V4 Supercharger To Reach 350 kW in 2021

North America: Magic Dock Adapters Installed in Stalls

Tesla recently unveiled its new Superchargers (called V4 in Europe) as well as the Magic Dock (which is comprised of built-in CCS1 adapters found in V3 stations across the US). Yet, this is only just the beginning of the transformation.

MarcoRP, the source who monitors advancements in charging technology, recently announced that within 12 months, V4 Superchargers will be capable of a much greater output of 350 kW instead of the current 250 kW for V3.

As well, the V4 will be provided with an integrated CCS1 adaptor (known as Magic Dock) that is capable of controlling electric autos fitted with Tesla’s exclusive charging port (conferred to by the producer as NACS) and vehicles compatible with CCS1. This advancement is obviously limited to regions which require the opening of the network, such as North America and probably South Korea among other nations. On the contrary, in many regions aside from Japan and China, Tesla utilises a connector that suits the CCS2 protocol.

In brief, the implementation of Magic Dock V3 in America and V4 Superchargers in Europe (view a recharging procedure here) will soon result in a merger in the USA of both technologies, V4 and Magic Dock, plus additional voltage reinforcement (350 kW).

The resulting implications are significant: the ability to sync with other electric vehicles expands the infrastructure to include non-Tesla EVs, while at the same time, V4 stalls sport increased cable length, permitting a variety of cars to take advantage of the charge regardless of where their charging inlets are located. Moreover, more power implies charging should be swifter; though this depends on the model of the car being charged.

It will be intriguing to observe if the maximum 350kW electricity generation is a consequence of the upsurge in peak current or if the voltage going up (pictures taken during the Dutch V4 job demonstrated a most extreme voltage of 1000V reachable at the full load level).

Nonetheless, something else must be accounted for. Despite Tesla beginning the installation of modern machinery, switching the scheme to predominantly V4 devices could take quite a few years, with even additional time required to replace the earliest V2/V3 systems.