The Rivian Adventure Network, which is the name of the American EV maker’s DC fast charging network, is expanding on the East Coast of the United States, with the first installation in this part of the country spotted by a Reddit user in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
The photos, embedded below, show a wrapped charging station, as well as the power station that goes along with it, almost ready for deployment. According to the author of the post, there are a total of six chargers.
We reached out to Rivian to find out more about this specific charging site, and the company said that the site identified on the Reddit post is a Rivian Adventure Network DC fast charging site. “It’s one along the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor that will help enable electrified adventure along this historic scenic route.”
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Afton, Virginia, spanning the southern and central Appalachian Mountains.
Rivian’s Adventure Network consists of charging stations that are capable of delivering up to 200 kW of direct current only to Rivian vehicles, meaning they’re exclusive to the brand and other EVs can’t charge here, topping up the R1S or R1T’s battery for an additional 140 miles of range in 20 minutes.
The plan is to have over 3,500 of these DC fast chargers spread across the United States and Canada, but as of now, according to Rivian’s website, there are only 15 of them in operation and most of them are on the West Coast. With this latest fast charger in Blowing Rock on the East Coast, the total number of DC fast charging locations goes to 16.
Gallery: Rivian Charging Infrastructure
Rivian also has a network of slower, Level 2 stations called Waypoints, which deliver up to 11.5 kW and are open to the public for EVs using the J1772 plug. There are a lot more Waypoints charging stations than DC fast chargers at the moment, with Rivian claiming there will be over 10,000 of them in the US and Canada, eventually.
Compared to Tesla’s Supercharger network, which has almost 5,000 stations and more than 40,000 connectors available worldwide, Rivian’s charging infrastructure is just getting started. But then again, so was Tesla’s network a while back, so if things go as planned, Rivian owners should have more than enough fast chargers available to quickly top-up their EV batteries.
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Source: u/AudubonDriver (Reddit)