Charging stations plugs

The cable connecting the charging station to the vehicle must have the correct plug on both ends.

There are four types of plugs, two for alternating current (AC) which allow charging up to 43 kW and two for direct current (DC) which allow fast charging up to 350 kW.

AC or Alternating Current Charging

  • Type 1 is a 1-phase plug and is standard for EVs from America and Asia. It allows you to charge the car at a speed of up to 7.4 kW, depending on the charging capacity of your car and the capacity of the electricity grid.
  • Type 2 plugs are three-phase plugs because they have three extra wires to carry the current. At home, the highest charging power is 22 kW, while public charging stations can have a charging power of up to 43 kW. This again depends on the charging capacity of your car and the capacity of the electricity grid.

DC or direct current charging

  • CHAdeMO: This fast charging system was developed in Japan and provides a very high charging capacity and bi-directional charging. It enables charging up to 100 kW.
  • CCS: The CCS connector is an improved version of the Type 2 connector, with two additional power contacts for fast charging. It supports AC and DC charging. It enables charging at a speed of up to 350 kW.
In Europe, the Type 2 AC charger, a three-phase plug, is the standard and most charging stations have a Type 2 connection. But be careful, some charging stations have a fixed cable. A fixed cable can make a lot of sense in places where you always charge the same car, such as at home or in a fixed employee parking lot. It is convenient because you do not have to carry a cable in your car. Please note that if you charge your car at a public charging station with a fixed cable, you must check whether the fixed cable fits into the socket in your car. For example, on the EV charging station map from Plugshare .

Mobile home chargers

Be careful with mobile home chargers and connections to a household 230V socket due to overload. A household socket is not designed to supply a relatively large current for a long time. Mobile home chargers are an interesting intermediate solution, but for long-term use we strongly recommend a charging station. Many, usually cheaper, home chargers on the market are of questionable quality.

Let's also mention the different charging techniques:

-Mode 1 is charging via a regular socket (220V, max 10A) without limitation and without protection. Mode 1 is not used for charging EVs.

-Mode 2 is charging via a standard household socket with earthing. The cable connects a 'dumb' socket to a 'smart' car. With a standard household socket, the charging current must be limited to 10A. Due to this limitation to 10A, the maximum charging power is 2.3 kW.

-Mode 3 charging is 'controlled' charging, there is communication between the car and the charger and only when a suitable charging current has been determined by the car and the charging station, voltage is applied to the socket. To charge at home with Mode 3 you need a customised connection (charging station).

-Mode 4 supplies direct current DC or DCFC (Direct-current or Direct-current fast charging), which is why Mode 4 is also called DC charging or fast charging. Rarely found in people's homes, more something for companies and along highways, also because of the very high installation costs.