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The unrealistic assumption remains that fast charging would be the default when all the cars on the road are electric simply because the status quo with ICE is

The unrealistic assumption remains that fast charging would be the default when all the cars on the road are electric simply because the status quo with ICE is "fast charging" (once a week or fortnight; people also tend to forget that not all cars "fast charge" at once with ICE either). Slow/trickle charging is a real paradigm shift versus the status quo. More and more evidence continues to mount that fast charging is by far a small exception in BEV ownership over steady usage patterns of trickle charging.

buran77 6y ago
Exactly. People have to wrap their heads around the fact that "fueling" a BEV will not follow the same philosophy as fueling an ICE. And it shouldn't, it should play to the strengths of BEVs. They can be charged anywhere, at home or on the street, you can even "produce the fuel" at home if needed. So as long as you can install a charger in every possible (legal) parking spot a BEV can stay more or less constantly charged. Quick charge might be reserved for when you really need to be quick about it. Or maybe some more advanced battery swap tech and process. And charging stations will probably not reach gas stations level of efficiency any time soon, certainly not by the time most manufacturers go for BEV only fleets. The point isn't that "all cars fast charge at once" but that today any one of the dozens of gas stations in any city will serve multiple customers at once and offer a hefty range in a matter of minutes. The difference is even more visible if you go to more extreme situations, like a highway gas station in vacation season, where cars queue up to every one of the dozen pumps despite their substantially longer range. Again, none of these issues are insurmountable, they just require a lot of investments in infrastructure and a change in mentality. But whenever someone compares hydrogen to battery tech saying "BEVs can quick charge too" it's clear that they don't understand how things change at scale and what's the strong point of each tech.

buran77 6y ago

Exactly. People have to wrap their heads around the fact that "fueling" a BEV will not follow the same philosophy as fueling an ICE. And it shouldn't, it should play to the strengths of BEVs. They can be charged anywhere, at home or on the street, you can even "produce the fuel" at home if needed. So as long as you can install a charger in every possible (legal) parking spot a BEV can stay more or less constantly charged. Quick charge might be reserved for when you really need to be quick about it. Or maybe some more advanced battery swap tech and process. And charging stations will probably not reach gas stations level of efficiency any time soon, certainly not by the time most manufacturers go for BEV only fleets. The point isn't that "all cars fast charge at once" but that today any one of the dozens of gas stations in any city will serve multiple customers at once and offer a hefty range in a matter of minutes. The difference is even more visible if you go to more extreme situations, like a highway gas station in vacation season, where cars queue up to every one of the dozen pumps despite their substantially longer range. Again, none of these issues are insurmountable, they just require a lot of investments in infrastructure and a change in mentality. But whenever someone compares hydrogen to battery tech saying "BEVs can quick charge too" it's clear that they don't understand how things change at scale and what's the strong point of each tech.