Tesla supercharger

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Tesla Model S at a "Tesla Supercharger" charging station in the USA
Supercharger station in California shaded with a photovoltaic roof

Tesla Superchargers are charging stations from the Tesla company that were built to quickly charge vehicles of their own brand. The stations can charge the traction batteries of the Tesla vehicles enough to reach the next supercharger station or another destination. The distribution of these charging stations along auto traffic magisterial in 20 countries allows driving on long journeys with short charging stops. The entire network is financed by Tesla itself. Until 2017, the use of the Supercharger was included in the purchase price of the S and X models, then this only applied to first-time buyers and non-commercial use, and since 2018 only certain contingents have been granted free of charge.

Tesla vehicles can also be charged at all public charging stations in Europe that have a type 2 plug or socket. Conversely, it is not possible to charge an Opel Ampera, e-Golf, etc. on a Tesla Supercharger, for example.

In addition, Tesla is installing so-called destination chargers , which are charging points with medium power at hotels, restaurants, supermarkets / shopping centers, etc., in order to be able to offer their customers charging options almost everywhere. Most of the non-brand vehicles can be charged at those locations that offer several of these charging stations.

development

Type 2 plug of a Tesla Supercharger in Europe
Type 2 junction box in the left rear light of a European model S. The insulators of the plug contacts are illuminated.
For comparison: Illuminated, non-round Tesla's own “charge port” on a US model S. With an adapter, a round SAE J1772 type 1 plug, e.g. B. can be used at a ChargePoint .

Tesla Motors began building high-performance charging stations in 2012 under the self-name “Tesla Supercharger”. The first stations delivered a maximum charging power of around 90  kW . From 2013 technology for 120 kW was installed, later for a maximum of 145 kW. In a first phase, the proprietary DC charging system was set up along the west and east coasts of the United States . In a second phase, the two coastal corridors were connected. Since then, it has been possible to cross the United States with a Model S using only the Supercharger. At the same time as expanding the network in the USA, Tesla Motors began installing “Supercharger” charging stations in Europe, Asia and Australia . In June 2014, Tesla Motors announced that it would make some patents related to its in-house development for charging stations available to the general public for free use.

In order to be able to use the advantages of the three-phase AC connections, which are widespread in Europe - in contrast to the USA - when charging, Tesla vehicles of the model series S and X for the European market - in contrast to the US market with Tesla's own socket - are equipped with Type 2 charging sockets, which have been introduced as standard in Europe . This means that these vehicles can be charged with alternating current on the type 2 columns that are widespread in Europe, as well as on the Tesla Superchargers with a different pin assignment of the same car socket.

When charging on the “Supercharger”, the traction battery is charged directly with direct current using a cable permanently installed on the charging station, bypassing the internal charger . The standard of the type 2 plug connection was specified for the use of direct current up to 70 kW power. For its more powerful direct current rapid charging system , Tesla did not wait for the international charging standard Combined Charging System , adopted in 2013 , which uses an extended plug design with two additional direct current contacts for direct current transmission of more than 70 kW, but instead transmits the peak power of 135 kW via modified contact pins in its type - 2 connector.

Newer superchargers - known as version 2 - were expanded to 150 kW in 2019. Supercharger V3 with a peak output of up to 250 kW have been installed since 2019, initially in California.

At the launch of its Tesla Semi trailer truck, Tesla also announced that it would build megacharger stations so that they could be charged within 30 minutes for a range of around 645 km. The capacity of the megacharger will be more than 1 MW and will initially be built at the loading / unloading points of major customers.

Loading time

The 60 kWh batteries of the first Tesla Model S could be charged halfway in 20 minutes, 80% in 40 minutes and fully in 75 minutes at 90 kW supercharger stations of the first generation. The power of the charging stations was increased to 135 kW from 2013. Superchargers with an output of 250 kW are now being installed.

At a Supercharger location, two charging stations (marked with A and B) are connected to the same three - phase current -to-direct voltage converter unit. It consists of chargers connected in parallel that deliver a peak power of 145  kW and 480  V DC . The S and X models are charged by the supercharger with a maximum of 125 kW, with the highest charging power only possible when the battery level is low. If a medium battery level is reached, the vehicle reduces the charging power to protect the battery. Tesla takes advantage of this behavior with the Supercharger to charge two cars at two charging stations at the same time with one converter unit. If only one vehicle is connected, it receives the power of all twelve parallel chargers; if a second one is added, the power is split, with at least three units supplying the second vehicle and the first vehicle being supplied with the remaining converter power. If the first vehicle reduces its charging power as the battery level rises, further components are switched over to charge the second vehicle, and it thus receives an increasing converter power.

