Can California even charge the EVs on the road? The Public-Charging Pickle – Bloomberg Green

In a nondescript office park in San Jose, California, ChargePoint Holdings Inc. runs a torture lab of sorts. It’s here that the operator of the US’s largest network of electric vehicle chargers subjects its products to extreme temperatures and rain, and puts them through simulated dust storms and earthquakes. Pulley systems tug on charging cords, mimicking years of use, and one device slams a steel ball against chargers to see if they’ll crack.

“You take this thing that’s expensive, and you basically burn it up,” said Pasquale Romano, ChargePoint’s chief executive officer, as a row of machines nearby simulated plugging and unplugging the chargers.

ChargePoint’s process is geared at fixing one of the EV transition’s most pressing problems: public charging stations that often don’t work. Parts break, information screens freeze, payment systems malfunction. Copper thieves steal the cords. Vandals damage plugs or, in one infamous instance, stuff them with ground meat. In the US, nascent networks mean that if the machines at one station aren’t running, there may not be another nearby.

A decade ago, early EV adopters were willing to put up with unreliable public chargers. Now, US President Joe Biden wants every American driver to go electric. It’s a leap of faith many won’t make if they don’t trust that public chargers will work.

“We’re really at the point right now where we have to address these issues before we get further along in EV adoption,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of global automotive research for J.D. Power, which regularly surveys EV drivers in the US about their charging experiences. Two years ago, 14.5% of respondents said they’d been unable to charge at a public station. Now it’s 21.4%.

It’s not just a US problem. Zapmap Ltd., whose app tracks data from about 70% of public chargers in the UK, found last year that 6% were out of service at any given moment. A Boston Consulting Group survey released this year identified reliability as the main criteria drivers in China use when choosing a charging station, above speed, ease of use and price.

A connector cycling station at ChargePoint’s facility in San Jose. Photographer: Loren Elliott/Bloomberg

There isn’t a single reason for EV charger failures. Some of the problems can be chalked up to a new technology going through the usual learning curve, all while outside and exposed. There have been cycles of needed upgrades, such as replacing modems to deal with 5G wireless internet service. The myriad networks, retail outlets and garage owners who own the machines don’t always stay on top of maintenance. And chargers must communicate with a rapidly expanding array of cars.

To that end, the precise scope of the problem isn’t known. EV drivers face a complex landscape of competing charging companies, each with its own stations and app. One widely cited 2022 study of fast-charging stations in the San Francisco Bay Area (excluding Tesla Inc.’s Superchargers), found that about 25% of the 657 plugs weren’t working. While J.D. Power doesn’t disclose reliability rankings, Gruber said the worst-performing charging company leaves drivers unable to plug in about 39% of the time.

“With public charging, it’s a bit of the wild, wild West,” he said.

Tesla proved that reliable charging is possible. The all-electric automaker runs a global network of 45,000 Superchargers, which can add up to 200 miles of range in just 15 minutes. Its drivers report charger downtime of just 3%. But Tesla has the advantage of keeping everything in-house, and owns its Supercharger network. Many public chargers are owned by whoever owns the parking lot where they’re located. Such property owners, Gruber said, don’t have as strong an incentive to maintain their machines.

As charging networks expand, companies that deploy public chargers insist they are getting better. Property owners who buy chargers from companies like Blink Charging Co. and ChargePoint often sign long-term service contracts. Charging companies are also designing machines with individual components that can be swapped out.

“These chargers aren’t like a phone where you’re going to replace it every couple of years because the technology moves,” Pasquale said. “These chargers are going to last the better part of a decade, if not more.”

Engineers monitor a vibration and seismic shock station at ChargePoint’s facility in San Jose. Photographer: Loren Elliott/Bloomberg

Charging companies also acknowledge that the first few waves of public chargers weren’t as dependable as they needed to be. “Everyone’s first-generation equipment was just that — first generation,” said Michael Farkas, founder of Blink, one of the largest charging companies in the US. “People didn’t really understand all the impacts that being out in the elements would have.”

As EV adoption picks up in the US, the majority of charging will take place at home, a convenience that’s one of the chief selling points for electric driving. But even with the US EV range approaching a 300-mile average, public charging will still be needed for longer trips and garage-less drivers. That’s why the Biden administration this spring established a set of rules aimed squarely at broken chargers. Among them: Any federally funded charger must be functional more than 97% of the time.

Read and share a full version of this story on Bloomberg.com.

Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to breaking news on climate and energy and data-driven reporting and graphics.

1. “Greenhushing” is the new greenwashing. Money managers and bankers have been revising language in pitch books, marketing materials and reports to downplay ESG references.
2. El Niños cause trillions in lost economic growth. New research shows that estimated GDP losses from the weather phenomenon are a hundred times higher than previously thought.
3. Shell’s renewables arm is under pressure to turn a profit. Executives at the oil giant are telling their renewable power business that it can’t just deliver lower carbon emissions.
4. Current climate pledges make 2C possible. A new study finds that the world can meet its climate goals — if every country meets every commitment made through June 2022.
5. Car-choked Brussels loves… bikes? The share of bike commuters in the Belgian capital has tripled in just four years, and cars account for less than 50% of miles traveled.

If you’ve ever encountered a busted EV charger, today’s newsletter is for you. Read and share a full (and free!) version of this story on Bloomberg.com. To access unlimited climate and energy news — and to receive the Bloomberg Green magazine — please subscribe.