Car Charging Group announced its intention to integrate the Tesla Motors’ EV charging technology into Blink EV charging stations.
According to the blog on the Tesla Motors’ website dated June 12, 2014, Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, stated that the company would “not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology”. Mr. Musk noted that the decision to provide access to the patents is “in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology” and that “Tesla, other companies making electric cars, and the world would benefit from a common, rapidly-evolving technology platform”.
While Tesla Motors’ Model S currently includes an adaptor for the J1772 connector, the standard for public EV charging stations and compatible with EVs sold in North America, CarCharging anticipates incorporating the technology of Tesla Motors’ charging port into Blink charging stations as well as the Society of Automobile Engineers’ (SAE) new J1772 DC Fast Charging combo coupler.
By integrating these charging ports and connectors with its current J1772 and CHAdeMO connectors, CarCharging will expand the charging options currently available for EV drivers, including CarCharging’s network of 119 DC Fast Chargers, the largest network of DC Fast Chargers in the United States.
CarCharging is further expanding its network of DC Fast Chargers by actively working with Nissan to deploy quick chargers in key markets throughout the United States. CarCharging has also partnered with Gridscape Solutions, a software and service company that specializes in designing and developing a broad range of smart energy solutions, to integrate Nissan’s DC Fast Chargers with the Blink Network, the software that operates, monitors, and tracks the Blink EV charging stations and all of its charging data.
CarCharging is also actively working with other major EV charging networks on various interoperability initiatives. The company recently launched the CarCharging mobile app, the first truly interoperable app that serves as the gateway to multiple networks that operate EV charging stations from various manufacturers.
The CarCharging app provides drivers with the ability to locate public Blink, GE, SemaCharge, and ChargePoint EV charging stations, and initiate and pay for EV charging sessions at GE WattStations and SemaCharge stations, that are owned and operated by CarCharging, directly from their iPhone.
CarCharging also recently announced its participation in Nissan’s “No Charge to Charge” promotion, which provides two years of no-fee charging with the purchase of a new Nissan LEAF with the new EZ-Charge card, an all-access card that provides drivers with the ability to initiate charging sessions on CarCharging’s Blink Network as well as other major charging networks. CarCharging is also collaborating with GE’s Industrial Solutions business to establish interoperability between CarCharging’s Blink Network and GE’s WattStation EV chargers. GE will soon allow CarCharging’s Blink Network to serve as an alternative payment method for drivers and owners of GE WattStations.
