New system developed by CHAdeMO group
Has runaway and other fault detection capabilities
Officials in China have just approved a new plug standard for Level 3 DC fast charging. The plug is a bit of next-generation tech, capable of sending more power to an EV than any currently available plugs. But it also shows that EV charging is getting more complicated, not less and that that fact doesn’t seem about to change.
The new standard is called ChaoJi-1, and it was just approved and published by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration (via electrive). It can support 1.2 megawatt (1,200 kW) fast charging with 1,500 volts and 800 amps. It’s meant to be future-proof, at least for a few years.
Strangely, the ChaoJi-1 standard was developed along with the CHAdeMo Association and supports CHAdeMo version 3.1. That’s not strange for China, as the China Electricity Council presented CHAdeMo 3.0. It is strange that CHAdeMo is only used widely in Japan and by older Nissan and Mitsubishi EVs in the rest of the world. The CHAdeMo standard has long been on the decline in most places, with CCS and Tesla’s NACS plugs taking the lion’s share of the market. Even Chinese automakers have gone with CCS outside of their home market.
Still, with the ability to detect thermal runaway and other fault detection systems, the CHAdeMo Association says this is a safe and reliable charge system. It also said that the plug will be compatible with existing DC fast charge standards and hopes that it is “laying the foundation for the future standardisation of global DC charging technology”.
