6.4 Overview of Implementation
6.4 Overview of Implementation Plan
MCommunications and Reporting: This section
details the reports and communications that ZEVI will be making to the public, to the Government, and to the European Union in relation to the progress being made on expanding the charging infrastructure nationally.
The Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy is accompanied by an Implementation Plan that sets out key actions and deliverables from 2023 to 2025. It includes a comprehensive range of new and expanded measures to support the delivery of electric vehicle charge point infrastructure.
The Implementation Plan will be delivered in collaboration with other stakeholders such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, ESB Networks, regional assemblies, local authorities, and charge point operators.
ZEVI has a governance programme involving Assurance and Progress Boards, along with the stakeholder delivery groups referenced above. The ZEVI office leadership reports to the Minister for Transport on a regular basis. The Minister will oversee progress on the implementation of the Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure Strategy.
As explained in Chapter 1, the strategy and Implementation Plan are part of a comprehensive set of national policies and plans to enhance Ireland’s response to climate change. The milestones in the Implementation Plan align with the respective action plans for these other national plans such the Climate Action Plan.
The Implementation Plan includes actions and deliverables across the following categories:
MNational EV Charging Network Plan: The focus
of this framework is on producing a national EV-charging-infrastructure demand plan and a related demand-supply assessment based on the electricity grid’s readiness to meet projected demand between 2023 and 2025. The framework will provide for the necessary standards, processes, metrics, and governance needed to create a structured process for planning, tracking, and communicating Ireland’s progress under the AFIR regulations.
The outcomes of the Implementation Plan will be supported by complementary actions from other relevant national policies and strategies, and will support delivery of the Climate Action Plan goals.
The Implementation Plan will be reviewed on an annual basis up to 2025 to measure how we are delivering our goals. This will allow us to adopt any lessons learned along the way.
MSchemes: This section contains the planned
deliverables for enabling the charging infrastructure schemes to be installed and go live.
MPolicy & Strategy: This section of the plan
includes deliverables and related milestones for delivering the necessary policies in support of the expansion of the EV charging infrastructure. These policies cover topics such as interoperability, accessibility, measures to improve ease of use for the customer, and governance of the implementation of the AFIR regulations in Ireland.
APPENDIX
A
Personas &
Journeys
Figure from page 70
Key Moments - Caroline, the Car Sharer
Motivation
Caroline is money savvy. She doesn’t want the burden or expense of owning her own car. She prefers to cycle or take public transport where possible, but there are some journeys for which a car is essential. Car sharing is the perfect alternative.
Caroline Connolly
The Car Sharer
Background
Age Location Family Status
Income
Usage
28 Dublin Single Low
Caroline typically relies on cycling or public transport. She uses the car a few times a year - mostly for going out to retail parks, for a weekend away, or for specific circumstances such as moving apartments.
Travel Habits
How Often Does She Travel?
She commutes to work 2-3 times a week and makes shorter local trips on days she works from home.
Support
Caroline needs to be able to get to and from the e-mobility hub easily via public transport. She is not familiar with the charging network, so needs easy-to-find information about where and how to charge.
Journey Purpose
Travelling to work, to meet friends in town, to the shops.
When Does She Travel?
Peak commuting times in the morning and the evening. Lunchtime trips when she works from home.
Activity
As she doesn’t have an at-home charger, she usually charges when out and about. Having destination charging at retail parks is ideal because she can do her shopping while her car charges.
can. It’s cheaper and faster!”
I learned to drive when I lived at home and used my parents’
Concerns
car. But now I try and cycle and take public transport if I
She is worried that she won’t be able to find chargers or use them properly. She also needs to return the car with a full charge, and she will get fined if she doesn’t.
