RIVIAN REVEALS NEW CHARGER DESIGN THAT WORKS WITH OTHER EVS
The new Rivian charger works with both 400- and 800-volt EVs and features CCS connectors with no native NACS support.
Rivian has announced that its Adventure Network of DC fast chargers, which can currently only be used by Rivian vehicles, will be opened to other EVs later this year. Now the company has shown a new EV charger design, which has been conceived to charge not just Rivians but also other EVs, as long as they have a CCS port, at least for now.
With Rivian moving away from CCS and planning to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in all its new vehicles come 2025, the manufacturer will eventually add native NACS support to its chargers, probably around the same time the first NACS-equipped Rivians roll out of the factory gates.
However, these new chargers will only feature CCS connectors initially, and the only way you’ll be able to charge a NACS-equipped EV will be via a Rivian-approved CCS to NACS adapter.
The new charger has a sleek, minimalist design and a larger display than previous Rivian Adventure Network chargers, as well as a tap-to-pay terminal to improve usability. It will work with both 400- and 800-volt EVs, and at locations where the new chargers will be installed and space permits it, the stalls will be put in trailer-friendly locations. No word yet on these new chargers' peak charging power.
Rivian plans to build new charging stations in new locations, but it will also upgrade existing locations with the new charger. The Rivian Adventure Network had 67 locations that together have some 400 DC fast chargers in February 2024. Rivian wants to increase the number to 600 locations and a combined 3,500 charging stalls.
Like Tesla, which opened up its Supercharger network to allow other EVs to charge and tap into national and federal charging network subsidies, Rivian will become eligible for these incentive programs too. However, expanding its charging network isn't a huge deal for Rivian since it is among the brands that were granted access to the Tesla Supercharger network, and its main priority now is to get the R2 model to market as planned in the first half of 2026.