With all the talk of Tesla’s NACS charging connector taking over the EV industry in North America in the years to come, it’s easy to forget about CHAdeMO, the plug fitted to the Nissan Leaf, the car that was once the best-selling EV in the world. Other EVs that use the connector include the first-gen Kia Soul EV, the Mitsubishi i-MIEV and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Nissan has sold over 650,000 Leaf EVs globally since its debut in 2010 and at least 210,000 of those made their way to North America. These are not rookie numbers by any stretch of the imagination, but with fast-charging operators steering away from the aging CHAdeMO plug to focus on NACS and CCS1, it’s getting harder and harder for Leaf owners to plan long-distance road trips. But there might be a solution, albeit a rather pricy one.
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The world of EV adapters
There are countless adapters for charging your EV, and that's because there are multiple charging standards used across the industry. While the CCS and NACS protocols have seen plenty of love from accessory makers, the aging CHAdeMO system used on the Nissan Leaf isn't so popular among aftermarket companies. But things are changing.
Enter the A2Z CHAdeMO to CCS1 adapter that promises to make life much easier on the road for people who drive a CHAdeMO-equipped EV.
It’s rated at 1,000 volts and 250 amps, which comes out to 250 kilowatts–much higher than the 62.5-kilowatt maximum DC fast charging rate the latest and greatest Nissan Leaf can accept.
It’s also $999, which is a lot of money for an adapter and quite big size-wise. But it’s not the first and certainly not the last CHAdeMO to CCS adapter to come to market. We covered a similar device made by a Chinese company earlier this year, which costs about the same as A2Z’s solution, so if you’re in the market for something like this, be prepared to spend big money and have room in your trunk for it.
The biggest difference between the A2Z adapter and other products on the market is that A2Z actually went through the trouble of testing it before putting it up for sale, as our own Tom Moloughny said in the unboxing video embedded above.
That’s a big deal for customers because it offers some reassurance that the big and expensive piece of plastic between their car and the DC fast charger won’t become a fire hazard. Furthermore, A2Z bundles a USB cable and USB memory stick in the box, so if a user encounters problems with the adapter, they can contact the company to come up with a fix. Once it’s ready, the adapter’s software can be flashed via the included cable to make it work as promised.
However, it’s worth noting that none of the car manufacturers who use the CHAdeMO connector on their EVs endorse the use of this–or any–adapter. It’s the same with the charging providers, who want people to know that the use of non-OEM adapters exempts them from any liability if something goes wrong.
As opposed to the NACS and CCS systems, which use power line communication (PLC), the CHAdeMO standard uses the CANbus protocol, which is similar to the modules inside modern cars. This means that a CHAdeMO to CCS adapter needs to interpret the signals before allowing electricity to flow through. It’s also the reason why the adapter is so big compared to the NACS to CCS units (or vice versa).
These caveats prompted CHAdeMO association representative Tomoko Blech to take a strong stand when talking about these sorts of adapters with InsideEVs at the beginning of the year. “While [the CHAdeMO association] understands that some people may be disappointed, we cannot guarantee that there is no risk of burns or electric shock, and we can only ask consumers to take responsibility if they still wish to use such a product," Blech said.
What’s your take on this? Would you spend $1,000 on a product that promises to make road trips more hassle-free, even if it’s not endorsed by the car manufacturer that built your EV? Let us know in the comments below.
