Random EV thoughts.....

One more. Athenry I think.

I think a bunch more were originally going to be opened (something like 6) but it got scaled back to 2 sites for now

Well…

Tralee & Mahon Point, Cork are also now open to all……

just on tesla, they have this nifty way of installing new superchargers as a prefabricated array in just 3 or 4 days, basically 4 chargers and a transformer that come as a unit on a concrete slab that "only" needs to be connected to the local grid once installed.

https://x.com/TeslaCharging/status/1777395990766432596

Problem is the grid needs to be able to supply what the Tesla chargers can supply.
That could mean a lot of upgrading of the local and transmission network.

Was about to say the same thing, typically the grid connection seems to take a long time

Having said that, it's usually the CPOs telling us that and it's a pretty handy way for them to wriggle out of commitments

No-one from ESBN has said anything about delays to grid connections AFAIK

I came across these modular twin charger units on a skid in Germany last year…. they'd added 2 of these skids to the existing (fixed) superchargers at the site…

there was also a sign saying sessions were limited to 40 minutes, so it was obviously a busy site!!

Yes but it’s not just the bit of transmission line you see running beside the road that needs upgrading- it’s the MV substation upstream, the 38kv station upstream and associated network to feed that 38KV to be upgraded etc, for example.

That’s an example of where there is plenty of capacity.
Now go to an area on an inter urban motorway where the grid is under constraints and see what would be required to get a Tesla supercharger bank installed.
It’s not as easy as you are suggesting.

😂 wow.
Im suggesting it’s not as easy as just plonking a big supercharger bank nor even a dc fast charger anywhere and everywhere as there are grid constraints which limit this.
Two different posters noted that was a good point yet it seems to have upset you for some reason?

A new housing estate of 25 houses is generally going up in an urban setting where there is capacity on the local grid.
If you built a housing estate of 25 houses on the side of a motorway where the only infrastructure is a single phase tail fed MV line, then you would have issues with the supply to the 25 houses.
Therefore you have to upgrade the grid.

Same with Tesla banks of SC’s on the side of a motorway- if they’ve the potential to draw a high load- even only for a short period of time then the grid has to be able to supply it, therefore that single phase MV line may have to be upgraded and possibly the MV/38kv station upstream also.

It's Germany, pretty much every government contract ends up in court

One connected to a wind turbine, never worry about running out of power down there 🤣

Jokes aside, a lot of smaller businesses seem to be able to support at least one 50kW charger onsite without a grid upgrade

Obviously that isn't going to stretch very far, so one of those battery backed chargers would be perfect for a site like that

This is a good example

https://www.elli.eco/en/b2b/charging-hardware/flexpole-fast-charger

It has a 160kWh useable battery onboard, so you can charge it off a 3 phase connection overnight and it'll boost that with the battery while charging a car

One handy thing is they don't need to be permanently fixed to the site, you could put 6 of them there for a busy weekend then lift them onto a truck and bring them somewhere else they're needed

Or just go overboard and roll this thing into the car park

https://www.porsche.com/stories/mobility/how-does-a-mobile-charging-trailer-for-evs-work

Were they the flex pole charger I posted above? Can't remember if they're the same model or different