Customer Journey - The Car Sharer
| Planning | The Journey | The Way Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | Caroline has just moved and needs to move her belongings across the city, from Drumcondra to Kilmainham. She signs up to a car-sharing app so that she can move her belongings and make a trip to the retail park to pick up some new home decor. | Caroline plans to pick up a car in the local e-mobility hub on Saturday morning. This is usually a busy time, so she books in advance to avoid disappointment. | Caroline takes a bus down to the local e-mobility hub and is able to collect her fully-charged car easily. She packs up the car and makes a few trips back and forth from the old apartment to the new apartment. | On Saturday afet rnoon, Caroline makes a trip to the retail park. She needs to make sure that the car has enough charge in it to avoid a fine when she returns to the hub. | Caroline isn’t familiar with EV charging services. She checks online and reserves a fast charger in the retail park. She charges the car while she does her shopping. | Caroline brings the car back to the e-mobility hub and takes the bus home. |
| Highs and Lows | Excited to move apartment | Relieved to have booked a car | Tired | Anxious about not finding a charger | Relieved that she could find the information she needed | |
| Considera i tons | How might we encourage people to consider e-car sharing as a viable alternative to owning a car? | How might we meet the demand for car sharing at weekends? | How might we ensure that e-mobility hubs are easily- accessible by public transport or active mobility? | How might we support users to find charging facilities so that they don’t risk facing a fine upon returning the car? | How might we provide accessible information about EV charging to infrequent users? |
Figure from page 72
Key Moments - Tara, the Taxi Driver
Motivation
Tara has an at-home charger installed so that she always has a reliable place to charge. Having a full charge at the start of the night is essential.
Tara Traynor
The Taxi Driver
Background
Age Location Family Status
Usage
55 Skibbereen,
Married,
Cork
3 kids
On a busy night out, Tara might need to quickly top up her charge and wants to be able to do so between bookings.
Travel Habits
How Often Does She Travel?
Daily for work.
Support
Journey Purpose
She needs access to a dedicated fast charger that will give her the boost she needs to make it to the end of the night.
Providing taxi journeys.
When Does She Travel?
Tries to work during the day, but at busy periods she picks up a few night shifts.
Activity
Tara drives for work, and needs to take a break to rest, if possible, between bookings. She needs to have safe facilities to grab some food or take some calls.
the trip.”
I don’t want to let anyone down because I don’t have enough charge in my car to do
Concerns
She is worried about being stranded in a remote area with unhappy passengers. On any given night, she never knows what delays might come up or how long she’ll be out for.
Customer Experience – The Taxi Driver
| Planning | The First Journey - Going Out | The Second Journey - Coming Home | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | It’s Saturday afet rnoon and Tara has been busy on the phone taking bookings for the evening. People rely on her taxi service to go out at night and to get home. There are quite a few long trips ahead: on a typical night she could be driving almost 200 km between the bigger towns and villages. Tara has a home charger installed in her driveway. | It’s 7 pm, and she starts her evening of fin Skibbereen. Firstly, she heads to Schull where she has a few pre- bookings. Afet r Schull, she heads to Baltimore, Castletownshend, and Glandore. It’s a big night out in Skibbereen so she has multiple big trips to do between Skibbereen and the surrounding areas. | It’s already 11 pm, the time when there is a momentary lull before it’s home time for all the people she brought out. She’s been driving for almost 4 hours and needs to top up her charge. There’s a small mobility hub outside of Skibbereen. There is a dedicated taxi charger, so she can take a break for 20 minutes and top up her charge. | She feels confident now that she will have enough charge in her car to complete all her bookings. She heads back into Skibbereen and brings home everyone who was out that night. | Once she has finished up in Skibbereen, she gets a last-minute passenger looking to go to Bantry. She brings them there as the last trip of the evening. Afet r all the pre- bookings, as well as the last-minute ones, she manages to get home to Skibbereen at 2 am. |
| Highs and Lows | Prepared for the night ahead | Looking forward to the evening ahead | Anxious about how much charge is left in the car | Restless that it’s only halfway through the night | Relieved she’s been able to complete all her trips |
| Considera i tons | How might we assist taxi drivers to install home chargers if there are no other alternatives in the local area? | How might we encourage people to pre-book taxis and share taxis with neighbours in rural areas? | How might we ensure that taxi drivers have dedicated access to chargers at busy periods? | How might we support taxi drivers to be able take all the bookings they need to without worrying about their charge? |
Figure from page 74
Key Moments – Ruairí, the Rural Commuter
Motivation
Ruairí typically commutes by bus to Dublin for work. Occasionally, he needs to get home early to be able to bring his daughter to camogie training. On those days, he drives to make sure he will get home on time.
Ruairí Reynolds
The Rural Commuter
Background
Age Location Family Status
Income
Usage
33 Virginia,
Single Dad, 1 daughter
Cavan
He usually drives to work twice a week and either works from home or takes the bus on days where he doesn’t need to be home early.
