Electrify America, the EVSE network founded by VW as part of its penance for the Dirty Diesel Debacle, has selected several vendors to install DC fast chargers at new stations across the US. Some of these will offer power levels up to 350 kW, delivering 20 miles of range per minute of charge, seven times faster than today’s typical 50 kW DC chargers.

Electrify America plans to invest $2 billion nationwide in EVSE – $800 million of that in California. In the first of several “ZEV investment cycles,” the company will build a network of public chargers at over 650 community-based sites in 17 metro areas and about 300 highway sites at intervals of no more than 120 miles, across the US.

Swiss electronics giant ABB will supply its Terra HP charger, which offers power levels of up to 350 kW and is compatible with both CCS and CHAdeMO DC fast charging standards.

Portugal’s Efacec will provide over 300 charging systems. The 350 kW chargers were custom-designed for Electrify America and feature liquid-cooled CCS1 charging cables. Cooling is a key factor in enabling higher-amperage charging without a significant increase in cable thickness.

Other suppliers chosen include South Korea’s Signet EV and California-based BTC Power.

Electrify America also announced a partnership with Walmart, under which fast charging stations will be deployed at “more than 100 Walmart locations across 34 states by June 2019.” The new stations will offer a CHAdeMO (50 kW) connector and dual CCS1 (50 to 350 kW) connectors. Walmart already has charging stations at many of its locations, but the new project is expected to double the count.

Source:  Electrek, Reuters, ABB