Electric Vehicle

Tesla Supercharger Community Increasing Vastly In Denmark

January 17, 2023

Inside what looks like no time in any respect, a number of 12–24 stall Tesla Superchargers have come on-line in Denmark. They arrive up so quick that they seem on web site earlier than any bulletins on both native information or Tesla’s personal web site — and even the maps in Tesla vehicles are conscious of them!

New Tesla Supercharger: Kliplev, Denmark (24 stalls) https://t.co/AOuLlp4IV2 pic.twitter.com/9N6oe9DUlH

— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) January 5, 2023

As of now, 16 Supercharger stations are on-line in Denmark (of which 13 are open to non-Tesla EVs), and one other 14 are deliberate. Once I purchased my Tesla in 2019, there have been 9 stations on-line. It surprises me that this small nation is prioritized this extremely. I do know we’re not near among the Supercharger densities in areas of the USA, the place a state like Florida (which is comparable in measurement to Denmark) has about 100 stations, however nonetheless, the aggressive development is astonishing. (Word that whereas Florida and Denmark could also be related in measurement geographically, Denmark has a inhabitants of ~5.9 million whereas Florida has a inhabitants of ~21.8 million.)

There are after all different charging networks than Tesla’s, however since Tesla vehicles promote within the highest numbers and its community appears to increase the quickest, it’s smart to keep watch over the Tesla ecosystem as a benchmark of issues to come back. Carolyn Fortuna made a rating of the varied charging networks within the USA. Tesla appears to have checked out this “rooster and egg” state of affairs from the start and determined to do each as quick as potential.

The Grid

When Tesla opened its first Supercharger stations in California again in 2012, I bear in mind the imaginative and prescient was to have photo voltaic PV and battery storage on the websites. This isn’t frequent right now (I can consider just one Supercharger station in Denmark with photo voltaic masking the stalls), however it raises an important query: Will the grid be capable of deal with the load?

I wrote the opposite day that Denmark has reached 60% electrical energy technology from renewables, primarily wind, and because of the intermittent nature of this provide, I typically take into consideration that idea of battery storage at charging stations. When the passenger automobile fleet is finally 100% EVs, the consumption share of complete electrical energy utilization will in all probability be about 5–10%

Screenshot from Energinet.dk on January 15, 2023.

The plan in Denmark is to quadruple the renewable electrical energy technology, and the grid is slowly being constructed out to deal with these peaks of renewable technology. Denmark is fortunate to have good connections to neighboring nations that may take a few of that further energy, others nations wouldn’t have that privilege. Take a look at the snapshot above of an actual time state of affairs on a windy day, the place the nation exports 1.6 GW. The worth for electrical energy at this level was lower than 10 cents/kWh. It’s apparent that on a day like that, all people with an EV is incentivised to cost their automotive at residence, however this ought to be mirrored closely at public chargers and Supercharger stations as effectively, except a specific amount of battery capability is put in.

The Supercharger

Sure, I’ll use the phrase Supercharger. Tesla is the chief on this discipline, and Supercharging is a good time period for what occurs if you go to one: You cost tremendous quick, it’s tremendous handy, and it’s tremendous dependable. Nonetheless, in a spot like Denmark, with its quantity of intermittent renewable electrical energy provide, it ought to be a no brainer to put in massive stationary battery capability on the websites, like Tesla Megapacks. I feel that’s precisely what will occur. The one motive this has not occurred but is battery cell manufacturing constraints. I feel it will be smart to comply with Tesla’s Megapack manufacturing charge over the approaching years, and even months.

Nicely, not all Supercharger stations can be found on a regular basis! Picture By Esben Krog Heltoft.

If Tesla needs to maintain charging charges competitively low however nonetheless have a steady income, then the capability to load up on very low-cost electrical energy and simply nibble at or promote it again to the grid when costs are excessive not solely helps balancing the grid by being bidirectional, but additionally permits very excessive charging speeds for patrons on web site. One Megapack holds 3.9 MWh of power, which is sufficient to cost about 80 EVs with a 75 kWh battery from 15% to 80% SOC! That’s a 12-stall Supercharger just about totally occupied for as much as 5 hours off the grid. Will Megapacks be put in on current Supercharger V2 and V3 stations? Perhaps not, however they definitely will on V4!

The Concern

This being January 2023, with CleanTechnica specializing in EV charging this month, I’ll say a number of phrases on vary anxiousness. I can solely do this as a result of a have had the concern myself. I by no means ran out of juice, although. Why? As a result of I belief (and concern) the indicator within the automotive that tells me how a lot vary is left. To be honest, particularly in some earlier fashions I drove years again when batteries have been tiny, a protracted stretch of headwind on the freeway would typically threaten to spoil my ETA — as a result of I needed to decelerate and/or discover a charger to top-up. However vary anxiousness induced white knuckles on the steering wheel are a factor of the previous with battery capacities over 50 kWh in my view. You actually need to be fully ignorant to the vary indicator, and never have made any effort to be taught the place chargers are situated, to get stranded. In that case, you’ll be equally prone to get stranded in a fuel-burning automobile.

I feel on this event in 2019 was the final time I felt just a little bit anxious. Picture by Jesper Berggreen.

Nonetheless, for all of the individuals I do know who’re ICE automobile homeowners and inform me they’re enthusiastic about shopping for an EV, the vary and cost conundrum is their major concern. However behold, all of the individuals I do know who’ve really purchased an EV, with no matter tiny or massive battery, by no means speak to me about vary anxiousness. Come to consider it, individuals with EVs don’t speak that a lot about their vehicles with one another. I mentioned the current value cuts by Tesla with a colleague the opposite day, and she or he stated her husband was keen to commerce of their 3-year-old Hyundai Kona EV for a Mannequin Y now, however she refused. “Nothing unsuitable with the Kona,” she famous, and she or he highlighted that it was grime low-cost to service and run.

The Future

I’d extremely suggest watching Jordan Giesige’s video on Megacharging the place he will get into the nitty-gritty, going all the way in which from the decade-old Tesla Supercharger V1 to the approaching V4 in addition to the alleged semi-only Megacharger:

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