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Electrify America joins CharIn to support charging infrastructure access and eduction

; Date: February 18, 2019

Tags: Distributed Energy Resource »»»» Electrify America

Electrify America aligns with industry leaders to establish global standards for electric vehicle charging

Reston, VA (February 15, 2019) – Electrify America announced today that it will serve as the newest member of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), a registered association whose mission is to develop and establish the Combined Charging System (CCS) as the global standard for charging battery-powered electric vehicles.

Electrify America recognizes the importance of cross-industry cooperation around charging infrastructure to help increase consumer understanding - and ultimately purchases - of zero emission electric vehicles. CharIN offers an additional opportunity for industry collaboration, since most of Electrify America’s current technology suppliers are already among the impressive list of members. All Electrify America charge stations will offer CCS charging, along with additional system options, to help support a consistent charging experience for drivers.

“With a growing state-of-the-art charging network, Electrify America shares CharIN’s vision for the advancement of seamless and standardized charging infrastructure to help bolster electric vehicle adoption,” said Cliff Fietzek, director of technology at Electrify America. “We look forward to collaborating with the association’s diverse set of members to provide consistent charging solutions that help further Zero Emission Vehicle awareness and purchase consideration in America.”

This news builds upon a recent announcement that Electrify America will work with CharIN members to be the first DC fast charging network in the USA who will offer the Plug & Charge technology at its charging stations, based on the ISO15118 charging standard. Electrify America will introduce Plug & Charge at more than 500 charging station sites with more than 2,000 chargers by the end of 2019.

As the newest member of CharIN, Electrify America is excited to host the next “International Testing Symposium” for the Combined Charging System in May 2019 at its Center of Excellence in Reston, VA. During this event Electrify America is planning to demonstrate the end to end implementation of Plug & Charge based on the ISO 15118 standard. This demonstration will give a future outlook how Electrify Americas customers can charge their car simply by plugging in.

Electrify America is investing $2 billion into Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, access and education programs across America as it rapidly expands its nationwide charging network, the largest commitment of its kind to date. Electrify America’s nationwide DC fast charging stations will be located in 17 metros and along high-traffic corridors in 42 states, including two cross-country routes.

With a focus on both future and present-day electric vehicles, Electrify America’s charging systems have a range in power from 50 kilowatts (kW) - the most commonly used charging power for electric vehicles on the road today – to 150 kW up to 350kW, which is capable of adding up to 20 miles of range per minute to an EV. In its first phase of investments, the company will install more than 2,000 ultra-fast chargers across 484 locations in the U.S. by July 1, 2019.

About Electrify America

Electrify America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America headquartered in Reston, VA and with an office in Pasadena, CA, is investing $2 billion over 10 years in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, education and access. The investment will enable millions of Americans to discover the benefits of electric driving and support the build-out of a nationwide network of workplace, community and highway chargers that are convenient and reliable. For more information, visit (www.electrifyamerica.com) www.electrifyamerica.com.

About CharIN

The Charging Interface Initiative e.V. – abbreviated to CharIN e.V. – is a registered association founded by Audi, BMW, Daimler, Mennekes, Opel, Phoenix Contact, Porsche, TÜV SÜD and Volkswagen. Based in Berlin, Germany it is open to all interested parties. The purpose of the CharIN organization is to develop and establish the Combined Charging System (CCS) as the global standard for charging battery powered electric vehicles. Our goals include: expanding the global network of companies supporting CCS, drafting requirements to accelerate the evolution of charging related standards, and defining a certification system for all manufacturers implementing CCS in their products. In this connection the limits drawn by antitrust laws are to be observed by all members. Visit (www.charinev.org) www.charinev.org to learn more.

David Herron
David Herron is a writer and software engineer focusing on the wise use of technology. He is especially interested in clean energy technologies like solar power, wind power, and electric cars. David worked for nearly 30 years in Silicon Valley on software ranging from electronic mail systems, to video streaming, to the Java programming language, and has published several books on Node.js programming and electric vehicles.