SparkMoore
Well-known member
I keep hearing about VW and BMW working to build the CCS charging network up and down both coasts, but not seeing much progress. In fact, it has been suggested in various articles that VW could mitigate their current dirty diesel image problem by accelerating the roll-out of the CCS network and selling more EV's. In the comments section of one such article, someone suggested that VW could effectively accomplish the same thing as building the CCS network by selling a CHAdeMO to CCS Adapter. I thought that was a great idea and have been wishing for such a device since I bought my Spark EV. In fact, I was determined to create the thing myself, despite my lack of technical ability in this regard. So much so that I contacted emotorwerks about the idea and received the following response:
We do not have ETA for this version of our chargers yet. It would be awesome if someone like you would work on the interface. It is not a trivial task,
however.
In order to implement one, you need 3 things:
1. Get protocol specs from J1772 spec document you can obtain from SAE.
2. Implement physical layer of the protocol (based on TCP/IP over powerline). Luckily, you can find some existing implementations in products like
http://www.i2se.com/wiki/doku.php?id=products
lc_stamp_mini
3. Implement the logical layer of the protocol (the actual charging data / commands etc). Luckily, there are some existing implementation in products like
http://www.i2se.com/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=products:evacharge_se:evacharge_se_datasheet_r3.pdf
4. Connect the complete implementation to the power stage. Here's how we do it with our CHAdeMO controller:
https://docs.google.com/a/emotorwerks.com/document/d/16dKWo35OwWUbYmfKx3LBR67aY7ZZ0dnQfpFK-zqMzJ0/edit
5. Connect the complete implementation to the power DC Combo cable & plug assembly. I am not aware of the source for this yet but I am sure one
could find something on Alibaba.com.
So if someone could source #1, 2, 3, and 5, and figure out the connection in #4, then one could have a SAE combo charger. I estimate that this is a ~4
person-week project for someone who knows what he/she is doing.
In spite of how simple the above response makes it seem, it was more difficult than I could handle. Plus, it seemed cost prohibitive, given the price of the CCS plug itself. At the time (about a year ago), buying the plug was a several hundred dollar proposition. In other forums and posts it was thought that the overall cost of the adapter could exceed $1,000. The available market for such a device seemed rather small, as the Spark EV was the only car in production to come equipped with a CCS receptacle at the time.
So here is what I'm wondering. Does anyone on this forum have the ability, time and motivation to work together to pull off the development and production of a $200 CHAdeMO to CCS adapter? I expect many people's first response will be to say it is not possible. I'd like to hear about how it can be done. What would it take? Anybody willing to go down this road with me to make it happen? I can't do much in the way of technical expertise, but I do have other talents and resources at my disposal.
We do not have ETA for this version of our chargers yet. It would be awesome if someone like you would work on the interface. It is not a trivial task,
however.
In order to implement one, you need 3 things:
1. Get protocol specs from J1772 spec document you can obtain from SAE.
2. Implement physical layer of the protocol (based on TCP/IP over powerline). Luckily, you can find some existing implementations in products like
http://www.i2se.com/wiki/doku.php?id=products
lc_stamp_mini3. Implement the logical layer of the protocol (the actual charging data / commands etc). Luckily, there are some existing implementation in products like
http://www.i2se.com/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=products:evacharge_se:evacharge_se_datasheet_r3.pdf
4. Connect the complete implementation to the power stage. Here's how we do it with our CHAdeMO controller:
https://docs.google.com/a/emotorwerks.com/document/d/16dKWo35OwWUbYmfKx3LBR67aY7ZZ0dnQfpFK-zqMzJ0/edit
5. Connect the complete implementation to the power DC Combo cable & plug assembly. I am not aware of the source for this yet but I am sure one
could find something on Alibaba.com.
So if someone could source #1, 2, 3, and 5, and figure out the connection in #4, then one could have a SAE combo charger. I estimate that this is a ~4
person-week project for someone who knows what he/she is doing.
In spite of how simple the above response makes it seem, it was more difficult than I could handle. Plus, it seemed cost prohibitive, given the price of the CCS plug itself. At the time (about a year ago), buying the plug was a several hundred dollar proposition. In other forums and posts it was thought that the overall cost of the adapter could exceed $1,000. The available market for such a device seemed rather small, as the Spark EV was the only car in production to come equipped with a CCS receptacle at the time.
So here is what I'm wondering. Does anyone on this forum have the ability, time and motivation to work together to pull off the development and production of a $200 CHAdeMO to CCS adapter? I expect many people's first response will be to say it is not possible. I'd like to hear about how it can be done. What would it take? Anybody willing to go down this road with me to make it happen? I can't do much in the way of technical expertise, but I do have other talents and resources at my disposal.
