Energica is now taking yet another step to expand its commercial offerings, with the option of including the CHAdeMO charging system on Energica MY2021 motorcycles.
Energica is therefore the first manufacturer of electric motorcycles to adhere to both major international protocols on charging systems currently on global market: CCS and CHAdeMO.
“Since the inception of the Energica project, we embraced the combined charging system (CCS) as standard.” Says Giampiero Testoni, CTO Energica Motor Company S.p.A.
“We were true pioneers, the only electric motorcycle manufacturer to integrate DC fast charging technology into its products. We are delighted to have paved the way for other brands that have followed our path. Today we have also joined the second global standard, CHAdeMO. In this way, we are not only responding to the needs of the Japanese market we’ve just entered, but to any customer around the world who prefers this recharging system “.
The pandemic year that has just ended has not at all hindered the R&D activities of the Energica technical team, which in just few months developed the CHAdeMO charging system specifically for the Energica MY2021 range.
“We have internally developed a new control unit to manage the dialogue between the vehicle and the CHAdeMO charging station. This system manages the exchange of information to initialize the charge, stop it, together with all the CHADEMO protocol needs.” Testoni continues.
“Our existing VCU (Vehicle Control Unit) has been adapted to be able to implement the dialogue with the newly developed control unit. This interaction is fundamental to guarantee the technical demands of this standard. “
“Obviously we had to equip the motorcycle with the independent CHAdeMO fast charge socket to which we also added an additional socket for slow charging. Technical studies related to the design ensure we can always position the system under the seat of the vehicle, where the CCS Combo standard has already been present ”. Charging times are identical as for the CCS Combo standard:
- Fast Charge DCFC – Mode 4: 400 km / h or 6.7 km / min
- Slow Charge Charge – Mode 2 or 3: 63.5 km / h
The Energica MY2021 motorcycles equipped with CHAdeMO have been tested internally by the Energica staff thanks to the presence of charging stations with a dedicated socket inside the Modena headquarters.
Further interoperability tests to verify dialogue with the CHAdeMO system will be carried out at the Joint Research Center at Ispra to ensure the compatibility of Energica motorcycles with all CHAdeMO charging columns in use globally.