Munro Live Compares Tesla's NACS Charging Connector With CCS1

Will we see a switch from CCS1 to NACS?

10:56

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Nov 21, 2022 at 8:02am ET

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In the recent episode of Munro Live, Scott Hoffman outlined the situation with Tesla's proprietary charging standard and how it compares to the CCS Combo 1 (CCS1) aka SAE J1772 Combo.

Earlier this month, Tesla announced the opening of its charging standard with the hope that it will be adopted by the wider EV industry as the ultimate charging solution. The company even named it the North American Charging Standard (NACS).

Tesla's standard has many advantages over CCS1. It can be used for both AC and DC charging potentially at up to 1 MW (assuming a voltage of up to 1,000 V) and has a very compact package so both the plug and inlet are smaller and lighter.

Munro Live noted that NACS is more space efficient, lighter and less costly than CCS1, although no amount was mentioned.

It's a bit unfortunate, because we would like to know the estimated cost difference between the two.

For each $1 of cost difference per car, the total waste of money multiplies by the number of vehicles. Assuming $20 per car (just for an example) and 1 million units per year, it's $20 million per year. At 10 million units per year, it's $200 million per year. Those amounts quickly escalate (even assuming a very small cost difference) and accumulate year after year. We guess that it would be far better to agree on a single charging standard and transfer the saved cost into the expansion of charging infrastructure (as well as temporary support for the vehicles equipped with the outgoing standard).

On top of that, of course, there are other issues, like the lack of ability to charge for incompatible vehicles.

It's hard to say whether the EV industry will finally sit down and find the best solution. For now, the most probable thing is that charging networks will be interested in adding NACS plug to their chargers, which would triple their customer base (roughly 2/3 BEVs are Teslas).

If there is demand for NACS chargers, charger manufacturers will offer dual head chargers (NACS/CCS1), like in the past when there were CCS1/CHAdeMO units.

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Once most of the infrastructure gradually becomes compatible with both - NACS/CCS1, other EV manufacturers may be will be willing to switch to NACS on the vehicle side. Just maybe, because by that time, there will be millions of CCS1 vehicles on the road and also thousands of CCS1 chargers.

One of the saddest things is that Tesla waited so long with the opening of the standard. It could have been done basically when CCS1 was in its infancy.