Earlier this month, an interesting piece of news slipped across the CleanTechnica desk. Sadly, it kept slipping and didn’t stay on the desk. But, as I often do later in the month, I go looking on the virtual floor for anything important we might have missed, and I found a good story about Ford’s BlueOval Network that’s worthy of sharing.
The BlueOval network isn’t a charging network in the traditional sense, like say ChargePoint or EVgo. Ford operates very few corporate-owned charging stations, and charging stations at dealers are usually owned by the dealers. Instead, Ford decided to created a metanetwork, or a network of networks. This is valuable, because Ford EV owners can open up one app to charge any any network that the BlueOval network talks to. This simplifies EV ownership greatly and makes for a much less steep learning curve.
But, Ford’s network doesn’t include every other network out there yet. Some are included, but for others a Ford owner would need to download another app, pay with a card, or use an RFID card. So, the value of Ford’s metanetwork increases the more the company can strike agreements with traditional charging networks.
And, that’s exactly what the company did in October. The automaker added Blink, Francis Energy, and Red E across the United States and Canada. This not only increases the network’s size by 25%, but adds about 10,000 chargers to it. More importantly, it adds over 500 new DCFC charging stations to the network, which is what people will mostly want to use away from home.
“Continuous growth of the BlueOval Charge Network, including a critical focus on reliable fast charging, remains a top priority to provide the best possible electric driving experience for our customers,” said Bill Crider, Ford senior director of global charging and energy services. “With the addition of the Tesla Supercharger Network along with new fast chargers coming to Ford Model e dealerships in 2024, we are working hard to make range anxiety a thing of the past for Ford all-electric drivers.”
With this addition, the total number of charging stations available in the network is now over 106,000. This includes 11,800 Level 3 DC fast charging stations. Both of those numbers are going to rise a LOT in 2024.
The biggest change coming is that Ford’s EVs will gain access to much of the Tesla Supercharger network. This will start with an adapter drivers can use for 2024 and earlier vehicles, including current owners. Vehicles after 2025 will have the same NACS plugs as Teslas, so no adapter will be needed. Initially, Ford predicted that its customers would gain access to 12,000 superchargers, but pinning that exact figure down isn’t easy because only newer Superchargers will support non-Tesla vehicles. But, after looking into it further and seeing Tesla make some upgrades, Ford now pegs that number at over 15,000.
That’s going to bring the total number up to around 26,000, but Ford isn’t stopping there. The company also plans to add more charging stations at dealers and other locations to add to the BlueOval network, so the number will go that much higher.
