Under the auspices of the EU-.US. Trade and Technology Council, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of the U.S. Department of Energy published joint technical recommendations to advance the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, supporting EU and U.S. commitments to clean energy and decarbonisation.

Gaps and incompatibilities in proposed connectivity and communication standards for EV charging in the United States and the European Union may impact interoperability and drive industry to produce for multiple requirements, leading to increased costs, prolonged development times, and trade barriers.  Transatlantic collaboration on EV infrastructure technical requirements can help to more efficiently roll out publicly funded charging infrastructure, harmonizing our standards where possible.  This would enable our industries to be more competitive across global markets and put us in a much stronger position in international standardization committees to drive towards global standards that meet EU and U.S. ambitions.

These joint U.S.-EU recommendations are structured as three recommendation sets, the first of which makes the case for a joint standards support strategy and identifies existing standards that provide a reference for the implementation of EV charging infrastructure in the United States and the EU.  The second recommendation set elaborates on the development and implementation of cost-effective smart charging infrastructure that avoids stranded assets for stakeholders involved in infrastructure rollout.  The third recommendation set, identifies priorities for further joint pre-normative research in the e-mobility field.