The Wild West of EV infrastructure

AC or DC?, Level 1, 2 or 3?, Charging Speed? Slow, Fast, Superfast, 22Khw, 120kHw, 150kHw or even faster? 800volt charging systems, J1772, CHAdeMO, CCS or DC Combo, 16amps maybe? Confused? That isn’t surprising. There are hundreds of different Charge Point Operators (CPOs), and new ones pop up almost weekly. There are different connector types, various payment methods, and multiple different charging apps. Some don’t show all networks, and some show real-time charger status, and some car manufacturers have their own networks. There are different charging cards, some which require pre-registering. Is there a single charging card for all? Yes, but not really. Welcome to the world of charging today – where companies compete with very few rules and next to no standardisation; the result is a Wild West of free-market inefficiency, and the consumers and the EV market, and therefore the planet, will suffer. All the battery range and electric infrastructure in the world won’t matter if you can’t plan, pay, or access them. To encourage people to make the electric leap, charging should be as simple as, or even simpler than, filling your car with gas. Today this just isn’t the case. Fail to plan, plan to fail When you are sold a non-Tesla electric car, the guy selling it to you has probably only sold a handful of EVs versus hundreds of ICE cars. The ‘product handover’ is light, to say the least. You will normally be handed your car key and if you’re lucky a charging card, then sent on your… Read More