DC charging allows the car to be charged significantly faster than AC charging. Currently, the most common charging stations are 50 kWh, but 150 kWh stations already appear, and 270 kWh and 350 kWh chargers are emerging, which is reflected in the constant need to develop more efficient connectors.
CCS, or combined charging system, is a beautifully elegant solution for fast DC charging. These are the original plugs, either Type 1 or Type 2, to which two more pins are added at the bottom. In the case of DC charging, these two lower pins participate in the charging itself and from the upper part only the communication pin and the earth conductor, which provides the reference point for the protection systems, are used. These connectors can withstand power of up to 350 kW.
It is currently the most popular type of DC connector. Type 1 is common in the United States, while Type 2 CCS is used in Europe. The European Parliament's efforts to allow only CCS 2 and other plugs to be phased out of Europe have not been successful, but this standard is still winning, mainly because the car has only one socket. When using the CHAdeMO connector, the car must always have two sockets.
CCS are not compatible with CHAdeMO and GB / T charging stations because they use different communication protocolsa, so special adapters are needed and they are not easy to obtain.
