Before leaving for Christmas in 2019, I was told that I’d be designing the Rivian charging family and the strategy team laid out an aggressive timeline that had strategy parallel pathing with design and with the electrical system development until we kicked off production in June 2020. It was the perfect example of the Rivian saying “Building a plane while flying it.”
Despite the incredibly fast design timeline, I took time at the beginning to understand the customer needs and define a philosophy for the chargers that made sense for the Rivian brand. By identifying where we could install the chargers to best benefit our customers (recreation corridors and local recreation destinations) I was able to design chargers that looked like they belonged there instead of like a spaceship that accidentally landed at a trailhead. This (and the incredibly hard work of the rest of the team) has led to the adoption of Rivian chargers by state and national parks, REIs, and local business along recreational corridors.
It was an honor designing chargers which help to challenge the idea that EVs are only city cars.
The Rivian Portable Charger is included with every Rivian and has a swappable plugs that accommodates level 1 charging in an emergency (using a standard 120V outlet) and level 2 where NEMA-1450 outlets are available (240V outlets typically found in garages, laundry rooms and RV campsites)
Using the level 2 plug, you can add up to 15 miles of range per hour, so it's suitable for most home charging applications if the customer preferred not to install a wall charger.
The Rivian Wall Charger adds 25+ miles of range per hour and gets hardwired into your home's electrical system when installed.
The Rivian Waypoints Charger is inspired by trail markers and appropriately has been installed in multiple state parks, national parks (such as Yosemite in front of Yosemite Falls) and likeminded adventure brands like REI and Under Canvas.
It also adds 25+ miles of range per hour.
The Rivian Adventure Network Chargers (aka RAN chargers) are Rivian's pinnacle fast charger and can add back 80% of your range in 20 minutes. These are being installed in likeminded partner's lots along recreation corridors in order to get Rivian owners to their adventures as soon as possible.
