The Basics of Charging Infrastructures for Electric Vehicles

The charging station infrastructure is an Electric Vehicle Network and a battery swap station for the charging of electric vehicles. A number of government agencies, car manufacturers and infrastructure charging providers have sought to build networks. Estonia was the only country to have established a national public electrical charging network as of December 2016. The biggest fast-charging site was on the Tesla Supercharger network in Shanghai, with fifty charging stalls as of 2018.

The Charging Speeds

A charging station for electric vehicles is an element in an infrastructure that provides electrical energy for plug-in electric vehicles to be charged. It is also named as an EV charging station, electric charging site, charging point, charging stage, wireless charging station (ECS), and service facilities for electric vehicles (EVSE). These EV charging station charges pure plug-in vehicles from electric cars, electric vehicles in the city and hybrid plug-in vehicles. The charging of electric vehicles (EV) is an important aspect of EV ownership. With the power rating, type of connector, cabling requirements and vehicle specification to be considered, Zap-Map has developed a series of step-by-step guides covering key issues related to EV charging. All-electric cars don't have a gas tank–instead of charging your vehicle with gallons of gas, you're just plugging your car into its fuel station. The average EV driver charges 80% of his car at home. There are three main types of charging EVs. Rapid, fast, and slow, these are the charging speeds that are available for charging the EV. The power outputs are measured in kilowatts (kW) and hence the charging speeds.

Rapid chargers are the fastest way to charge an EV, and first and foremost they cover DC charging. It can be divided into two categories, which are rapid and ultra-rapid. Rapid points are powered at 50 kW DC, and 43 kW AC. Ultra-rapid points can be powered at 100+ kW, often at 150 kW and up to 350 kW, and are only DC. Fast chargers typically charge an EV fully in 3-4 hours delivering power from 7 kW to 22 kW. For overnight charging, slow units (up to 3 kW) are best used and usually take between 6 and 12 hours for a pure-EV. EVs charge for slow-moving devices using a cord that links the car to a 3-pin or Type 2 connector.

Recharge and go

EVs can be recharged at multiple locations, such as private storage networks, on-site charging stations or even mobile charging stations, nothing like the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) automobiles, which are usually refueled at gas stations. The automobile companies are now installing EV chargers in public places, such as shopping centers, commercial buildings, airports, restaurants to help users travel long distances and to address these circumstances that deter the use of electric vehicles. As overnight nighttime charging is not sufficient to cover long distances so saving hours to charge a car during a trip is not considered a good idea.

Technology developments

Manufacturers are focusing on the development of new technologies such as lithium-ion batteries, stand-alone parking and charging, ultra-fast DC charging networks and wireless charging to improve EV adoption. Major automotive manufacturers are also investing heavily in the development and implementation of new charging stations. Lower operating prices, decreased depreciation and increased consumer awareness of the environmental benefits continue to attract EVs to customers. In effect, it fuels the market for charging stations for electric vehicles.

According to a new study conducted by Research Dive, the global market for electric vehicles charging infrastructure is expected to reach $18,589.0 million by 2026, increasing to CAGR by 34.9% over the forecast period. The growing focus of global economies on developing infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is contributing to growth. A number of government agencies are getting into partnerships with each other to develop highway electrical charging stations.

For example, in the U.S., the Washington State Department of Transportation has partnered with the Oregon Department of Transportation to construct the West Coast Electric Highway (WCEH) consisting of 57 EV charging stations across Oregon and Washington. Similarly, a number of governments are jointly developing intercontinental highway charging station networks.