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DC Fast Charging

3rd August 2021

On 30th July an Energica Eva Ribelle rider called Zero Fun from Virginia, USA set off on a 6 day cross country trip, riding from Washington DC on the east cost to Santa Monica, California on the west coast. There are daily videos on YouTube and a route map on Bluelane.

The majority of the trip was on Interstates 70 and 75, where he (for we do not know his name) mostly travelled at 60 to 65mph and stopped every 100 miles or so to recharge. The Energica has a 21.5kWh battery and can charge at up to 24kW from a DC charger. During the trip the weather was hot, daytime highs above 30C, with the only rain and poor visibility at the very end.

The hot weather had a negative impact on the charging speed of the bike. With the high ambient temperature and the constant power draw, the battery temperature was also high. The bike therefore throttled down the charging speed to avoid overheating the battery. On day 5 of his trip he described how at the start of the first charge of the day the bike can achieve 24kW, then then starting the next charge is down to 16kW, and the third is under 12kW. He tried limiting the charging speed to 12kW from the first charge of the day, but wasn't able to achieve 12kW for the second charge. So on balance he preferred to charge at the maximum the bike would allow.

The conclusion to draw from this is that battery temperatures affect charging speed. During this ride the ambient temperatures were pretty high. I've ridden at 40C and it isn't comfortable. But it is worth noting that manufactures claims around charging speed are under ideal conditions (just like their range claims), so it seems sensible to moderate your riding style and monitor your battery temperature as you approach a charging stop, if you want to minimise your charging time.