Travel Habits
How Often Does He Travel?
Daily, usually at peak travel times.
Support
Journey Purpose
Ruairí has a second-hand EV and is worried about the range. His commute is quite long, so he is worried he won’t have enough charge if there are diversions along the route or he has to do extra trips after work.
Work, shops, childcare.
When Does He Travel?
Usually at peak travel times in the morning and the evening.
Activity
the car.”
Destination charging is really important to Ruairí. He spends enough time on the road and doesn’t want to spend extra time away from home while waiting for his car to charge.
My commute is quite long but I want to be there for my
daughter after work and not have to worry about charging
Concerns
He is worried about not being around in the evenings for his daughter and running out of charge on his commute.
Customer Journey - The Rural Commuter
| Leaving in the Morning | Arriving to Work | On the Way Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | Today, Ruairí is driving to work in Dublin. He has decided to take the car so that he can make it back in time to bring his daughter to camogie training this evening. He charged his car overnight, so is happy to get into a fully-charged car to make his trip to Dublin (which will be around 200 km in total). | There is a lot of traffic on the road this morning, so he ends up taking a diversion which ends up being quite long. He usually has about 250 km range in his car. | To make sure that he has enough charge to make the commute home, Ruairí usually books a charger in work. Today, however, he ends up leaving it too late and misses his spot. | Ruairí is in meetings all day and doesn’t have time to figure out a plan to top up the charge on his car. | Ruairí jumps in the car to drive home and remembers he needed to top up his charge. He will have enough to get home but is worried about getting back from the training pitch. He remembers that the local GAA club has installed a charger on the grounds. He picks up his daughter and is able to park and help out at the training session while the car charges. | |
| Highs and Lows | Relieved to have a home charger installed | Stressed about the extra distance he has to drive | Anxious because there isn’t an available charger, and he doesn’t have time to find an alternative | Frazzled at work | Anxious about making it home and getting to training | Elated that there’s a charger at the local pitch 3 |
| Considera i tons | How might we support those with range anxiety to have access to chargers either at home or close to home? | How might we ensure that diversions due to traffic don’t disrupt travel plans for those with limited range? | How might we provide additional alternatives to those who don’t get to use destination charging facilities? | How might we share information about alternative charging options in local areas? | How might we give guidance and support to those who may need to disrupt their travel plans in order to charge en route? | How might we encourage local sports clubs in rural areas to install EV chargers? |
Figure from page 76
Key Moments – Anna, the Apartment Dweller
Motivation
Growing up in a rural area, Anna has always wanted to be independent in her travel. She recently purchased her first EV so that she can visit her family home in the countryside or go for spontaneous trips with friends.
Anna Abbott
The Apartment Dweller (Shared Parking)
Background
Usage
Age Location Family Status
Income
Anna lives in a residential development with shared parking facilities. Anna usually only uses her car at the weekend or for trips after work to the supermarket.
27 Galway
Single, no kids
Medium
City
Travel Habits
Support
How Often Does She Travel?
The apartment management company for Anna’s apartment block installed EV chargers for the residents. Anna needs to have reliable access to the chargers. In addition, she needs to have a reliable booking system that she can access.
Daily, walking to work usually.
Journey Purpose
Work, shops, visiting friends, weekend activities.
When Does She Travel?
Usually peak travel times in the morning and the evening. Weekends out to the countryside.
Activity
As most of Anna’s trips are at the weekend or are spontaneous, Anna likes to avail of athome charging so that she isn’t wasting her limited travel time at a forecourt, waiting for the car to charge.
I can do what I need to do.”
I don’t use my car every day, but when I do need to, I want to have a good charge on it so
Concerns
Anna is worried about having to queue excessively, as there are limited chargers in her apartment complex. There are some residents who hog the chargers, which seem to always be in use.
