The global electric vehicle market is booming and is expected to grow exponentially in the future. Despite rapid developments, EV charging is still a relatively new technology. This has led manufacturers and developers to provide their own standards and procedures, which are not uniform across the globe. Therefore, the management of charging stations may be different in some parts of the world. One of the best examples is Europe and the United States.

Let’s take a closer look at the key differences in EV charging between the two countries and how to deal with them. Whether you are planning to expand your EV charging infrastructure, or you are just curious about the differences between charging station management systems in Europe and the US, this article is for you.

Comparison of electric vehicle charging status in Europe and the United States
In order to understand the differences between European and American electric vehicle charging management systems, it is necessary to discuss the current situation of European and American electric vehicle markets.

According to the research, the numbers don’t lie – Europe leads the way when it comes to EV infrastructure and EV charging demand. Looking ahead to the first half of 2021, Europe is expected to account for the highest share of new EV registrations (1.06 million new registrations), while the US is expected to have only 297,000 new EV registrations. These figures show that there is a huge gap in the EV infrastructure in these countries. The accelerated growth in EV registrations in Europe may be due to legislation by European governments to stimulate the growth of charging networks.

Even though many EV companies are actually from the US, the US still lags behind Europe when it comes to EV charging experience. By 2025, public EV chargers in Europe are expected to reach 1.3 million, while the current number of public EV charging stations in the US is close to 43,000. In Europe, charging stations are spread across almost the entire continent, allowing EV users to charge almost anywhere. In the United States, by contrast, chargers are not evenly distributed across the country. What’s more, the vast majority of chargers in the US are Level 2 chargers, while Europe has quickly replaced them. Fast and super fast chargers.

Differences in charging station management
charging cable
In Europe, EV drivers need to carry charging cables with them in the car because they are not provided at charging stations. Whenever a customer wants to charge his electric car, he/she must be ready to plug his/her charging cable into the charging station. Of course, it also has the risk of the charging cable being stolen, or the driver may accidentally forget to bring it.

In the US, this problem doesn’t exist because the charging stations have their own charging cables. So it makes life easier for EV drivers – they can charge their car whenever they want. However, for power station owners, having an additional charging cable means they have an extra component to manage. Therefore, as an owner of charging stations in the United States, it is necessary to invest in a sophisticated charging station management system, which will help charging station operators maintain all assets. In this case, it prevents the owner from damaging cables left on the ground by the driver.

Connector
An important part of every charging cable is its connector. What type of connector is commonly used in Europe and the US?

If AC charging is involved, the standard plug for all US cars is J1772, often referred to as a j-plug or Type 1. However, the main disadvantage of this plug is that it only allows for one charging phase. Type 1 was also used by European cars, but was then replaced by a more efficient solution – the Type 2 plug, which soon became the new European standard. Fortunately, both types of plugs (type 1 and type 2) use the same J1772 signaling protocol for communication. Therefore, automakers can produce electric vehicles in the same way, only installing the type of plug that is suitable for the car sales market.

The EV market also offers DC connectors designed for DC charging. It enables drivers to charge their cars faster than AC charging and reduces charging time. The perfect solution for fast DC charging is a Combined Charging System (CSS), which consists of the original plug (Type 1 or Type 2) and two additional pins added at the bottom of the plug. However, type 1 CCS is more common in the United States, while type 2 CCS is used in Europe.