Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
In February 2019, Volkswagen announced that it will use Tesla Powerpack batteries in more than 100 of its Electrify America charging stations in the US. VW has since acted on this plan. The batteries are located in regions with a higher concentration of EV owners to provide electricity during intensive charging hours. Powerpacks are mainly located at charging stations on the West Coast.
Tim S, who lives in Albany, New York, said he received information that Electrify America will use Tesla Powerpacks to build a charging station in his area, reports @torquenewsauto/Twitter.
"There is construction going on at the Electrify America chargers at our local Walmart (Albany NY). I spoke to the guy in charge of the work and he told me they are installing Tesla Powerpacks (he called them BESS - Battery Energy Storage System). The idea is to charge the Powerpacks overnight when electricity is cheap, then use them to charge EVs (mostly non-Tesla) through the Electrify America chargers. I wonder how widespread this is?" wrote Tim S.
Volkswagen Electrify America is working on the infrastructure for electric charging. For them, Tesla Powerpack is the smartest solution.Breaking News: #Volkswagen is apparently using #Tesla batteries, more precisely #TeslaPowerpack to store energy for #ElectrifyAmerica DC Fast Charging.
— Torque News (@torquenewsauto) August 28, 2020
-
Details at https://t.co/9uTqrra17P
-@atj721 @ray4tesla @InsideEVs @JohnnaCrider0 @EvaFoxU @TeslaOwnersEBay @vincent13031925 pic.twitter.com/ZrqaDNV1rI
The Tesla battery storage system works by consuming excess power from electrical networks during off-hours and storing it for later use. This allows charging stations to keep pace with demand and helps avoid price increases during peak hours. The Powerpacks being used at Electrify America charging stations will have a capacity of 350kWh and will be capable of 210kW fast-charging.
Tesla's willingness to help its "competitors" meet peak demand is a reflection of Elon Musk's public comments about using electric vehicles to move the market towards a more “sustainable future.” He believes that the true competitor is not the electric cars of other automakers, but "an enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day."
Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla electric cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world’s factories every day
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 31, 2019
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
____________________________
We appreciate your readership! Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
