page_title: Combined Charging System
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Combined Charging System / History
context_page_description: The Combined Charging System is a standard for charging electric vehicles. It uses the Combo 1 and Combo 2 connectors to provide power at up to 350 kilowatts. These two connectors are extensions of the Type 1 and Type 2 connectors, with two additional direct current contacts to allow high-power DC fast charging.
  The Combined Charging System allows AC charging using the Type 1 and Type 2 connector depending on the geographical region. Since 2014 the European Union has required the provision of Type 2 or Combo 2 within the European electric vehicle network. This charging environment encompasses charging couplers, charging communication, charging stations, the electric vehicle and various functions for the charging process as e.g. load balancing and charge authorization.
  Electric vehicles or electric vehicle supply equipment are CCS-capable if they support either AC or DC charging according to the standards listed by the CCS. Automobile manufactures that support CCS include: BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, Jaguar, General Motors, Groupe PSA, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, MG, Polestar, Renault, Tesla and Volkswagen Group.
context_section_description: The revival of interest in electric cars spurred deployment of charging stations.  Initially, these accessed the abundant AC mains electricity using a variety of plugs around the world. The standardization in IEC 62196 for higher-current charging connectors brought about various systems: Type 1 was used primarily in North America and Japan, and Type 2 variants elsewhere. For DC charging, the SAE and European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) made a plan to add common DC wires to the existing AC connector types such that there would be only one "global envelope" that fitted all DC charging stations.
  The proposal for a "Combined Charging System" (CCS) was published at the 15th International VDI-Congress of the Association of German Engineers on 12 October 2011 in Baden-Baden. CCS defines a single connector pattern on the vehicle side that offers enough space for a Type 1 or Type 2 connector, along with space for a two-pin DC connector allowing charging at up to 200 Amps. Seven car makers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen) agreed to introduce CCS in mid-2012.  The prototype implementations for up to 100 kW were shown at EVS26 in Los Angeles in May 2012. DC charging specifications in the IEC 62196-3 draft give a range up to 125 A at up to 850 V.
  The seven auto makers also agreed to use HomePlug GreenPHY as the communication protocol. The prototype for the matching plug was developed by Phoenix Contact with the goal to withstand 10,000 connect cycles. The standardization proposal was sent to the IEC in January 2011. The request to use a PLC protocol for the Vehicle2Grid communication was flagged back in September 2009 in a joint presentation of BMW, Daimler and VW at a California Air Resources Board ZEV Technology Symposium. This competed with the CAN bus proposal from Japan (including CHAdeMO) and China (a separate DC connector proposal), and none of their car manufacturers has signed up to CCS. However, China had been involved in early stages of the development of the extra DC pins.
  Volkswagen built the first public CCS quick-charge station providing 50 kW DC in Wolfsburg in June 2013 to test drive the upcoming VW E-Up that is to be delivered with a DC rapid charger connector for CCS. Two weeks later, BMW opened its first CCS rapid charge station to support the upcoming BMW i3. Since at least the second EV World Summit in June 2013, the CHAdeMO association, Volkswagen and Nissan all advocate multi-standard DC chargers, as the additional cost of a dual-protocol station is only 5%.
  In Germany, the Charging Interface Initiative e. V. (CharIN) was founded by car makers and suppliers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Mennekes, Opel, Phoenix Contact, Porsche, TÜV SÜD and Volkswagen) to promote the adoption of CCS. They noted in a press release that most cars cannot charge faster than 50 kW, so that was the first common power output of CCS stations to be built during 2015. The next step was the standardization of stations with 150 kW output that they showed in October 2015, looking to a future system with 350 kW output. Volvo joined CharIN in 2016; Tesla in March 2016; Lucid Motors (previously Atieva) June 2016; Faraday Future June 2016; Toyota in March 2017.
  The Chevrolet Bolt/Opel Ampera-e uses this CCS standard for 55 kW quick charging.
  As part of the 2016 settlement of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, VW is to spend $2 billion in the United States over the following 10 years on CCS and other charging infrastructure through subsidiary company Electrify America. In this effort, charging stations will be built with up to 150 kW at community-based locations and with up to 350 kW at highway locations. Besides CCS, CHAdeMO charging stations will be constructed.
  In November 2016, Ford, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche and BMW announced building a 350 kW (up to 500 A and 920 V) charge network (IONITY) with 400 stations in Europe, and priced at €200,000 ($220,000) each.
caption: Combo plug for DC charging (using only the signal pins of Type 2) and the Combo inlet on the vehicle (allowing also AC charging)