14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday we reported that the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is calling for the standardization of the EV charging process, with the use of just one type of plug, regardless of the car make, electricity provider or country.
ACEA anticipates that full implementation for new vehicle types will take place sometime in 2017. “This could be too little, too late,” as Calvey Taylor-Haw, Managing Director of Elektromotive, stated recently.
Taylor-Haw agrees with the fact that car manufacturer should come to a consensus from car, but he says the implementation needs to happen much faster. In order for that to happen, he says that European governments should also reach a similar consensus.
“We have a range of EVs on the market right now, and many more are due next year. In order to give people across Europe sufficient confidence in the EV market so that they will actually buy these vehicles, we need widespread agreement on standards – right now,” he said.
Taylor-Haw says there also needs to be agreement on common standards for secure access to the various charging stations being made by different manufacturers.
“EV users must have the freedom to charge their vehicle at any publicly-available recharging point, regardless of who manufactured it. We must also consider how, in the future, EV users might want to switch energy suppliers for charging their vehicle,” he continued.
“That means having back-office billing data processed in formats that can be easily shared by suppliers. As with EV plugs and sockets, we are still a long way from settling on the required common standards,” he concluded.
Elektromotive has over 200 Elektrobay charging stations installed in London, and a further 655 units operating in cities and shopping centres around the UK. The company has over 1,700 charging stations installed globally.