ABB To Add Tesla NACS Plug Option To Its New Products

However, first the testing, design, and validation steps must be completed.

By: Mark Kane

Jun 16, 2023 at 2:35pm ET

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ABB E-mobility recently introduced in North America a new set of EV charging products, including a new Terra AC Wallbox 40/80A (9.6 or 19.2 kilowatts), Terra 360 DC fast charger (up to 360 kW), and HVC360 power cabinet for large DC fast charging stations.

While the new products, displayed at the EVS36 conference in Sacramento, California, are expected to raise a lot of interest, there might be an even bigger change just around the corner.

A few days ago, ABB E-mobility officially announced an intention to add Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging plug, as an option to its charging products in North America - probably in both, DC fast chargers and AC wallboxes (currently equipped with SAE J1772 plug).

The move follows the announcement that Ford and General Motors are switching from the Combined Charging System (CCS1) to NACS.

Let's just note that ABB, as a manufacturer of charging equipment, is not switching to anything, but simply adding another option to all other global or regional solutions:

DC: CCS1, CCS2, MCS, CHAdeMO, GB/T
AC: Type 1 (SAE J1772), Type 2 ("Mennekes"), GB/T

"ABB E-mobility has been driving progress for over a decade as a world leader in the e-mobility industry. We will continue to lead by adding the North American Charging Standard (NACS) as an option for our products. Open standards and interoperability are foundational elements of a robust and scalable #emobility economy. We will continue our commitment to global and regional standards (CCS, MCS, CHAdeMO, GB/T), and #collaboration with our partners and the rest of industry to deliver charging solutions that accelerate the #electrification of "transportation for all.

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However, it does not mean that ABB chargers are already available with the NACS plugs, as the company clarified that first the testing, design, and validation steps must be completed. We don't know whether they started, though. That likely depends on whether Tesla sends samples of the equipment - plug, inlet, cable, electronics, and software with documentation and test devices - to OEMs.

It's also not clear at this point whether the offer will include retrofitting the existing chargers, of which ABB sold a lot.

"We will incorporate the NACS connector into our products once the testing, design, and validation steps are complete."

Tesla almost immediately responded to the announcement - "The more the merrier! Welcome," which indicates that the company is ready to provide everything that is required to produce NACS-compatible charging equipment by OEMs.

ABB's Terra 360 fast chargers have a peak power of 360 kW, shared by two outputs (currently CCS), but there is a big chance that this particular charger will get a version with CCS1 and NACS plugs.