U.S. Proposes Standard for Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) proposed on June 9 to establish minimum standards and requirements forelectric vehiclecharging programs, which received $5 billion in government funding.

The rules will require government-funded EV charging stations to use DC fastchargersand have at least four ports capable of simultaneously charging four EVs, each with a power of 150 kilowatts or more.The rules also prohibit charging stations from forcing users to register as members.

The USDOT said that requiring charging stations to use the fastest charging piles available would help “enable a convenient charging solution.”The current administration under President Joe Biden is working to encourage more Americans to embrace electric vehicles, and a nationwide network of fast, reliable charging is important to that goal.

Image credit: EVgo

Biden wants 50 percent of all new cars sold in the U.S. to be pure electric or plug-in hybrids by 2030, and to build 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations.However, he did not endorse a plan to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.

The USDOT said the new standard is designed to ensure that the government-funded electric vehicle charging network "is friendly, reliable, and accessible to all Americans, and allows for interoperability between different charging companies with similar payment systems, pricing standards, charging speeds, etc.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: "Everyone should be able to find a charging station available when and where they need it, without worrying about having to pay more or receive poorer service depending on where they live."

The new rules will ensure that charging stations across the country can communicate and operate on the same software platform.States are required to operate federally funded charging ports for at least five years.The rules also require charging stations to be available 97 percent of the time, and operators need to develop data standards that allow third-party apps to provide real-time charging status information.In addition, the proposed rules set certification standards for workers who install, operate and maintain EV chargers.