#9: Charging Port Redesign, New Logo Vote, Solar for everyone

Have a nice Sunday! The events in Eastern Europe have surprised us all in their magnitude. War is not a solution and only creates suffering and hardship. 

Maybe this litle sunday news can be a little distraction from what else is going on. Solar energy is available to all across all borders - for free. 

+++ VOTE +++

Sono revises its logo - thee options are available. You can still vote until tomorrow. Two reasons for the redesign: intellectual property protection and the "Sono groups". The sun symbol alone cannot be protected as a standalone logo, there must be something next to it (variant 1). The alternatives are completely new word/figurative marks (variants 2 and 3).

https://surveymonkey.de/r/DR5NMTN

If you want to vote even more, you can also vote on which test activities from a list of four are most interesting. Solar integration is not listed as a separate item.

https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1497121693931753472

+++ SPRINT REPORT +++

A new Sprint Report is out, and item #8 of the highlights will surprise you.

Highlight "Bi-directional: new design for charging interface with male type 2 and schuko socket confirmed; V2H works via male type 2 and wallbox, no adapter needed; V2V function to be done over female type 2 adapter".

This is surprising. So far, the Sion had three connections at the front in the concept:

  • A CCS socket for normal charging (AC) and DC fast charging (DC). 

  • A separate Schuko socket (230V/16A).

  • Type2 "discharge socket" (11 kW Type 2, AC), functionally like an AC charging station. There you can plug in a charging cable to charge other cars.

Now the discharge socket has been removed and the "CCS socket" has been enabled for bidirectional charging (according to standard). So there are now only two sockets under the charging flap, but the same functionality:

  • the CCS socket for charging (DC and AC) and discharging with a suitable wallbox, for other e-cars you need an adapter

  • the Schuko socket

So if you want to charge other E-cars, you need the Type 2 adapter incl. matching Type 2 charging cable. 

I think that's right, that in advance, and I can justify it:

  • When the Sion was "invented" in 2016, there was no standard for a bidirectional Type 2 connection. You had to do it that way, one socket for "in", one for "out". 

  • In the meantime, you can do everything via one socket, there is a standard (ISO 15118). The wallbox only needs one cable and can handle everything via it. In a few years, some cars will have that, and the Sion would technically be a footnote in history. So it's technologically up to standard and future-proof.

The only thing you lose is the ability to charge other cars with an old Type2 cable without an adapter. But of course it works: no matter where someone breaks down, with the adapter plug you can directly connect the other car and charge on the Sion.

The price question that still arises now: Bidi-AC is technically far more complex than the DC variant, where all the logic has to go into the wallbox. DC-Bidi would additionally not be difficult as a waste product. I wonder if that will come. If no one asks the question, I'll put it on the list....

The business model of placing the Sion as a charging station completely unattended somewhere on the side of the road naturally comes under pressure. However, I don't believe in it anyway. My killer argument: If someone would see the Sion as a charging station in the navi and drives there, he sees no wallbox, only a car. Only very few people know that the Sion is a charging station. What's more, you have to unlock the charging flap. At the latest when I'm on vacation and someone tries to tamper with my car, the neighbors would be there. If the Sion itself is connected to a wallbox, everyone would think "charging station occupied". 

What you get now are two things:

  • Self-sufficiency at home - and the Sion can power a house for several days. That continues to work.

  • Making others fit again in case of an empty battery, like with a jumper cable. That also works, just with adapter plugs or a suitable charging cable.

If other OEMS (like Renault) also bring AC bidirectional, then such a charging cable will be available everywhere, and it does not matter to leave out the socket. Another advantage: When the Sion comes and there is the adapter, then it will be possible with very little effort to hang a construction power distributor on the bidi type 2 socket. Next level construction site!

