The latest Supercharging network promises to cut charging times by 50 percent.
Tesla released details on its V3 Supercharging beta, the next step in the company’s Supercharging network. In a recent release, the company stated it’s a completely new architecture from previous versions. Presently, Tesla’s charging grid spans 12,000 stations across North America, Europe and Asia. Now, the network architecture features a 1 MW power cabinet, supporting higher peak charging rates for each car at a Supercharging station.
The latest generation of the system builds on Tesla’s experience using grid-connected batteries, like those used to provide power in South Australia. They allow up to 250kW of peak charging output for each car, which the company claims will cut charging times by half, under the right conditions. Tesla modeled that 50 percent figure off its own fleet data.
“Right conditions” moves into another part of Tesla’s announcement. As part of the new V3 Supercharging rollout, Tesla will introduce a feature called “On-Route Battery Warmup” this week. Each Tesla will warm the battery to optimal temperature when you navigate to a Supercharger. By doing that, Tesla claims the average charging time will be reduced by 25 percent. Then, using a 250kW charger when the battery’s warmed up will reduce that time another 25 percent.
Although Tesla uses 120kW as a basis for demonstrating On-Route Battery Warmup, the company made yet another announcement as part of the rollout. Over the coming weeks, they will unlock 145kW charging capability at all V2 Supercharging stations.
Starting with the Model 3, then rolling out to other models
Starting now, Tesla is rolling out its V3 Supercharging network in its beta phase in the San Francisco Bay Area. From there, the company is launching the new version for Model 3 owners first, then Model S and Model X owners. The latter Tesla owners of Model S and Model X cars will get software updates in the coming months. Tesla anticipates the first North American V3 Supercharger will break ground in April, with the technology expanding from there.
European and Asian Supercharger sites will see V3 Supercharging in late 2019. Stay tuned to TFLcar.com for more updates!