Customer Journey - The Apartment Dweller
| Saturday Morning | Saturday Afet rnoon | Saturday Evening | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | Anna needs to go to lunch with family in Ballinrobe. It’s about a 100 km roundtrip. Anna’s parents don’t have an at-home charger, so she needs to make sure she has a full charge before she leaves. | The chargers in the apartment block have been booked up over the last few evenings so Anna hasn’t had the chance to fully charge her car this week. | She has a half charge in the car, so she decides to leave early so that she can charge in the forecourt on her way. It’s a fast charger, so it’s a bit more expensive than what she’s used to paying. | She is waiting for about 30 minutes to charge. There are restaurants and shops at the forecourt, so she manages to get some breakfast and pick up a dessert for the family lunch. | She arrives at her parents’ house and spends a lovely evening with the family. Before she leaves, she remembers to book a charging slot in the apartment block. There will be a free charger for her when she gets home. | She heads back home that evening and the charging spot she booked is free to use at last. She’ll now have a full charge and be ready for the next spontaneous trip. |
| Highs and Lows | Excited to spend time with the family | Annoyed that she never gets to use the charger in the apartment block 7 | Frustrated that she always has to look for another charger | Patient while she gets some food | Organised and prepared to get a charger when she gets home | Relieved to see the charger she booked is free |
| Considera i tons | How might we assist people to charge their EVs before taking a long journey? | How might we discourage users from hogging chargers and overcharging? | How might we support those who have to pay extra to use en-route charging in an emergency? | How might we provide facilities at en- route forecourts so that the wait is comfortable and pleasant? | How might we remind users to book chargers based on their charging habits? |
Figure from page 78
Key Moments – Mike, the HGV Driver
Motivation
Mike drives a HGV for work. At night, it’s parked up in a depot, so he doesn’t have to worry about charging it overnight.
Mike Murphy
The HGV Driver
Background
Usage
Age Location Family Status
Income
He drives most days to make deliveries. He uses the motorway network across the country. His HGV charges overnight at a depot, but on longer days he uses en-route charging to top up his charge.
52 Waterford Married, 3
Medium
grown-up
children
Travel Habits
Support
How Often Does He Travel?
Every day during the working week.
Mike needs suitable charging facilities to be located beside rest facilities. As a HGV driver, he is under time pressure and he wants to make sure he can rest and charge at the same time. This stops his journey from becoming unnecessarily long.
Journey Purpose
To deliver goods across the country.
When Does He Travel?
Peak travel times.
Activity
At charging stations, Mike would like to be able to take a break, rest, and eat while he tops up the charge on his lorry.
can charge up too.”
I usually have to stop and rest
while on the road anyway, so it would be great to have good
Concerns
Mike is concerned about his journey becoming longer if he has to take time to charge and then take time to rest. He wants to be able to do both simultaneously.
facilities at forecourts where I
Customer Journey – The HGV Driver
| Leaving in the morning | Arriving to Work | On the Way Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | Mike collects his lorry from the HGV depot outside Waterford. It has been charging overnight there so he is able to get in and set of ffor the day. | Afet r heading to the port to collect his load, he finds out he is driving to Galway this morning. He is under a tight deadline, and only has 4 hours to get there. | It’s lunchtime, and he’d like to stop and rest for a while. He would also like to try to top up the charge on his lorry while he takes a break for lunch so that he doesn’t have to worry about it later. | He stops in a forecourt just of fthe motorway. There are dedicated chargers for HGVs, so he parks and charges for an hour while he gets lunch. This is his usual spot for charging and eating lunch. | He gets back on the motorway and manages to make his delivery in Galway on time. Leaving early and avoiding rush hour makes all the difef rence. | He leaves the lorry in the depot in Galway to charge overnight. He is staying overnight in the city, so he’ll come back and collect it in the morning to make another trip home tomorrow. |
| Highs and Lows | Ready for the day ahead | Anxious to get on the road early | Getting tired before lunch | Rested and on the home stretch | Confident he’ll finish his journey on time | Happy to finish driving for the day |
| Considera i tons | How might we ensure that charging requirements don’t unnecessarily delay HGV drivers who are working to tight deadlines? | How might we design forecourts in a way that gives HGV drivers access to dedicated HGV chargers and spaces to rest? | How might we reward HGV drivers who frequently stop at the same forecourts for rest and charging? |
Figure from page 80
Rachel, the Retired Urban Dweller
Motivation
Rachel has an EV that she uses for small trips around town. She mainly goes to the shops, to visit family, and to medical appointments. She doesn’t have a driveway, so she relies on neighbourhood or destination charging.
Rachel Reynolds
The Retired Urban Dweller
Background
Usage
Age Location Family Status
67 Clonmel Widowed,
Rachel needs to use chargers which meet her accessibility requirements. For example, there needs to be space around the car so that she can move comfortably with her wheelchair.
