Tritium plugs into DC to produce new EV fast chargers that will reduce costs

Brisbane-based fast charger manufacturer Tritium has unveiled a new “groundbreaking” line of EV fast chargers that it is will claim are designed for more cost-effective operations and infrastructure deployment.

The new Tritium PKM line of fast charging solutions is able to transmit power across the system at 950V DC rather than 400V AC, which reduces the gauge of cabling in half and can lead to up to tens of thousands of dollars in savings for small charging sistes, and up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings for large charging sites.

It will also grant charge point operators the freedom to share one central source of converted DC power around their site. This means less equipment is needed, enabling operators to deploy more charging stations and increase the number of fast chargers available for EV drivers.

“One of the biggest challenges in the EV charging industry right now is increasing utilization without increasing driver waiting times for a charge,” said Tritium co-founder and chief growth officer David Finn.

“Operating and capital costs are traditionally proportional to peak power requirements, yet the revenue our customers generate comes from average power delivery. This provides a new, distributed architecture that delivers unique site capital efficiency and scalability.”

First out of the blocks for the PKM line is the PKM150 which also leverages the company’s patented liquid-cooling modular design and allows operators to choose between 50kW, 100kW, or 150kW of dual-cable charging station power.

The modular design of the chargers also allows for faster and easier servicing and build.

Tritium CEO Jane Hunter said the EV industry had reached a tipping point.  “Economies are moving from oil powered transport to transport powered by electricity, and with that, we believe internal combustion engine vehicles are becoming an obsolete technology,” she said.