Combined Charging System
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The Combined Charging System is a quick charging method for battery electric vehicles delivering high-voltage direct current via a special electrical connector derived from the SAE J1772 (IEC Type 1) or IEC Type 2 connector. As the plug is a combination of an AC connector with a DC option the resulting connector is also called Combo Coupler and the variant with Type 2 is abbreviated as Combo2.
History
The revival of interest in electric cars brought about a need for a recharging network. Charging station deployment proliferated to fulfil this need - in the beginning these were accessing the abundant AC mains electricity using a variety of plugs throughout the world. The standardization in the IEC 62196 for higher current charging connectors brought about different systems with Type 1 being used primarily in Northern America and Japan and variants of Type 2 being used elsewhere. The SAE and ACEA want to avoid a similar situation for outstanding standardization of DC charging - they developed the plan to add common DC wires to the existing AC connector types such that there is only one "global envelope" that fits all DC charging stations.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/CCSCombo2.svg/220px-CCSCombo2.svg.png)
On the 15th International VDI-Congress of the Association of German Engineers the proposal of a "Combined Charging System" (CCS) was unveiled on 12. October 2011 in Baden-Baden. Seven car makers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen) have agreed to introduce the Combined Charging System in mid-2012.[2][3] This defines a single connector pattern on the vehicle side that offers enough space for a Type 1 or Type 2 connector along with space for a two pin DC connector allowing up to 200 Ampere. The prototype implementations for up to 100 kW were shown on the EVS26 in Los Angeles in May 2012.[4] Specifications for DC charging in the IEC 62196-3 draft give a range up to 125 A with up to 850 V.[5]
The seven auto manufacturers have also agreed to use HomePlug GreenPHY as the communication protocol.[6] The prototype for the matching plug has been developed by Phoenix Contact with the goal to withstand 10,000 connect cycles.[7] The standardization proposal has been sent to the IEC in January 2011.[8] The request to use a PLC protocol for the Vehicle2Grid communication was flagged back in September 2009 in a joint presentation of BMW, Daimler and VW on California Air Resource Board ZEV Technology Symposium.[9] This is competing with the CAN Bus proposal from Japan (including CHAdeMO) and China (separate DC connector proposal) and notably none of their car manufacturers has signed up to the Combined Charging System so far. China had been involved in early stages of the development of the extra DC pins however.[7] A test drive will begin in the fall of 2012.[7]
Volkswagen has built the first public CCS rapid charge station with 50 kW DC in Wolfsburg in June 2013 to support the test drives of the upcoming VW E-Up that is supposed to be delivered with a DC rapid charger connector for the Combined Charging System.[10] Two weeks later BMW has opened its first CCS rapid charge station in support of the upcoming BMW i3.[11] On occasion of the second EV World Summit in June 2013 both a Chademo and a Volkswagen-group spokesperson have pointed out that a concurrency between Chademo and CCS is not required as the additional cost of a dual-protocol rapid charge station is a mere 5% - thus multi-standard DC chargers are being advocated by Chademo, Volkswagen and Nissan.[12]
In Germany the Charging Interface Initiative e. V. (CharIN) was founded by car makers and suppliers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Mennekes, Opel, Phoenix Contact, Porsche, TÜV SÜD and Volkswagen) to promote the adoption of the Combined Charging System. They noted in a press release that the majority of cars can not charge with more than 50 kW, so that was the first common power output of CCS stations to be built during 2015. The next step was the standardization of charging stations with 150 kW output that they showed in October 2015, looking to a future system with 350 kW output.[13] Volvo joined CharIN in 2016.[14] Tesla Motors joined CharIN in March, 2016.[15]
References
- ^ "ACEA position and recommendations for the standardization of the charging of electrically chargeable vehicles" (PDF). ACEA – European Automobile Manufacturers Association. 2011-03-02.
- ^ "Universal charging for electric cars". Auto123.com. 2011-11-15.
- ^ "Seven Auto Manufacturers Collaborate on Harmonized Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Solution". Ford. Retrieved 2012-04-09.|
- ^ "Weltweit tätige Automobilhersteller zeigen Schnellladen an Elektrofahrzeugen auf der EVS26". Volkswagen AG. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
- ^ "Solutions for E-Mobility" (PDF). Phoenix Contact. 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ "Seven Automakers Agree On Combined EV Charging System". 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ a b c "E-Mobility "Two In One"". EuE24. April 2012. Interview with Phoenix Contact. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ "Combined Charging: das universelle Ladesystem für Elektrofahrzeuge wird erstmals an Fahrzeugen deutscher Hersteller gezeigt". BMW Group. 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ "BMW, Daimler and VW Propose Global e-mobility Standardization on Vehicle2Grid Communication, Harmonization of Chargers". 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ "Erste öffentliche 50 KW DC Schnellladesäule auf der e-Mobility-Station in Wolfsburg eingeweiht". Landesinitiative Elektromobilität Niedersachsen. 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
- ^ "Schnellladestation an der BMW Welt eröffnet". BMW Group. 2013-07-04. press release. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
- ^ "2013 World EV Summint in Norway – Chademo, Nissan and Volkswagen align on promoting multi-standard fast chargs to accelerate infrastructure deployment and EV adoption" (PDF). Chademo Association Europe. 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
- ^ "CharIN e. V. demonstrates the next level of electric vehicle fast charging" (PDF). 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ^ http://www.nyteknik.se/nyheter/fordon_motor/bilar/elbil/article3966190.ece
- ^ http://www.charinev.org/news-detail/news/charin-e-v-welcomes-member-tesla-motors/