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Electric vehicles have been around for quite some time and their adoption is on the rise. But the pace seems to be slow as they need to be supported by proper charging infrastructure. Though charging an electric vehicle is quite simple, one must be aware of all the available types of the same. As, the Indian government has mandated a certain type of charger for low-power electric vehicles, while the new breed of powerful electric SUVs has a different requirement.

Types of Electric Vehicle Chargers:

Level 1 EV charging: It is rated at 120 volts. It needs a cord with an attached control-box, which is supplied as standard with every electric vehicle. One has to simply plug-in into a three-pin (grounded) wall socket. It’s a slow charger and roughly takes 16-20 hrs for full charging. It does not require the installation of additional hardware.

Level 2 EV charging: It is rated at 240 volts. An additional AC box charger needs to be fitted for this at the customer’s place. It is being done by manufacturers at the time of purchase. With this, the EV gets charged in 6 hrs as it’s considerably faster. This charging technique is expensive because of the use of more sophisticated hardware.

Level 3 EV charging: This is what one will find at public charging stations. Called DC fast charging, it converts the AC current, into DC current for direct storage in electric vehicle batteries. It is usually rated at 480 volts. With the use of a DC fast charger, an electric vehicle can be charged 80 per cent in less than an hour.

Growth in Charging setup:

Currently, around 70% of electric vehicles are charged at home in India. According to a report, to meet the charging requirement for 20 lakh electric cars, India needs about 4 lakh charging stations installed by 2026. Setting up of infrastructure with at least one e-charging kiosk at around 69,000 petrol stations across India was announced by the government in November 2020.

According to a MarketWatch report, the charging infrastructure market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CARG) of 40% in the next five to six years. Most industry experts also believe that 40-45% electric conversion by 2030 is a realistic expectation, provided that the infrastructure is created for it.

Number of charging stations in India

In the last report of (Central Electricity Authority (CEA) a total of 933 EV charging stations have been installed in India until June 2020. While 927 of these stations have been installed by various PSUs, discoms, municipal corporations, six have been installed by state-run PowerGrid. A large chunk of these stations — 410 — have been set up by APSDCL (Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited), while the rest have been set up by APEPDCL.

The government had sanctioned 2,636 charging stations in 62 cities across 24 states/UTs under FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) scheme phase II which are still under process. It aims to have one charging station every 3 km in cities and every 25 km on both sides of highways.