Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and 6 other Japanese companies to establish organization for membership-based EV quick charging services
24 November 2011
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| Overview of Charging Network Development Organization, LLC charging service. Click to enlarge. |
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC); Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi Motors Corporation; ULVAC, Inc.; Kanematsu Corporation; Kandenko Co., Ltd.; Suzuyo Shoji Co., Ltd.; Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.; and the Development Bank of Japan Inc. are establishing an organization to provide membership-based quick-charging services for users of electric vehicles (EVs).
The organization, named the Charging Network Development Organization, LLC, aims to encourage increased and widespread use of EVs by helping to expand the scope of charging infrastructure. As of the end of October, approximately 800 quick chargers have been installed in Japan, a number still viewed as insufficient from a users’ standpoint.
Up to now in Japan, quick chargers have generally been installed—at the owner’s expense—by businesses and private organizations for private use or as part of a government program. The lack of an effective method to recover costs has become a significant obstacle to widespread installation, the partners said.
Under the new membership service, quick-charger owners can register their chargers with the organization in a central database. The organization will then make charger information, such as number and location, available to EV users registered as members, thus facilitating convenient and efficient charging.
Membership fees will pay a portion of the installation and maintenance costs incurred by quick-charger owners, helping to promote the development of quick-charger infrastructure. The organization plans to start such services in fiscal year 2012.
The concept for the service is the result of investigations conducted by a working group formed at the request from the CHAdeMO Association to all its members in July 2010.
In March 2011, the CHAdeMO Association announced that it would support the commercial development of the service to promote the spread of quick-charging infrastructure. The organization will seek the cooperation of a broad range of local governments and businesses for the service while working to increase interest in quick-charger installation, thereby establishing a charging infrastructure sufficient to encourage the greater use of EVs and to increase user convenience.
Equity interests in the new Charging Network Development Organization, LLC include:
| Equity interests in the new Charging Network Development Organization, LLC | |
|---|---|
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 18.2% |
| Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 18.2% |
| Mitsubishi Motors Corporation | 18.2% |
| ULVAC, Inc. | 4.5% |
| Kanematsu Corporation | 4.5% |
| Kandenko Co., Ltd. | 4.5% |
| Suzuyo Shoji Co., Ltd. | 4.5% |
| Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. | 18.2% |
| Development Bank of Japan Inc. | 9.1% |
The CHAdeMO Association’s membership comprises 412 organizations in Japan and other countries including automobile manufacturers, charger manufacturers, supporting companies and governmental bodies as of November 1, 2011.
No Nissan, interestingly.
Posted by: Davemart | 24 November 2011 at 07:58 AM
This is a mess, it won't work in a sustainable way. Consumers are not looking for that. This is another mess-up of the future of car technology done by big oil and silly lithium-ion proponents that gather only subsidies everywhere and do not collect any money from real consumers. Consumer are rejecting lithium-ion cars, only stupid goverment subsidies are pusching these little but costly and weighty batteries into the market in the place normally occupied by hydrogen fuelcells. They do that because they are protecting jobs in the petrol business and laboratory studies business. They are petrol heads in real life and they occupied the technology field to avoid real technology like hydrogen fuelcells and solid-state batteries. Even if they made tremendous propaganda for lithium-ion batteries, consumers are still rejecting them.
Posted by: A D | 24 November 2011 at 08:59 AM
@AD:
Perhaps the lack of demand by customers explains why they are selling all they can build, and Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi are pressing ahead as fast as they possibly can to build more capacity.
Posted by: Davemart | 24 November 2011 at 09:10 AM
@AD
They are avoiding hydrogen fuel cells because they are grossly inefficient.
Posted by: clett | 24 November 2011 at 09:14 AM
@Davemart
They are not building these fast because customers do not want them, they build few because of the subsidies only.
@ clett
They avoided fuelcells because big oil opposed them and they decided to build some batteries for pr reasons.
Posted by: A D | 25 November 2011 at 02:12 PM
A-D..the next generation of BEVs (post 2015) will address many of your restrictions and limitations. Post 2020 BEVs will compete head on with equivalent ICEV. FCs have a much longer way to go, specially with hydrogen production, distribution and cost.
Posted by: HarveyD | 15 December 2011 at 02:32 PM