Chademo

Hey, when your country has the population the size of San Diego's and you've got a bit of a head start, you can pull this stuff off.

The European Commission's recently unveiled plan for cleaner fuels and lowered dependency on imported oil is counting on huge gains from natural gas and electric vehicles. While there are about one million natural gas-powered vehicles on European roads today, the number is expected to increase ten-fold by 20

The association representing the world's most prevalent fast-charging standard may be based in Japan, and the region in question might be Europe, but the CHAdeMO Association made its feelings clear about the European Commission's (EC) charging-infrastructure strategy in very, very plain English.

True to their name, the number of CHAdeMO-standard quick-charging stations for electric vehicles is growing real fast. The number of global stations that use Japan's quick-charging CHAdeMO standard has doubled in the past year to more than 2,000 units – and will more than double this year, as more public and private entities look to give EV owners the option of recharging their cars in a matter of minutes.

Perhaps the clash between CHAdeMO and SAE Combo fast charger standards can be resolved by free market enterprise. For example: The Equinox 50kW fast DC charger, which "will be the first unit on the market to combine both CHAdeMO and Combo protocols," according the GRIDbot website.

The battle between the SAE Combo and CHAdeMO DC fast charger just tipped a little bit toward SAE's "J1772 EV and Plug In Hybrid EV Conductive Charge Coupler." The Car Charging Group is endorsing the new SAE Combo standard that couples a DC fast charger with the J1772 AC 240-volt charger, all in one charging point.

Electric-vehicle drivers are bracing for a battle that could make Obama-Romney look like the Tennessee Waltz.

As fast-charging standards go, it looks like the Atlantic's finally covered.

Nissan has installed the first of 400 quick-charging electric-vehicle chargers in Europe that it's planning to deploy during the next few years, the Detroit News reports.

The battle lines are hardening.

One can think about conspiracy theories that maybe that's the way they wanted it be.

There's a good reason that Aerovironment proudly displayed the 20-year-old EV1 in its booth at the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26): it's not a newcomer.

Nissan and GE shared a booth at the SAE World Congress in Detroit recently to emphasize the way the two companies want to connects your car and various appliances to the emerging smart grid.

How bad do Europeans want plug-in cars? Nissan is using a campaign called the "Big Turn On" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) to get people in various cities to compete for a prize of 30 Nissan quick chargers installed in that city. Of course, if Nissan installs a bunch of CHAdeMO quick chargers somewhere, it makes plug-in vehicles like, say, the Leaf, all the more appealing to buyers and a contest like this can only

Electric vehicles typically come with a home charging cord, and additional stations for 120v or 240v connections are relatively inexpensive. However, when you start trying to cram electrons into a battery in a hurry, the cost can rise steeply. In particular, "Level 3" quick charging stations can be a significant investment, with costs starting around $20,000.

Stemming from an agreement signed back in September of 2010, Eaton Corporation and Murphy Oil USA have revealed what's believed to be the nation's first Level 3 quick-charge unit installed at, wait for it, a gas station.