2 grownup sons
Travel Habits
How Often Does She Travel?
Support
Once or twice a week.
Journey Purpose
Being shown how to use an EV charging app and the chargers is important to helping Rachel retain her independence while travelling. She also needs adequate signage to find the appropriate spots.
Going to the shops and doctor’s appointments.
When Does She Travel?
Early afternoons.
Activity
If the neighbourhood charger isn’t available, Rachel usually charges at her destination - whether it’s at the doctor’s office or the supermarket.
Concerns
It’s so frustrating when I can’t
tell if the charge point will be accessible when I get there – it
She is worried about not knowing how much charge is left in her car. As well as this, she gets anxious about not knowing what to expect when she gets to a charger: will there be an accessible spot and will there be enough signage to help her find it?
makes me anxious about my
Customer Journey – The Retired Urban Dweller
| Planning | Charging | The Way Home | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | Rachel has to go to a doctor’s appointment in town. It’s a 15-minute drive to the other side of town. | Rachel doesn’t drive very ofet n, so she tries not to hog the on-street charger. However, she is sometimes left not knowing how much charge is in her car before she gets in. | She’s running late and realises she might only have enough charge to get to the doctor’s. She needs to top up her charge either on the way or at the doctor’s office. | There is an easy-to-use app where she has already loaded her charging preferences - she needs an accessible spot and a fast charger beside the doctor’s office. There is a picture of the EV charger available, so she knows what to expect when she arrives. She reserves the spot. | She’s nervous that she won’t be able to find the spot. She has never parked there before so is on the lookout for signs. | She arrives to the doctor’s practice and there is a sign to direct her to the EV chargers. The charger is what she expected to see. She plugs in her car to the fast charger. | Rachel heads in to see the doctor and when she comes out her car has plenty of charge to take her home. |
| Highs and Lows | Confident that she knows where she’s going 3 | Anxious about how much charge is left in her car. | Nervous about her range | Reassured that there’s an app to book a spot | Worried she won’t be able to find the spot | Relieved to be able to find the charger and make her appointment on time | Happy that she was able to access the right charger 3 |
| Considera i tons | How might we help infrequent drivers to know how much charge they need based on their travel habits? | How might we support drivers who are not able to access their first choice of charger? | How might we provide accessible chargers and information to those who need it? How might we support those who are unfamiliar with EV chargers to confidently use and book spaces? | How might we provide appropriate signage for EV chargers? |
Figure from page 82
Key Moments - The Jacksons, Tourist Family
Motivation
John and his wife Janet are very conscious of the environment and the impact they have. However, having two small kids can sometimes make it difficult to choose the most sustainable option. Convenience now has to come first.
The Jacksons
The Tourist Family
Background
Age Location Family Status
Income
Usage
42 Portland,
Married,
Oregon
2 kids
Driving around the Wild Atlantic Way for 10 days. They are going to see different scenic routes and spots along the way.
Travel Habits
How Often Do They Travel?
Support
They are driving every day during their trip.
The Jackson Family need a convenient way to find out where different chargers are and to pay for charging.
Journey Purpose
Travelling to scenic sites, to local towns, and to their accommodation.
When Do They Travel?
Activity
Throughout the day, but mostly in the morning.
When charging, they want to be able to occupy the kids so that they don’t get bored and restless. They prefer to either charge at night at the hotel or while on to go at a tourist attraction or restaurant.
kids in tow, a car is essential.” Ireland as a family. With two
Concerns
We have always wanted to camp along the west coast of
They aren’t too familiar with the system here, so they are worried about not being able to find a charger if their first choice isn’t available.
