Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Guide, Types & Trends

Charging points are the sites which will redefine the future mobility not only on the assembly lines. The demand has been skyrocketing globally as electric vehicles (EVs) increasingly find their use in the passenger, commercial, and industrial segments and require the installation of EV charging. However, past the fundamentals of plugging in, the EV charging ecosystem is expanding with solutions such as, Ultra-Fast Charging, Smart Charging, and even Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) which re-imagines power delivery across cars, grids, and businesses.

This article gives a comprehensive overview of what EV charging station is, its kinds, and trends that determine its direction. We will address not only the technology but also the larger puzzles — what will be the transport economics of Fleet Electrification? What are the changes in dynamics of the grid of Renewable Energy Integration? But what does it mean when the approach is Charging as a Service (CaaS) transforms the charging infrastructure business into a subscription model?

The Foundation: Why EV Charging Installation Matters

Whenever human beings talk about EV adoption, a question that arises every time is charging infrastructure. Low dependability of the accessibility of EV charging stations is a factor that prevents their adoptions. That is why EV charging installation has emerged in the priorities of the governments, individual investors, and those who are involved in a fleet.

Ten years ago, the process of installing charging points consisted of installing a couple of Level 2 chargers in parking lots. Nowadays, one talks about strategic location of the Ultra-Fast Charging hubs along the highways, incorporate Smart Charging algorithms to level the load and interoperability between the different operators.

The economics are impressive. By 2040, there will be more than 100 million charging stations worldwide, according to a Bloomberg NEF analysis, with hundreds of trillions of dollars going toward EV charging station installation. However, the questions remain, what should its funding source be, its location and how can we prevent the charging deserts that the users may experience?

Types of Charging: From Basics to Ultra-Fast Charging

The EV charging stations can be divided by their speed, as well as technologies.

Even the Level 1 charging, which is commonly inserted straight into a household electric socket, remains the slowest technique, and is more appropriate in situations where charging can take the night. Level 2, which enjoys much popularity in residential and commercial premises, is the pillar of the ongoing EV charging station installations.

However, the profound change is occurring in the Ultra-Fast Charging segment that is regularly described as charging more than 150 kW. These stations have the capacity of recharging EVs within 30 minutes thus capable of long distance drives. When it comes to the businesses that may consider Fleet Electrification, Ultra-Fast Charging means that the commercial vehicles will spend minimal amounts of time offline, which directly results in cost savings made in operations.

Technically, however, it is huge. Ultra-Fast Charging demands the use of sophisticated cooling systems, the increase of the grid capacity, and of interoperability standards; it should allow vehicles to charge without dependency on the manufacture.

The Rise of Smart Charging

Speed signifies Ultra-Fast Charging and Smart Charging signifies intelligence. In its simplest understanding, Smart Charging implies connecting charging points to digital data networks in order to optimally streamline the charging process in relation to the charges, power demand, and renewable power sources.

Suppose you have charged your EV at 7 PM, and, whereas it would be reasonable to charge now (it is high demand regime), the system will still wait till the price of electricity gets lower in the middle of the night (11 PM). That is Smart Charging in effect. In large scale Fleet Electrification, this is of the essence as it potentially amounts to hundreds of millions against the energy bills annually.

In addition to cost saving, Smart Charging contributes to the stability of the grid. Through smart load management, utilities are able to stay clear of blackouts and reduce adoption of infrastructure. As a matter of fact, most EV charging installation contracts now require chargers to be Smart Charging enabled which shows that intelligence is here not to stay but required.

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Kate Williamson More about AuthorKate, Editorial Team