CHAdeMO

CHAdeMO Association
Formation2010; 14 years ago (2010)
TypeNonprofit
PurposeDevelopment of electric vehicle charging technology
Websitechademo.com

CHAdeMO is a fast-charging system for battery electric vehicles, developed in 2010 by the CHAdeMO Association, formed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and five major Japanese automakers.[1] The name is an abbreviation of "CHArge de MOve" (which the organization translates as "charge for moving") and is derived from the Japanese phrase "o CHA deMO ikaga desuka" (お茶でもいかがですか), translating to English as "How about a cup of tea?", referring to the time it would take to charge a car.[1]

It competes with the Combined Charging System (CCS), which since 2014 has been required on public charging infrastructure installed in the European Union, Tesla's North American Charging System (NACS) used by its Supercharger network outside of Europe, and China's GB/T charging standard.

As of 2022, CHAdeMO remains popular in Japan, but is being equipped on very few new cars sold in North America or Europe.

First-generation CHAdeMO connectors deliver up to 62.5 kW by 500 V, 125 A direct current[2] through a proprietary electrical connector, adding about 120 kilometres (75 mi) of range in a half an hour. It has been included in several international vehicle charging standards.

The second-generation specification allows for up to 400 kW by 1 kV, 400 A direct current.[3][4] The CHAdeMO Association is currently co-developing with China Electricity Council (CEC) the third-generation standard with the working name of “ChaoJi” that aims to deliver 900 kW.[5]

The charging system is now considered outdated in the U.S, with the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV being the only models to use it in the country.

  1. ^ a b "General Outline of "CHAdeMO Association"" (PDF) (Press release). TEPCO. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. ^ "What to Expect in New Connectors" (PDF). Fox Valley Electric Auto Association.
  3. ^ "CHAdeMO releases the latest version of the protocol enabling up to 400 kW". Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Protocol Development – Chademo Association". Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  5. ^ "CHAdeMO to jointly develop next-gen Ultra-Fast Charging Standard with China". Chademo Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.