Tesla has announced it will be opening its EV charging plug connector design to charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers.

A Tesla spokesperson said: “The Tesla charging connector has been proven over a decade of use and 20 billion EV charging miles.

“It has no moving parts, is half the size and twice as powerful as combined charging system (CCS) connectors.

“In pursuit of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, we are opening our EV connector design to the world.

“We invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connector and charge port, now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), on their equipment and vehicles.”

Charging network operators already are planning to incorporate NACS into their chargers, Tesla said.

Daihatsu teams with battery maker

Japanese vehicle manufacturer Daihatsu has announced a collaborative partnership with the world’s largest battery manufacturer, CATL.

Both companies have signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership.

In Japan, Daihatsu leads in the small inner-city mini hatchback, small truck and van vehicle categories.

CATL will provide battery cell and battery management technologies including cell-to-pack (CTP) for Daihatsu vehicles.

Daihatsu has committed to producing only electric cars from 2030 and this collaboration will allow them to manufacture small EVs with greater range due to CATL’s battery chemistries and technologies.

Hydrogen super hub planned

Queensland’s push to become a hydrogen superpower has taken a giant leap forward with the announcement of a renewable energy ‘super hub’ in the state’s north that will host more than 10GW of wind and solar projects to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale.

Plans to develop the north Queensland super hub were announced by the State Government, along with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries and his recently acquired renewables developer Windlab.

The Government said detailed planning was already underway for the Super Hub, with the first stage to include Windlab’s proposed 800MW Prairie wind darm and a 1GW Wongalee project, the details of which were not specified.

Construction of the first-stage 1.8GW was expected to start in 2025 with first generation by 2027.

BP adds fast chargers

BP has launched its global electrification brand in Australia opening the new BP Pulse fast charge points at BP Bayside at Brighton East in Melbourne.

It followed the recent opening of charging sites at Diamond Creek in Victoria and Caboolture in Queensland.

The initial rollout will see chargers installed at key metropolitan and regional BP retail locations along Australia’s east coast.

For a faster roll-out, the initial sites are those with the best available power supplies.

For regional areas the DC fast chargers will be at BP outlets that have convenience stores providing coffee, toilets and food for travellers.

Queensland based Tritium will supply the DC chargers which offer both CCS2 and CHAdeMO plugs which can charge simultaneously.

Currently charging at 75kW per side, by 2023 they will be enabled to charge at speeds up to 150kW a side.

For vehicles with 150kW or greater DC charging capability this will provide around 100km charged in under 10 minutes.