Customer Journey - The Tourist Family
| Planning | The Journey | Charging | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moments | In advance of their trip, John looks online to figure out the best route, as well as the best places to charge along the Wild Atlantic Way. | When booking the hotels along the route, John makes sure to check that there is overnight charging available. | For longer legs of their journey, John maps out the distance they plan on driving, and where they might need to stop to charge. He looks up the services and facilities available at the charging points. | John and his family are driving the longest part of their trip today, from Clare to Kerry. There wasn’t an available charging space in the hotel, so they decide to make a stop on the way to charge. | They have enough charge to get to the next town. They look online to see what types of chargers are available and book a slot to avoid disappointment. | They easily find the charger in the local village. There were plenty of signs and it was located close to all the services they needed. | John parks his car for 2 hours while it charges, and the family enjoy lunch and some playtime in the local playground. |
| Highs and Lows | Pleased that he has planned the family trip in advance | Disappointed that the charger he wanted to use wasn’t available 7 | Anxious about how he will occupy the children | Relieved that there was an alternative | |||
| Considera i tons | How might we help tourists who are coming to Ireland to prepare for their journey so that it is as seamless as possible? | How might we best support hotels and local communities to install chargers in areas where there is an influx of tourists only during busy seasons? | How might we provide information to customers to ensure that they choose the right charger location for their needs? | How might we best support customers when there isn’t charging available at their destination? | How might we assist customers to adapt their travel plans based on their EV charging needs? | How might we design wayfinding solutions so that people can easily find EV chargers? | How might we best utilise the amenities in local villages and towns to support destination charging? |
APPENDIX
B
EV Basics
What is an EV Charge Point?
At its simplest, an electric vehicle charging point is a piece of interface equipment that connects a single electric vehicle to an electricity supply, allowing the vehicle’s battery to be charged89. This battery provides the power to propel the vehicle, which can be fully electric or a plug-in hybrid90. The term ‘charge point’ is often used interchangeably with ‘charging point’.
Charging points can be stand-alone interfaces (as is the case with most home charge points) or can be arranged in various combinations or clusters at particular locations. These combined charging points form hubs where more than one electric vehicle can charge at a time.
the electricity supplied to the charge point can be drawn from conventional domestic supply arrangements, or whether a higher connective capacity is required.
How Does EV Charging Work?
To charge an EV, the vehicle is parked and attached to the charging point connection or socket by a charge point cable.
Most publicly-accessible EV charging points consist of a single parking bay and an adjacent electricity connection point. Where more than one charging point is provided, multiple connection points can be grouped together in single charging stations. This reduces the cabling and hardware required to connect the charge point to the electricity supply and is an efficient way of allowing more than one vehicle to charge at a time. A common arrangement is to have two twinned sockets set in a single charging station, serving two side-by-side or back-to-back parking bays.
EV charge points generally fall into two categories: standard charging and fast charging, otherwise known as AC and DC charging.
Figure B1: AC vs DC charging
AC Electricity Grid
AC
When EV technologies were at an early stage, different manufacturers developed different types of connection points and sockets. This meant that vehicle owners had limited options when it came to where and how they could charge their EVs. As the EV market has developed, standard, interoperable connection points have become more common, particularly in the EU91.
DC Fast Charger AC Charger
Load
DC AC
DC
Junction Box
On-Board Charger
With more standardised connection points and charge point sockets, EV charging is now mainly differentiated by power and vehicle battery capacity. Another key factor is whether
Electric Vehicle Battery Pack
89 https://www.seai.ie/technologies/electric-vehicles/what-is-an-electric-vehicle/, accessed 09/02/2022.
90 The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (2014/94/EU; currently in force and undergoing revision) expands this definition to also include an interface that is capable of ‘exchanging a battery of one electric vehicle at a time’, i.e. battery-swap technology. This battery-swap charging point is not currently included in this strategy. This may change in future iterations of the strategy as battery swap technology becomes more widely available and more commercially feasible. Electric vehicles are also defined as set out in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive.
91 Annex II of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive requires that normal-power and high-power AC recharging points be supplied with socket outlets or vehicle connectors of Type 2 as described in standard EN 62196-2:2017. Direct current high-power charging points are to be equipped with connectors of the combined charging system ‘Combo 2’ as described in standard EN 62196-3:2014; see also ECA (2021) Infrastructure for charging electric vehicles, special report, p. 24.
Alternating Current (AC)
Table B1. Currently-Available Vehicle-Charging Technology
AC charging is associated with slower speeds of EV charging. There are two types of AC charging: single phase and three phase. When charging, AC electricity is supplied by the charge point to the vehicle. The onboard charger on the vehicle detects the maximum power available from the charge point. The vehicle converts this AC power into DC power and manages the charging of each cell in the vehicle’s battery pack.
| Charge Point Speed and Type | Power Rating | Time to charge for a 300kM journey |
|---|---|---|
| Home (single-phase AC) | 3-7 kW | 7-16 hours |
| Standard (three-phase AC) | 11-22 kW | 2-4 hours |
| Fast (DC) | Up to 50 kW | 70 minutes |
| High-powered (DC) | > 50 kW | 70 minutes or less |
Direct Current (DC)
DC charging is largely associated with faster speeds of charging. DC charging can quickly charge the battery pack of the vehicle. In this case, the DC charge point converts AC electricity into DC electricity which it supplies to the vehicle. This is channelled directly to the battery.
