The DC fast-charging standard developed by the CHAdeMO Association is CHAdeMO.
CHAdeMO grew from electric-vehicle charging trials led by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) between 2006 and 2009. Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fuji Heavy Industries (now Subaru), and other partners helped develop the system. TEPCO formally established the CHAdeMO Association with major Japanese automakers in March 2010.
The name is associated with “CHArge de MOve,” while also echoing the Japanese phrase for asking whether someone would like tea. That playful reference points to the time a driver might spend waiting while an EV charges. CHAdeMO delivers direct current from an external charger straight to the vehicle battery, avoiding the car’s smaller onboard AC charger.
A common mix-up is treating CHAdeMO as a plug shape only. It is a charging system and communication protocol, although the connector is commonly called the CHAdeMO connector. CCS, Tesla’s NACS, and China’s GB/T are competing systems. CHAdeMO became an international standard through IEC publications in 2014 and remains especially important in Japan, even as newer vehicles in Europe and North America increasingly use other standards.