[Rivian News]

As competition in the EV segment stiffens, automakers are continuously having to improve upon the battery technology that is being placed in new models. Rivian is not only introducing one of the highest capacity battery packs we’ve ever seen on a production EV with the R1T, but they are claiming some class leading charge times as well.

The R1T has been designed around practicality and to achieve this Rivian has ensured that owners aren’t subject to long periods of downtime when they need extra juice. Should you find yourself in need of a rapid charger, the R1T will use CCS DC fast charging for up to 160 kW. This translates roughly to 200 miles of range for every 30 minutes on a rapid charger. They have also placed an 11 kW onboard AC unit for Level 2 charging.

As a new brand, Rivian realized that the design of their vehicles would be essential in helping people to recognize their products. The front fascia is much different than anything we’ve seen on the market and it even features a unique Easter egg. The horizontal position light that runs along the face of the vehicle turns green when the car is plugged in and works as a functional progress bar that indicates the current state of charge.

We don’t know if Rivian plans on rolling out their own network of charging stations or if they will simply rely on the existing CCS infrastructure. As most Tesla superchargers currently max out at 120 kW, Electrify America is looking like the most ideal network to fully utilize the R1T’s capabilities, as they claim some can go as high as 350 kW.

Regardless of whether you charge at home or on the go, the R1T is one of the most technologically advanced EV’s to join the market.

 

[BobbyRJ]

I really like the idea of an external representation of the charge state. Will give you a good sense of the progress while you run in to use the restroom or grab a coffee. Rapid charging is slowly getting closer to the realm of a typical fuel up.

 

[Slater81]

There hasn't been much mention of the thermal management system in the R1T, but I'm assuming its liquid cooled. Even if the car can handle charging up to 160kW, in the long term that could have an impact on the degradation of the battery pack.

 

[eHauler]

Apparently there's an individual cooling plate. Not sure how that stacks up with the varying user conditions but in higher demand situations it will have to keep up. Range is generous enough to have people really test it. Last thing we need are vehicle fires.

 

[A1C]

Every new EV comes with safeguards in place that monitor battery temperature and make real time adjustments. Charging rate is usually throttled as you get closer to a full charge as a direct effort to protect the lifetime of the battery pack. This is why we often see up to 80% as the main figure.

 

[JimmyEV]

Last November, RJ Scaringe hinted that Rivian is going to both develop their own charging stations and partner with other manufacturers that use CCS charging.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1068686931716845568

Given that Ford and Amazon recently announced that they're going to be working with Electrify America it seem most likely that Rivian would do the same. But they've yet to announce anything.

As far as their own chargers go I guess Rivian is going to place them in more remote places so people can actually take their vehicles overlanding or off-roading. I'm really looking forward to hearing what their official plan is going to be for charging.