Electric cars have evolved over the past decade to the point where, with few exceptions, they are the superior alternative to internal combustion engines. They are quiet, produce instant torque, and have roughly three times the efficiency of a hydrocarbon fuel. The problem is that charging an EV battery takes longer than refilling the fuel tank with liquid fuel. A abundant even longer-speed EV charging still requires 18 minutes to get from 10 to 80 percent charge, with 30 to 40 minutes being more for most EVs on sale today.
Those long charging times are one of the driving forces behind the interest in hydrogen fuel cell EVs, despite the horrendous efficiency losses involved in making and using that fuel instead of storing electricity in a battery. But there are other solutions that we pursue. Currently, the most powerful fast chargers an EV driver can encounter in the wild max out at 350 kW—still more than any EV I can think of is capable of receiving. But even more powerful DC chargers are in the works, like the one Nxu is carrying in Arizona.
“EV users are looking for reliable, consistent, and convenient charging solutions. Today, they usually get one of those three, if any at all, when they charge their vehicles,” said the founder. Nxu, chairman, and CEO Mark Hanchett said. . “Nxu plans to deliver on all three, starting with our proprietary, Nxu One Charging System. We expect the best response from those who experience our charging technology, and we can’t wait to put the power of charging back into the hands of EV drivers,” said Hanchett.
Nxu has designed the Nxu One Power Supply System to support maximum power values—up to 4.5 MW of dual-directed DC power, the company claims. That’s more power than any current EV can handle, but EV drivers in Mesa, Arizona, will have the opportunity to test the system this weekend at power outputs of up to 700 kW.
Nxu is beginning public tests with its charger, one of which is outside the company’s manufacturing facility at 1828 N. Higley Road in Mesa. Any EV that supports the Charging Assembly Plug can use the charger, and Nxu is charging a dollar per charge for drivers between Thursday, September 28, and Sunday, October 1.
Fear not, fans of the North American Charging Forum—this is the Tesla-designed plug that, in the past few months, has made rapid inroads in the rest of the EV industry and will be the EV charging leader in 2025. Nxu is a fan of this transition from CCS to NACS and said that it will support NACS plugs as well as its own NXuOne connector on future charging stations. The first will be in Quartzsite, Arizona (off exit 19 on I-10), with construction slated for 2024.
If you happen to be in Mesa this weekend and get to test the Nxu charger, please let us know how it goes in the comments.