Description:

Introduction: CHAdeMO is an abbreviation of "CHArge de MOve". CHAdeMO is the trade name of a fast charging method for battery electric vehicles delivering up to 62.5 kW by 500 V, 125 A direct current via a special electrical connector. CHAdeMO is a DC charging standard for electric vehicles. It enables seamless communication between the car and the charger. It is developed by CHAdeMO Association, which is also tasked with certification, ensuring compatibility between the car and the charger. 

The Association is open to every organization that works for the realization of electro mobility. The Association, established in Japan, now has hundreds of members from around the globe. In Europe, CHAdeMO members based in the branch office in Paris, France, actively reach out to and work with the European members. 

Process: CHAdeMO published its protocol for vehicle-to-grid integration (VGI; aside from vehicle to grid [V2G or V2B], applications also include vehicle to load [V2L] or home-off grid [V2H], collectively denoted V2X) in 2014 and as of January 2022, CHAdeMO remains the only standardised charging protocol that defines V2X and has mass-produced cars and chargers (power conditioners) readily capable of it.[28] V2X technology enables EV owners to use the car as an energy storage, which saves costs by optimising energy usage and providing services to the Grid. Since 2012, multiple V2X demo projects using V2X capacities of the CHAdeMO protocol have been demonstrated worldwide. Some of the recent projects include UCSD INVENT in the United States, as well as Sciurus and e4Future in the United Kingdom that are supported by Innovate UK.

CHAdeMO published its protocol for 400 kW (400 A × 1 kV) 'ultra-fast' charging in May 2018 as CHAdeMO 2.0. CHAdeMO 2.0 allowed the standard to better compete with the CCS 'ultra-fast' stations being built around the world as part of new networks such as IONITY charging consortium. The latest CHAdeMO Protocol (3.0) allows for up to 900kW of charging (600A x 1.5kV) through the CHAdeMO/CEC collaboration. CHAdeMO offers complete freedom as to how to utilize and expand the technology. 

Commercialization: CHAdeMO proposes a standardised DC fast charge solution as public infrastructure on the road-side to be shared across diverse EVs, regardless of their brands and models.