Freewire Technologies, which offers EV fast charging and energy management solutions, will integrate Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector to its Boost Chargers from 2024, thus eliminating the need for an adapter for Tesla owners.
The decision comes after Ford recently announced that its EVs will be fitted with Tesla’s own NACS port from 2025 and that the Blue Oval’s zero-emissions vehicles will have access to the 12,000+ Superchargers in the United States and Canada.
Freewire’s CEO Arcady Sosinov commended the agreement between the two American automotive powerhouses in a conversation with Electrek:
“Freewire commends the recent announcement by Tesla and Ford to make NACS charging accessible to more vehicles. For a sustainable transition to electric transportation, it is crucial to quickly increase investments and make reliable, publicly accessible fast-charging infrastructure widely available. It will require all charging providers to work together to meet public charging demand, and we support Tesla in making steps towards opening their technology and network. Freewire has long been a proponent of standardization across the industry as it will make charging more convenient for drivers and allow infrastructure to keep pace with EV adoption nationwide. Freewire plans to make NACS connectors available on Boost Chargers by mid 2024.”
Currently, Tesla owners can top-up the batteries in their vehicles from a Freewire charger via an adapter, but this will no longer be necessary after the California-based company integrates the NACS plug.
Established in 2014, Freewire has a rather interesting proposition in the form of its Boost Charger stalls, which are available with two power output levels: 150 kilowatts and 200 kilowatts.
The DC fast charger has an integrated 160-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and doesn’t need a high-power input to function properly. Instead, it can be powered by regular 3-phase AC up to 400 volts or split-phase 240V, so the costs of installation can be much lower than a comparable fast charger without integrated batteries.
Furthermore, Freewire’s solution has software that can charge the integrated batteries when power from the grid is cheaper and then deliver it to vehicles in need via the two charging cables.
As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.