How such an adapter can look like can be seen at Hyundai: The adapter supplies 230V / 16A from the bidi socket of the Hyundai. The Sion should then enable the whole thing three-phase, with 11kW. 

https://www.auto-freydank.de/shop/hyundai-ioniq-5-v2l-adapter-zum-anschluss-von-230v-geraeten-an-der-ladebuchse-gih68ak0u0


What else is there?

  • "SCCM: supplier will send a quote on 18.02." Finally, a supplier for the steering column.

"Powertrain: misuse events show higher shock load then target". Misuse exceeds designed load limits. E-cars also have transmissions (just without gear shifts). In the early days of my e-mobility experience, you could kill the transmission by driving with momentum over such a sill in zone 30 and giving full throttle at the right moment. The tire was briefly in the air, and when it landed, it ripped some parts from their moorings in some. A software update in 2014 then brought an "improvement" from an OEM point of view. Whether something like that is already considered "abuse", let's ask....

  • "SVC3 PO (trailer hitch)": PO is a Purchase Order. Agricultural hitch for the SVC3 - check.

  • "eSIM Activation on Hologram DONE". SIM cards have been "out" for some time because they tie you tightly to a provider. eSIMs can be re-imported at any time. OEMs use this to renegotiate with providers every year to see who can make the most favorable offer for the fleet. The Sion also gets an eSIM. It has to be managed somewhere, and providers like Hologram.io do that. Important: They only do the management, they don't see what data goes over it.

  • "Chassis" reports four pages of highlights in the Sprint report, and no lowlights. 

  • E/E, Powertrain and the high voltage storage team are looking for more people to join the team.


Full details:

https://sonomotors.com/site/assets/files/7577/sono-motors-dev-sprint-review-cw06-22.pdf

+++ E-CAR AS MOBILE HOME STORAGE +++

If you want to know more about how an e-car can be used as a mobile home storage system, and also using the Sion as an example, you can listen to an interesting interview with Tillmann from Sono here. In the comments you can also find a lot of positive and interesting additional information. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuodN-Phgac

+++ DATES +++

On March 24, Laurin and Dr. Irene Feiger from BMW ("Head of circular initiative"; the "Kreislaufwirtschafts-Initiative") will discuss the topic of CO2 footprint, circular economy and digitalization at the MO/OVE Business Talk of Audi Motor Sport.

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/tech-zukunft/alternative-antriebe/moove-business-talk-ausgabe-3-nachhaltigkeit/

+++ CORRECTION +++

The status of active reservations is published monthly on the homepage. Last time we made a mistake - we thought the status on the homepage was still from the end of December. But this was not correct, the status was updated. Even though we do this on a voluntary basis, we always try to be correct. A look into the backups shows, 16.770 is the correct number. 16,722 was the end of December figure. Thanks to everyone who pointed this out, we corrected it the same day. Amazing how many are taking note of the value. The next reading should come Tuesday then, February only has 28 days. 

https://sonomotors.com/de/about-us/

+++ LEFT AND RIGHT: SEV / PV Offensive +++

The more energy we generate ourselves, the more independent we become. Therefore Solar Electric Vehicles are the future. The goal must also be to quickly expand and extend our PV share on our roofs to become more independent from oil and gas imports - no matter from where. The bureaucracy madness must be reduced, to make deployments faster and simpler. 

The article by Volker Quaschning does not mention the Sion, but in the comments there are already many Sion community members - maybe it is interesting for others too 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=300577565397905&set=a.114917370630593

In the meantime, 51 megawatts of "guerrilla solar" (balcony power plants) have been installed in Germany, of which only 10-20% have been registered in the official registration register - also due to the bureaucratic hurdles.

https://www.pv-magazine.de/2022/02/24/markt-groesser-als-gedacht-rund-190-000-stecker-solar-geraete-bereits-installiert/

+++ FUN FACT +++

Not this time. We couldn't think of anything to bring here these days. We don't feel like having fun. And that's not because of Sono. 

Your Admins

Stay healthy!



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#9: Redesign Ladestecker, Logo-Abstimmung, Sonnen-Energie für alle