The European Committee for Standardisation (CENELEC) has been charged with the elaboration of standards for EV technologies such as plugs and charging systems.

On the basis of their communication from April that established a roadmap for a coherent broad market launch of electrically chargeable vehicles, the European Commission has mandated the European Standardisation Organisations bodies (CEN-CENELEC and ETSI) to develop a common charging system for electric cars, scooters and bicycles.

Vice-President Antonio Tajani, in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship said: "Electric cars are no longer some abstract concept. In the very near future these will be on our roads. To pave the way for their commercial success we cannot afford to have incompatible systems leading to a fragmented market in Europe. A common approach is therefore of importance both for European consumers and companies and will allow the EU to become a global leader in the sector.”

Main objectives

The standardisation bodies will take into account ongoing activities in international standardisation fora and develop standards ensuring

• safe charging processes;
• interoperability of EV chargers and removable batteries with electricity supply points and all types of electric vehicles; and
• the possible integration into a smart-grid which will facilitate i.a. off-peak charging;

Stakeholder input

To ensure a realistic and practicable approach, a working group with representatives of standards bodies and their committees, representatives of the European Commission and European associations has been formed.

Their task is to give a rapid overview of what is needed and formulate recommendations. The working group is considering for instance legal issues in Europe concerning vehicle versus electrical equipment, differences in national electrical standards, and new vehicle type-approval legislation to specify technical requirements for electric vehicles.

An initial overview of the working group’s conclusions will be given by the end of September 2010, the final report is to be completed by the end of March 2011.

Standardisation bodies

CENELEC is responsible for European Standardization in the area of electrical engineering. Together with ETSI (telecommunication) and CEN (other technical areas) CENELEC form the European system for technical standardisation.