EV DCFC Adapter Chapter

At this point we all know that EVs from different manufacturers utilize different charging ports, roughly demonstrated by this graphic where AC = L2 and DC = DCFC (mostly current up to/through 2024):

And in the US, it was basically the Nissan Leaf as the only EV with meaningful sales volume that utilized the CHAdeMO port for DCFC (and it appears this isn't changing and CHAdeMO will die with the Leaf and this article).

From roughly 2015 - 2022, most non-Tesla EV DCFC stations deployed utilized CCS1 and CHAdeMO plugs.

Then in 2022-2023 most non-Tesla EV DCFC stations dropped CHAdeMO (or maybe they'd have 1 out of 8 plugs be CHAdeMO) because Nissan Leaf was the only EV that used that standard and all non-Tesla EVs were adopting CCS.

Then, in May 2023 Ford announced it would switch to the NACS charging port in future model year cars and they said starting in Spring 2024:

"A Tesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging System (CCS) port access to Tesla’s V3 Superchargers. Ford will equip future EVs with the NACS charge port, removing the need for an adapter for direct access to Tesla Superchargers, starting in 2025."

And the majority of EV OEMs followed suit.

So outside of Nissan Leafs, here we are at the end of 2023 and there are two types of DCFC standards on all EV's on the road and it will probably remain this way until 2025:

Tesla's with NACS and all others with CCS.

Which means that for now and for the near future, if you have one type of charging port, but you pull up to a charging station with a different type of plug, you will need an adapter (which we've already covered for L2)! So what does that look like?

Tesla Drivers (CCS to NACS):

Tesla offers a CCS to NACS adapter and their official compatibility is:

THE CCS COMBO 1 ADAPTER IS COMPATIBLE WITH MOST TESLA VEHICLES, THOUGH SOME VEHICLES MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL HARDWARE. SIGN IN TO THE TESLA APP TO CHECK YOUR VEHICLE'S COMPATIBILITY AND SCHEDULE A SERVICE RETROFIT IF NEEDED.

IF A RETROFIT IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICE VISIT WILL INCLUDE INSTALLATION AT YOUR PREFERRED?TESLA SERVICE CENTER?AND ONE CCS COMBO 1 ADAPTER.

NOTE: FOR MODEL 3 AND MODEL Y VEHICLES REQUIRING A RETROFIT, PLEASE CHECK BACK IN LATE 2023 FOR AVAILABILITY.

Most will be able to though some may require additional hardware unless you're Model 3 or Model Y and then check back now ;) Clear as mud but Tesla drivers are a smart bunch and surely they can figure that out.

But honestly, who cares about them on this topic! They're spoiled because they already can use the best charging network around and I have a CCS EV anyway so on to the more pressing topic of..

Non-Tesla EV (NACS to CCS):

As Ford mentioned, there will be an approved NACS to CCS adapter like this one or this one but these are unofficial because Tesla hasn't officially opened its network to non-Tesla's UNLESS you consider the Magic Dock (more on that below) AND this adapter will only work on Tesla V3 and above BUT ALSO there is going to be some headaches around payment because it will have to happen in the Tesla App but I'm guessing there's going to be some "handshake headache" between the Superchargers and Non-Tesla OEMs (but only ones that have signed the NACS agreement?) and OMG this is getting complicated.

Forget adapters, just offer cord and plug flexibility:

So there's obviously headaches with adapters because:

1. EV Drivers have to actually buy them (at least if they have already purchased the EV and the adapter doesn't come with the car) and the only ones who will probably buy them are the ones that need them because they live closer to one type of DCFC station. I put the % of EV drivers who will buy an adapter at well below 50%.
2. There's compatibility issues because not all Tesla's can utilize CCS to NACS and not all other EV's can utilize NACS to CCS (or maybe they can?) and there will surely be integration issues all around.

And so the best solution is to just get out of this Adapter Chapter ASAP and move towards plugs that solve the problem...which is what Tesla did with Magic Dock!

Magic Dock

Tesla's Magic Dock has the adapter built into the charging cord so drivers don't need to worry about having their own adapter. Magic Dock Superchargers are even capable of charging CCS vehicles that have not adopted the NACS standard! Here's a Plugshare map of Magic Dock locations. The main downside of this solution is that the cord length is optimized for Tesla EVs, where other vehicles, like the F-150 Lighting have a very hard time getting the cord to reach the charging port.

Non Magic Dock

Sona Energy Solutions is rolling out our own DCFC CPO stations and helping retailers roll out their DCFC stations and the current plan is to install chargers that can be retrofitted to a NACS cord so we can offer CCS cords AND NACS cords to alleviate the need for adapters.

But in the future, we're going to look at solutions like this one from Autel Energy , which is basically what Tesla has done with Magic Dock (left side is Magic Dock equivalent, right side is cord retrofit option):

And now I'm exhausted.

I can almost guarantee you many high level executives at EV OEMs and EV CPOs will "hand wave" a lot of this discussion as being minor or trivial and "it will all get sorted out!"....BUT IT MATTERS. I think about this topic daily. If you're working with an EV Charging partner who isn't thinking about this or isn't aggressively working towards solutions to make this topic easier for EV drivers....then maybe you should start looking for a new partner....or just give me a call (404-270-0441).

Who can provide some valuable input in the comments below? And yes, I know wireless charging would make all this easier....but nuclear fusion would also be great so let's talk wireless charging when it's a real offering.

Other links:

https://www.theverge.com/23797527/ev-charging-ccs-nacs-tesla-adapter-guide