Made in India Charging Standards

AC and DC Charging Explained:

• AC (Alternating Current) gets converted to DC (Direct Current) either outside of the car (for AC chargers) or within the charger plug-in itself (for DC chargers).
• Electric vehicle (EV) batteries in North America only accept DC, requiring chargers to always be AC/DC or solely DC.
• In Europe and Japan, EV batteries can be charged using only AC.

New Made-in-India EV Charging Standard:

• The standard, ISI7017 was developed by Indian organizations including NITI Aayog and Ather Energy.
• It’s a world-first standard combining AC and DC charging for Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs).
• It aims for interoperability, meaning it can be used across different EV models and charging stations.
• However, it’s not mandatory for EV makers to use this uniform standard, potentially leading to range anxiety.

Need for a National Charging Standard in India:

• Currently, different EV makers in India use various charging standards.
• This situation is similar to the different charging ports used by Apple (Lightning) and Android (USB Type-C) phones.
• Lack of a unified standard results in range anxiety and challenges for public charging stations.

Global Standards in EV Charging:

• China: Uses the GB/T national standard and has a dense network of charging stations, effectively reducing range anxiety.
• United States: Lacks a national standard, but some major manufacturers like Ford and GM are aligning with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS).
• Europe: Predominantly uses the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard, also an EU requirement for EV charging networks.
• Japan: Relies on the CHAdeMO standard, established in 2010.

Why in News:

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approved an indigenously developed AC and DC combined charging connector standard for light electric vehicles (LEVs).