All electric vehicles in S’pore must be compatible with the Type 2 connector standard for charging

Are electric vehicle (EV) charging stations unique to specific car models, and is that why some EV chargers have more than one terminal?

Since 2016, all public EV charging stations in Singapore have had to adopt the European-standard Type 2 connector. Worldwide, it has largely replaced the Type 1 connector, primarily used in the US, Canada and Japan.

Type 2 connectors are compatible for both the slower single-phase and three-phase AC power.

A second type of plug found in Singapore is the CCS2 connector, which incorporates the Type 2 connector with an additional pair of pins. This type of connector is compatible with single- and three-phase AC charging, as well as direct current (DC) charging.

Regardless of the country of origin, all electric vehicles must be compatible with the Type 2 connector standard.

In Singapore, offices and houses are internally wired with 230-volt single-phase AC using the three-wire system comprising live, neutral and earth.

However, the electrical mains in residential complexes, commercial and industrial buildings, as well as some private landed properties in Singapore use a 415-volt three-phase supply.

For power transmission, three-phase supply is more efficient. As the tag implies, there are three live cables plus, in the context of EV chargers, one neutral cable and one earth cable.

The plugs and receptacles found on all chargers and EVs are exactly the same. On the standard Type 2 AC system, there are five terminals for the power, comprising three live, one neutral and the central Protective Earth pin.

Two smaller terminals are the communication links between the charger and the car. A Proximity Pilot signals the imminent plug-in connection and the Control Pilot confirms that a power connection has been established.

On EVs with DC charging capability, the CCS2 plug and receptacle have two more pins. They are the positive and negative pins for the DC power supply.

Single-phase AC chargers are low-powered, offering no more than 7.4kW. It takes around five hours to bring a 70kWh battery to around 50 per cent charge.

Three-phase AC chargers can supply up to 22kW of power. DC chargers are capable of higher charging speeds, typically ranging between 50kW and 150kW.

While it is true that an EV can plug into any Type 2 charger, it is important to bear in mind that it is the car’s onboard charger which decides how much power is transmitted.

This means that for a car with an on-board charger rated at 11kW AC, the maximum input power will not breach this threshold, even if the charging station has a higher charging speed, such as 22kW, for instance.

The same applies for DC charging, as the charging speed is ultimately limited by the on-board charger.

With the national charging connector standard, an EV can use any public charger in Singapore with one exception: Tesla-branded chargers serve only Tesla cars.

Although the American EV brand has made its chargers available to non-Teslas in some markets, Singapore is not among them.