugger's Best of Green readers choice
Posted by: Arne | 28 March 2012 at 08:22 AM
Those 20 to 50 Kwh DC chargers are first generation units. With time, 100+ Kwh AC-DC chargers will become common place and will progressively replace many gas stations.
For home use, 7.5 to 10 Kwh units are enough to charge very large EV batteries overnight.
Posted by: HarveyD | 28 March 2012 at 08:24 AM
In California you will not incur expensive demand charges as long as you dont exceed 20kW.. so there is a market for it, but it would have to UL tested. On the other hand a Nissan 50kW Chademo charger can be easily modified not to exceed 20kW.. thus avoiding demand charges from the utility company.
Posted by: Herm | 28 March 2012 at 08:29 AM
@Davemart: This first version of the Terra SC is designed for EV operators who want to roll out fast charging in commercial and office areas and company fleet owners with CHAdeMO compliant cars.
To truly drive growth of the EV market, ABB is firmly committed to supporting all cars, regardless the connection standard they use. We’re preparing upgrade options to support new car models as soon as they come to the market. This also holds true for the ZOE.
Posted by: ABB_EVCharging | 28 March 2012 at 08:48 AM
@Harvey
--> Kwh
You probably mean kW? kWh is a unit of energy, not power.
Posted by: Arne | 28 March 2012 at 09:03 AM
ABB:
Thanks for the response. The Zoe hits the streets in around June, so keep us posted on the alterations and cost.
Many thanks.
Posted by: Davemart | 28 March 2012 at 09:12 AM
"progressively replace many gas stations"
I doubt that, but we will see.
Posted by: SJC | 28 March 2012 at 09:52 AM
Once someone develops an EV that can be fully charged in 5 minutes, and someone develops a service station charger that can charge up that vehicle, then you have something serious to offer.
Posted by: bot_feeder | 28 March 2012 at 01:40 PM
I believe 40 kW chargers that can give you 10 kWh in 15 minutes might work for for commuters. They normally do not have to recharge, but it they run low for the trip home, they can stop off for a beverage and have plenty of range to get home.
Posted by: SJC | 28 March 2012 at 01:47 PM
I don't have an EV yet, but will eventually. Hoping someone makes the connection between smart people and calculators and realises that with only a few exception, people who might be interested in an EV are also capable of running a calculator, and thus realize that the price of EV needs to come down a bit.
With regards to chargers, I don't really care whether there are any public chargers. 95% of my driving is done between where I live and where I work. I commute 45 miles round trip per day on roads that are curvy, have hills and with speed limits ranging from 35-55 mph. So an EV with 100 miles range would be perfect. My wife has a prius, so we'll use that when we go on trips. I'll plug the car in at night at home. Don't mistake what I am saying, external chargers are fine, but it doesn't make any difference to me with regard to my decision on buying an EV whether they are available or not. The price of the car does however. By my estimates, the leaf is overpriced by $2500, The I-miev is about right, but just slightly low on the range (if I do 50 miles a day and heat or cool I need a little more battery) everything else, priced near 40K is about $7500 too high. And these numbers are only until the federal tax credits run out. Although, at the rate any of these guiys are producing these things, that may never run out, nor will they ever get the price down.
Posted by: Brotherkenny4 | 28 March 2012 at 02:13 PM
Even 15 minutes in the evening can be a problem. You'd hope that employers would install smart chargers at work, so that the BEV could be charged up and simultaneously provide a schedulable load for grid management during the work day.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 28 March 2012 at 02:16 PM
@brotherkenny:
'And these numbers are only until the federal tax credits run out. Although, at the rate any of these guiys are producing these things, that may never run out, nor will they ever get the price down.'
You are confusing US sales and shipments there with world sales.
The EV's from Nissan,Mitsubishi and now Renault are doing just fine, and in fact Mitsubishi has just opened a new 50,000 a year battery pack plant, and battery production has started in the UK.
Production facilities in the US are on track.
They are all perfectly aware that subsidies are not going to last forever, and are pretty confident that they can hold prices after the subsidy ends.
iuf the difference is only $2,500 for viability for the Leaf, then if you feed any reasonable rate of increase in petrol prices in based on the past history of rises it seems you should cover it.
Have you seen the maintenance schedule on the Leaf?