*Also depends on the vehicle’s charging capability, the state of charge at commencement of charge, and other factors such as the battery pack and ambient temperatures, and driving behaviors.
The process is controlled and managed via the vehicle’s battery management system. This communicates with the DC charger via the connecting cable and tells the charger how much power to supply at any given point during the process. It also controls the start and stop of the charging process.
The power level (in kW) of a charge point indicates the maximum amount of energy which could be supplied to a battery pack over the course of one hour. The actual amount of energy transferred to the battery will depend on factors such as the battery’s internal resistance, the maximum rate that the pack can sustain at the
Figure from page 86
given charge level on commencement of charge, the battery cooling system, etc. Also, with top-up charging (particularly when using higher-powered fast charge points), EV users often do not need to fully charge their EVs. Instead, they can plug in and charge the battery just enough to get them to their destinations92.
the most effective types of charge points are the lower wattage 7 kW-11 kW charge points that work best over longer charging timeframes, such as overnight. AC charge points also tend to be more compact in size, meaning that they fit better in domestic contexts where space for charging infrastructure may be limited.
AC electricity can be used by all speeds of charge points, while DC electricity can only be used by fast or high-powered charge points. In most residential areas, single-phase AC electrical power supplies are most common, as this type of supply system is suited to relatively low electrical loads (such as lighting and heating), with a few large electric motors. For larger industrial or commercial buildings, a higher-power three-phase AC system is often used. The type of available AC supply determines the type of charge point that can be installed, as charge points that supply electricity significantly above 7 kW (such as 11 kW to 22 kW) generally require a three-phase AC supply93.
Types of Connectors
EVs also have different types of connectors for different speeds of charge94, and can only be plugged in to charge points with the same type of connector unless an adaptor is used.
Type 2 connectors: For AC charging (standard/ fast), European EVs typically use a Type 2 connector. Type 2 connector technologies are more common in newer EVs, and the use of this charge point type has been supported as a way to achieve standardised, interoperable charging across the EU.
Additionally, most electric cars currently on the market are either unable to accommodate more than c. 7 kW on a single-phase AC supply, or (if they can take higher AC charges of up to 11 kW) have been designed so that if a single-phase AC electricity supply is involved, they will not charge above 7 kW. This means that in residential areas,
Combined Charging Standard (CCS) or CHAdeMO connector types: Some charging stations contain more than one connector type (e.g. both CCS and CHAdeMO), allowing the charging of a range of different EV models. In practice, this means that most EVs will be able to use most publicly-accessible charge points.
Figure B2: Typical European connectors
TYPE 2 / AC 43 Type 2 is the connector found at all standard chargers. The AC43 connector is used to charge EVs such as the Renault Zoe.
CCS COMBO This connector is used to charge most other vehicles, including BMW, Volkswagen, Hyundai, etc.
DC CHAdeMO This connector is used to charge Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi vehicles.
92 For example, instead of using a fast charge point to fully charge the battery in c. 50 minutes, it might be enough to charge up to 80% in maybe 30-40 minutes. The speed and level of charge varies from EV model to EV model, but an average new EV would generally take c. an hour to charge on a 50 kW fast charge point. Electric Ireland suggest that ‘For a 40 kW battery, a typical 7 kW home charging station will charge an electric car from 0-100% over the course of around 3-5 hours’.
93 https://www.ukfrs.com/promos/17145, accessed 09/03/2022. https://www.smarthomecharge.co.uk/guides/22kw-three-phase-charging-is-itworth-it/, accessed 09/03/2022. https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/03/5-problems-with-electric-car-charging-and-how-to-fix-them/, accessed 09/03/2022.
94 Gov. UK (2021) Electric vehicle charging market study: final report, p. 20
Notes
Notes
Notes
Figure from page 92
Department of Transport gov.ie/transport
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