Zac Quinn 
A couple of months ago, a peculiar General Motors patent surfaced on the internet that outlined a dual charging port that would allow for faster vehicle recharging. With the graphic featuring a pickup truck, it’s believed that this kind of technology would eventually debut in the GMC Hummer EV and soon-to-arrive Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV electric truck family. However, MC&T recently spoke with the leading memebrs of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV engineering team, revealing that they concluded it wouldn’t be a good idea for the vehicles.
By doubling the current sent into the batteries, a large amount of heat gets generated, which, during their testing, they discovered resulted in a reduction in the battery life span. As a result, they’ve decided against the idea. Though should more efficient and stable battery technologies come to pass, they still have the patent for potential future use. But we don’t see that happening anytime soon, if at all.
GM Dual Charging Port: Details
Based on the patent, the proposed dual port charging idea relied on a series of controllers and switches that work in tandem with the Ultium battery pack’s ability to operate as two different packs in series or parallel, permitting the top and bottom battery packs to temporarily be wired sequentially – allowing 800-volt charging to take advantage of faster 350-kW DC fast-charging hardware.
The patent also noted that a third configuration could enable the controller to isolate the two packs so that they can charge one at a time rather than simultaneously. GM also stated that its controller would allow a second CCS charge port to be used to power an accessory load at 400V while charging the entire battery system at 800V. While the feature seemed to be a perfect way to expedite charging times, too much strain on the batteries can prove problematic. For starters, electronics are capable of catching fire, and are notoriously difficult to put out. Moreover, battery longevity is crucial if electric vehicles are ever expected to have a life span that the average ICE vehicle has, which is currently over 12 years. Seems like an awfully long time to hold onto an oversized laptop battery, doesn’t it?
EV proponents will say battery tech is there – so:
Should’ve have went 350kW x 4 to get as close to a fuel fill up as possible, and subscribe the dying batteries, and make it a Cadillac feature. …Because it won’t be cheap.
It would allow new charge infrastructure to consume less real estate, and be an easier retrofit for existing fuel-convienience stores (to pay for themselves and have a plug-monkey employee oversight for safety).
EV is better off aiming to be cheap appliances, basically car #3 in a household.