What Are the Requirements for Electric Vehicle Charging on Wires and Cables?

Electric vehicles rely on electricity to power their motors, so after a period of use, the battery needs to be charged. When it comes to charging an electric car, we cannot ignore the charging cable. What are the requirements for the charging cable of an electric vehicle?

Functional requirements of electric vehicle charging cables

The electric vehicle charging cables are the carrier that connects the electric vehicle and the charging station, and its basic function is to transfer electric energy. However, with the development of charging technology, in order to better complete the charging process, communication between the electric vehicle and the charging station is needed, and automatic control is required when necessary. Therefore, the charging process puts higher requirements on the charging cable. The charging cable not only needs to have the function of power transmission, but also needs to transmit the status and information of the vehicle and the power battery to the charging station for real-time interaction, and to control the charging action when necessary, in order to complete the charging process safely and reliably.

Safety requirements for electric vehicle charging cables

Currently, the safety of electric vehicles has become a focus of industry attention. Due to the long time and high current intensity of the charging and discharging process of electric vehicles, and the high frequency of use of the cable, its safety should be highly valued. The charging cable for electric vehicles should have high heat resistance and aging resistance on the basis of ensuring good insulation performance. At the same time, it should have good low-smoke and flame retardant characteristics in the event of combustion, so as to minimize losses and injuries.

Standards for the electric vehicle charging cables

It is also necessary to understand the standards for the electric vehicle charging cables. At present, the main basis for the production and manufacturing of charging cables for electric vehicles are the American ANSI/NFPA/NECArticle400, the European Coordinated Document HD22, and the Chinese majority of charging cable products use the IEC60245 and IEC60227 standards issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), or the GB/T5013 and GB/T5023 national standards adopted as equivalent to these two standards.

Due to the different usage requirements of the charging cable for electric vehicles compared to traditional wires and cables, the current wire and cable standards are difficult to cover all the usage requirements of charging cables. Therefore, an independent product standard for charging cables is needed to promote the healthy development of the industry. Taking into account the mechanical and electrical performance requirements, as well as safety, environmental protection, and service life requirements of the charging cable, new low-smoke, halogen-free flame-retardant materials, polyester-based elastomers, and polyurethane materials are more suitable for the insulation and sheath materials of charging cables, and have become the development direction of charging cable products.