Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal may wind up birthing one of the largest electric car charging networks in the United States, but that plan just hit at least a slight bump — a “potential safety issue” that’s forcing VW-owned Electrify America to shut down most of its high-powered charging cables for now.
In a press release, the company doesn’t specify what the safety issue might actually be, only that it affects chargers between 150 and 350 kilowatts that are using liquid-cooled cables by Huber+Suhner, that it’s taking this action “out of an abundance of caution,” and that there’s a list of around 80 charging stations that will remain open.
In addition to Electrify America, Amsterdam-based charging company Fastned has announced that it has shut down all of its 175kW chargers in the Netherlands and Germany, citing the issue with Huber+Suhner’s cables.
“The safety of our customers is our highest priority,” reads the statement from Electrify America’s CEO. Huber+Suhner issued its own statement, saying that a test site short-circuited in Germany, and that nobody was injured. It says that the short circuit occurred in the plug of a first-generation prototype, and that it’s recommended to customers that its products be inspected as a precautionary measure.
Electrify America planned to install 2,000 chargers across the country by this June, and the company installed its first ultrafast 350kW charger in California last month. We’ve asked the company to let us know how far progress has come, and what the issue might be.
