- EV charging station company ChargePoint debuted the Omni Port, which can change the charging handle from CCS to NACS to support more EVs.
- It's essentially an adapter, which will stay installed on ChargePoint public charging stations to enable users to charge their EVs, no matter which system they have.
- There are several potential pitfalls to this system, which could only serve to further frustrate EV users.
I'd like to think that we're moving closer to better electric vehicle charging infrastructure, because, at the moment, it still sucks for the vast majority of folks.
There are long lines, broken machines, machines that don't recognize your motorcycle or car, and chargers that just won't deliver anywhere close to the energy speeds advertised. And it makes charging your bike or car a massive pain in the ass. It's led a lot of people to not drop their hard-earned cash on an EV.
One of the biggest issues facing today's EVs, however, is which charging port your vehicle has: CCS or NACS.
Now, almost everyone today is moving toward offering vehicles with NACS, which is the standard that Tesla came up with. But a lot of vehicles prior to the last year or so have come with CCS. And those vehicles are going to be on the road, theoretically, for quite some time. And there are still a few EV manufacturers that have stuck with CCS, even though NACS makes more sense.
That's the reason why ChargePoint, one of the very few companies building out the world's charging infrastructure, recently debuted the 'Omni Port' which, with the push of a button, can swap the charging handle from CCS to NACS. And that all sounds pretty good, as it allows vehicles with either charge port to use the Omni Port charger.
Yet, based on my own experience with public chargers, I see a crucial design flaw. It adds complexity and a critical spot for part failure. Let me explain.
ChargePoint's Omni Port is very similar to the brand's other charging stations, in that it features two charging cables that lock into the main station. A phone app is used to control it and connect to your vehicle. However, where it's different from the brand's prior stations is that the connector can change from a CCS to a NACS by selecting what sort of vehicle you have through said app or through the station's on-screen selector.
The actual mechanism for the change is literally just a NACS adapter connection that locks onto the base CCS connection within the charging station.
Again, that's pretty damn handy as you can charge both. But to me, based on prior instances using public charging, the potential for failure at the connection point of the CCS to NACS worries the hell out of me.
Unlike gas pumps, these public chargers aren't yet foolproof. They break, connections break, and maintaining these stations isn't yet routine. As such, adding extra parts and an extra mechanism, one controlled via a phone app (which carries its own inherent issues) or a station-based screen, has the real possibility of making charging that much more of a headache than it already is.
Imagine turning up to the charger, selecting a NACS charger, but the mechanism not locking onto the CCS charger. Or vice versa. Likewise, after multiple uses, what if the connection between the CCS and NACS adapter fails and won't adequately charge? Or if the connection gets dirty and the funneling of those electrons slows to a snail's pace?
I'm not opposed to the idea of having both on a charging station. But maybe it'd be more helpful if ChargePoint split the charging connections between the two, i.e. one side NACS, the other CCS, and have them as hard points of contact instead of the swappable version here? I get why the company wouldn't, as this design allows you to have two NACS or two CCS vehicles charging at the same time.
But based on experience with public chargers, adding complexity and parts doesn't feel like the right way to move the needle. It does, however, have the potential to annoy and frustrate an already frustrated and annoyed EV-using public.