Here it is:
And these numbers are only until the federal tax credits run out. Although, at the rate any of these guiys are producing these things, that may never run out, nor will they ever get the price down.
If you live in an area where the climate is classified as moderate you don't do much more than rotate the tyres and check the windscreen wipers and brakes for the first 100,000 miles.
That should cover any remaining discrepency by the savings in maintenance costs.
Posted by: Davemart | 28 March 2012 at 03:06 PM
Sorry for the confused post.
Here is the maintenance link I was intending to give:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/images/f/f7/2011-leaf-service-maintenance-guide.pdf
Posted by: Davemart | 28 March 2012 at 03:10 PM
I am all for employers installing chargers, but a more robust plan may be called for. We could say that employers SHOULD install chargers, so there is no need for public chargers. Then employers do NOT install chargers and then we have NO chargers.
Posted by: SJC | 28 March 2012 at 05:42 PM
Gert Miedema,
Opposite to the fast chargers those chargers shall be located on public (not guarded) places such as big parking lots at residential apartment areas therefore it's big risk of being destroyed. IMHO wireless charging should be mainstream for slow charging applications.
Posted by: Darius | 29 March 2012 at 02:09 AM
@Gert
Thank you for caring to respond.
You have convinced me that there might be situations where a 22kW charger makes sense if it can be installed at significantly less costs. Moreover, as you point out ABB also do the 50kW chargers.
However, ABB still has a problem with its charger prices as Nissan’s 50 kW charger sells for about 10,000 euro and Renaults 43 kW charger will sell for 3000 euro (see link). As I get it Renault’s chargers are cheaper because they make use of the Zoe’s own power electronics that then is not needed in the external charger. The disadvantage is that it will only work with EVs that uses Renault’s Chameleon system. In other words, Renault’s charger will not be able to charge a Leaf or any other EV that does not use Renault’s system. As Renault is set to sell more Zoe’s than all other EV makers combined in Europe there is a good chance they will get a large network of their 3000 euro charger rolled out quickly.
Nevertheless, I think that 22k W and 43kW and 50kW chargers are temporary solutions for EVs. They are all far too slow to be convenient is all situations. For EVs to really take off we need minimum 100kW charging ability as seen in Tesla’s Model S and Model X and in BYD’s E6. I hope the EV volume leaders Renault and Nissan will make 100kW standard for their next generation of the Leaf and the Zoe.
Finally, if you measure charger cost as USD per kWh served per year I am sure that the price of building a charging network is dropping with the speed of the chargers. For example, it should cost far less to install one public 50 kW charger than 25 public 2kW chargers and the convenience of the 50kW charger is off cause much higher.
3000 euro for Renault charger
http://media.renault.com/global/en-gb/renault/Media/Topic/RelatedDocuments.aspx?mediaid=31792
Posted by: Account Deleted | 29 March 2012 at 03:41 AM
The AC Propulsion reductive charger (used in the Tesla) uses the car's existing inverter and eliminates the external charger completely. Just being able to bring an extension cord to the car is something which should have gotten everyone to ask, "why not?"
I would not be surprised if the reductive charger could be programed to operate as a maximum-power-point tracker fed from a DC solar array.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 29 March 2012 at 06:56 AM
@Henrik:
Much of the cost of really fast charging is not in the actual charger, but in grid upgrades to cope with the load
Posted by: Davemart | 29 March 2012 at 08:03 AM
I think that this is a good product, but I favor simplicity and cost effectiveness. If I can use the motor drive circuit as the charger circuit as well, I get double duty for the same expense.
Now all I have to do is provide an outlet and a cord, which should be very low cost and easy to deploy. Since the motor controller drive circuitry has to be there on every car anyway, might as well get maximum use and return from it.
Posted by: SJC | 29 March 2012 at 09:48 AM
Anne....I stand corrected. Tks.
The ideal chargers will be cordless types, for home and public places.
Eventually, many roads/streets will be equipped with cordless on-the-move charging systems for transparent energy transfer. Many future e-car owners may not know where energy comes from.
Posted by: HarveyD | 29 March 2012 at 10:15 AM
There have to be standards adopted for public cordless charging. I doubt that we will be driving/charging on cordless highways any time soon.
Posted by: SJC | 29 March 2012 at 12:38 PM