The Supercharger V3, which will be installed from 2019, are designed in such a way that each vehicle receives full power. Model 3 vehicles can charge it with a peak power of 250 kW and thus recharge enough electricity for a range of 120 kilometers in 5 minutes.

Loading authorization and costs

The charging stations can only be used by Tesla Motors vehicles that have a corresponding charging connection and that have been activated by the manufacturer for charging there via software.

With the purchase of a Model S and Model X , free charging on the Tesla Superchargers for the life of the vehicle was also sold until January 15, 2017, depending on the model and market as free standard equipment or a paid option. After that, it was initially said that only 400 kWh (for a range of around 1,600 km, worth around 100 euros) per year would be given to new buyers free of charge and the usage beyond that would be charged. In May 2017, Tesla announced that vehicles ordered since January 15, 2017 would be free to charge to the first owner of the vehicle. And from May 2017, free charging was only granted if the referral link of a Tesla owner was given when ordering. Without a recommendation, only 400 kWh per year should be free from January 1, 2018. Finally, on September 17, 2018, the free loading for new buyers ended. After all, first-time buyers could still get six months of free charging with a referral link before Tesla's referral program was discontinued on February 1, 2019 for cost reasons. In August 2019, free use for newly acquired vehicles was reintroduced for the S and X models.

The low prices for the use of the Supercharger introduced in 2018 were increased in early 2019. Initially, an increase of around 35% was announced, after violent protests from Tesla customers, the price increase was reduced to around 20%. In Austria from € 0.23 to € 0.28 per kWh and in Switzerland from CHF 0.25 to CHF 0.30 per kWh. In Germany, where, for legal reasons, billing was based on time instead of electricity, the minute prices changed from € 0.17 to € 0.20 for charging powers below 60 kW and above 60 kW from € 0.34 to € 0.40.

On April 29, 2019 it was announced that the use of the Supercharger in Germany will be based on the kWh delivered and not on the time. The average costs in Germany are € 0.33 per kWh.

expansion

Tesla Supercharger station on the A9 near Münchberg
Sign for "Tesla Supercharger"

Tesla is building (as of April 2018) Supercharger stations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Tesla operates a total of 15,911 Supercharger connections in 1804 locations worldwide (as of January 2020). There are 74 locations in Germany (5 of them under construction), 18 in Austria (1 of them under construction) and 22 in Switzerland (3 of them under construction). (All information as of January 2, 2020). There are also 19,200 Destination Chargers. Tesla maintains the most closely meshed charging system in the world, writes an online media service. As of July 2018, the amount of energy fed into the vehicles corresponds to the equivalent of 92 million liters of fuel. According to Tesla Motors, green electricity is purchased for all European supercharger stations .

In Germany, the charging station ordinance has been in effect since March 17, 2016, which specifies the Combined Charging System (CCS) as the mandatory standard for public direct current fast charging. In this context, fears had previously been voiced that Tesla Motors would have to retrofit its German superchargers with CCS if the draft regulation at that time came into force unchanged.

Tesla Motors has been a member of the Charging Interface Initiative e. V. (CharIN e.V.), an initiative that aims to promote and disseminate CCS

In December 2018, Tesla began to equip existing columns at its European supercharger locations with a second cable that is equipped with a CCS connector. This means that the Tesla Model 3 , the copies of which will be delivered in Europe from 2019 onwards, will be equipped with a CCS charging connection, can also charge at supercharger stations. By mid-August 2019, over 440 Supercharger locations had already been equipped with CCS cables.

The largest location in Switzerland to date was opened in Dietikon in May 2019 , with 24 fast charging stations. As a European innovation, a lounge was set up for the first time , including a vending machine for drinks , a vending machine and a game console .

Complete battery replacement

Tesla also pursued the approach of upgrading the Supercharger stations for fully automatic battery replacement in less than two minutes, for which the underbody of the Model S is also designed in terms of production and maintenance. The goal was named to offer this exchange faster and cheaper than a regular fuel tank filling, which was demonstrated in 2013. On the other hand, it was suspected by observers that Tesla tested this solution primarily to meet CARB environmental requirements and to take advantage of funding opportunities in the USA.

On June 21, 2013, Elon Musk presented a battery change in 90 seconds on a show stage. The first (and only) station went into operation 18 months later in December 2014. The station was set up opposite a supercharger at the Harris Ranch near Coalinga , located between San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, only a few customers accepted the offer, so the concept was not expanded further.

In June 2015, Musk told investors about weak customer interest, which was confirmed by an external survey. In an article about the closure of the prototype station at the end of 2016, a user feedback was quoted according to which a battery change there took an average of 7 minutes and was done with human assistance.

Other companies are continuing to pursue the concept of battery exchange stations. After Tesla reported a patent application for a quick-change battery station in 2017, this could also apply to Tesla.

Web links

Commons : Tesla Supercharger  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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