CHAdeMO Association closed yet another very successful year in 2017. Not only have all fronts of the business of its members and collaborators grown, but it has also successfully consolidated its position as the international market leader.
New chargers sprang up everywhere in the world, and the number of CHAdeMO chargers grew by 30% last year, reaching a global total number of 17,700.
An even bigger rate of increase was seen in the European region, where a 50% growth took place in 2017, ending the year with 6,060 charge points across Europe. Countries like Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Ukraine went above and beyond with the expansion of their charging infrastructure.
In parallel with chargers, EV sales has boomed last year thanks to a growing awareness of the public on the utility and eco friendliness of electric cars and the increased market offers from the carmakers. As of 2017, 775,000 CHAdeMO compatible cars are on the roads, out of which 330,000 found a home in Europe.
The growth of EV industry pushed for geographical expansion of CHAdeMO. In 2017, ten new countries successfully installed their first CHAdeMO charger: Andorra, Barbados, Bulgaria, Georgia, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Serbia, and Uganda.
Another great achievement was the publication of the 200kW (max 400A) specifications, followed by a successful connection test and demonstration. By implementing this protocol members will be able to develop high-power EV chargers that enable vehicles to be charged at a higher rate, catering to the increasing EV battery size. Furthermore, anticipating the diversifying charging needs of larger variety of EVs, CHAdeMO is working on a 400kW (max 1kV) protocol, which will be released early 2018.
Makoto YOSHIDA, Secretary General of CHAdeMO Association, commented, “Our plug being identical in any geographical region, with the emergence of second-hand EV market developing in different parts of the world on top of the new CHAdeMO EVs coming to the market, we expect the demand for CHAdeMO to stay strong. In view of the warning from IEC/ISO, we have reviewed the safety measures of CHAdeMO and feel confident that our technology provides safety, interoperability and is future-proof.”
