Electric vehicle (EV) OEM Rivian has announced plans to develop a national-wide charging network that will allow non-Rivian EVs to charge vehicles via a new charger design that will accommodate any compatible North American car.
The move is similar but slightly different than the deal Tesla Motors made with all automotive OEMs to access its Supercharger network in North America. Under that deal, non-Tesla vehicles would need an adapter to access Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) port.
Rivian said its Rivian Adventure Network would deliver rapid charging up to 900 V for Combined Charging System (CCS) connector vehicles as well as support for NACS-vehicles (Tesla EVs) with an approved adapter in a future hardware update.
First site
The first site is open and located at the Joshua Tree Charging Outpost in California. Rivian said it will open additional charging locations at sites in
- Texas
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Montana
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- New York
Each charger will include a larger display and can be used with or without Rivian’s proprietary charging app.
Rivian said the network will help to accelerate adoption of EVs and promote 100% renewable energy matching when they charge on the network due to Rivian’s use of renewables in its charging sites.
Why it matters
Much like Tesla, Rivian is looking to take advantage of other automotive OEMs that need to expand their EV charging networks to meet demand.
One of the major, if not top, concerns among EV owners and potential buyers is the lack of enough EV charging stalls in North America. While the situation is improving and new infrastructure is being built weekly, it is not enough to meet the demand of what is billed as the largest automotive transition in history — from internal combustion engines to all or partially electric.
A survey from insurance giant AAA found that interest in EVs may be declining due to five main reasons:
- Higher purchase price
- High cost of battery repair or replacement
- Lack of EV chargers
- Range anxiety
- Unsuitable for long distance travel
If automotive OEMs can alleviate some of these concerns by giving access to more charging stalls, that may be a way to win people over that have lost interest.
