Fuji's low cost 25kw CHADEMO fast charging station gets first deployment in U.S.

The first publicly available electric car fast charging station on the ChargePoint network has been installed near Los Angeles in the first of what is slated to be a string of fast charging stations in the Los Angeles and San Diego area.

Edison, N.J., and Campbell, Calif., November 8, 2012 – Electric car charging station network operator, EVOasis, has become the first company to install the first publicly available DC Quick Charging station on the ChargePoint network. The new electric car fast charging station was manufactured by Fuji Electric and supports the CHADEMO protocol used by the Nissan Leaf or Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and was installed at the Residence Inn by Marriott in San Juan Capistrano, California. The 25 kilowatt charging station is open to the public and is convenient to the I-5 corridor just south of Los Angeles.

The Fuji Electric charging station used for this installation will provide a full charge in approximately 60 minutes. Fuji's charging stations have been installed around the world in hundreds of locations, but this is the first time for one to be integrated into the ChargePoint network.

Typically the Nissan Leaf is said to charge, on the fast charge port, to 80% in 30 minutes. The charging time with this station is a bit longer but also provides a full charge. The difference is that the Fuji station runs at 25 kilowatts versus the 50 kilowatt rate of other CHADEMO charging stations. Fuji says this adds 11 minutes to the recharge time for charging from 23% to 80%, or adds 7 minutes for the time to charge from 40% to 77%. While this adds to the charging time, there are benefits to charging station network providers that should make for wider deployment of this charging station over higher powered units.

The Fuji 25 kilowatt CHADEMO charging station costs about half as much to purchase, and installation costs are a fraction of that required for the larger more powerful charging stations. Why? It has to do with the sheer bulk of the larger stations, plus the lesser requirements for electrical circuits. The Fuji station weighs 436 lbs versus 2000 lbs for larger stations, it requires only a 208 volt three phase circuit versus the 480 volt three phase circuit for larger stations, and most importantly this charging station will result in smaller demand charges from the electrical utility. DC Fast Charging stations have an external AC-DC conversion unit to charge the battery pack directly from DC electrical current.

Fuji notes that while the SAE DC Fast Charging system has been approved, the market for CHADEMO fast charging stations is still quite large. There are maybe 30,000 Nissan Leaf's, and other CHADEMO based electric cars, existent world-wide currently with more being sold every day. On the other hand, sales of electric cars supporting the SAE DC Fast Charging system will not even begin until 2013-14. The long-running controversy between proponents of the CHADEMO and SAE DC Fast Charge systems was settled when the SAE system was approved, but it's expected to take several years for the SAE system to supplant CHADEMO. In the meantime the market for electric car fast charging is rapidly changing with other fast charging standards entering the field.

EVoasis offers a charging stations that include full service, with driver comforts including food and beverage service, wireless Internet access, and a drivers lounge, along with solar canopies and on-site electrical energy storage.

The EVoasis website implies the station in San Juan Capistrano is the first of a series planned for the areas between Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego.

“Fuji Electric is thrilled to be partnering with Residence Inn San Juan Capistrano and Evoasis to offer electric vehicle owners a fast and convenient charging method,” says Phil Charatz, president and CEO of Fuji Electric Corp. of America. “The integration of ChargePoint in our DC Quick Charger enhances the user experience, and we are proud to be the first publicly available DC Quick Charger on their network. We are committed to the EV industry, and will continue to take every opportunity available to further the development of the EV infrastructure in the United States.”