Volkswagen has presented a new charging concept in the form of a DC wallbox, which is capable of providing a charging output of up to 22 kW. The new product is currently in its pilot phase, with units installed at the company’s factory sites in Wolfsburg, Braunschweig, Hannover, Salzgitter and Kassel for development testing before series production begins.
With VW’s new wallbox, electrified vehicles with a CCS charging port can be charged with direct current (DC) up to 22 kW, which is about double the speed of a typical wallbox with alternating current (AC). Of course, there are AC wallboxes that go up to 22 kW (or higher), but they still require the vehicles to have onboard chargers to convert AC power to DC for the battery.
In charging technology based on direct current, this conversion is done inside the wallbox itself, with electricity flowing directly into the lead traction battery. The technology also supports bi-directional charging, so the power stored in the lead traction vehicle battery can be returned to the grid, if necessary.
The company has yet to elaborate if it plans to make its new wallbox available as a residential or commercial-only device, but it certainly helps to close the gap between level two and level three charging – the latter being fast DC charging that typically starts from 50 kW going up to 300 kW.
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