Why Chargeway matters: making EV charging comprehensible for buyers, dealers, utilities, networks

Mockup of Chargeway dealership kiosk to explain charging to electric-car shoppers, June 2018

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Ask anyone what kind of fuel their next car will take, and you’ll likely get one of three answers: regular, premium, or diesel.

Ask that same person what kind of charging an electric car takes, and you’ll probably get a blank stare.

Ask a salesperson at a car dealer how he explains the different kind of charging available for that brand’s electric cars. You’ll likely get the same blank stare.

CHECK OUT: Chargeway: the best electric-car idea you’ve never heard of (Jun 2017)

Then ask car shoppers what they want to know about electric-car charging, and there’s only one answer: how long does it take?

At that point, electric-car advocates usually explain that Level 1 charging via a 120-volt wall socket takes 9 to 20 hours depending on battery size, but Level 2 charging halves that time or better, and while DC fast charging has three incompatible types, different makers use different plugs, and of course Tesla is entirely separate … only to find the shopper had tuned out around the “120 volts” part.

Seven-plus years after the first Nissan Leaf was delivered to a buyer, most carbuyers still have no idea what to ask about electric-car charging. the general confusion among mass-market buyers and car shoppers over EV charging has not improved.

Nissan Leaf electric car with eVgo quick charging station. [courtesy eVgo]

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In fact, a case can be made that the gobbledygook hurts sales of electric cars to mass-market buyers who are more interested in the transportation than the technology.

A year ago, at the Roadmap 10 conference in Portland, local graphic designer and Chevrolet Volt driver Matt Teske quietly showed an idea for a simple system of labels for charging stations.

It would use only colors and numerals to make it simple, quick, and obvious to everyone what kind of charging each car used, what kind was available at any site … and how fast that charging was.

This week, Teske will update Roadmap 11 attendees—as an official panelist no less—on the progress of his Chargeway system since receiving enthusiastic reactions last summer. He’ll also lay out exactly what will be included in the system’s first real-world test, starting late this year.

 DON’T MISS: Chargeway pilot program to post labels to help drivers sort out charging

On June 4, Chargeway announced its system would be used in a pilot program for charging stations along the state’s I-5 and I-84 highway corridors, to launch late this year or early in 2019.

Most important to that test are the partnerships Teske has assembled. The Oregon Department of Transportation is fully committed to the project.

So is the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, representing hundreds of dealerships. Two huge electric utilities in the area, Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, are also on board.

The final partner is Forth, the Oregon nonprofit whose mission is to advance electric, smart, and shared transportation. (The group also sponsors the Roadmap conference.)

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland [photo: Forth]

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That news release previewed a piece of the update Teske will give Roadmap attendees.

Now, in a wide-ranging two-hour interview, he has given Green Car Reports an exclusive look at his year’s worth of progress.

A Chargeway presentation Teske has given dozens of times over the past year is titled “The Language of Electric Fuel.”

It starts with the premise that drivers need to know only two things about powering (or “fueling”) their cars: How long does it take? And what plug does it need?