It’s finally happening. Until now, we’ve had a variety of connector types for electric vehicles, but everyone is now converging on one standard. The NACS connector, pioneered by Tesla, is set to become the main, if not the only, charging standard for electric vehicles in North America.
However, the connector is only a part of the equation when it comes to better EV charging. While it’s important, creating a truly convenient charging experience also requires efficient software alongside the hardware.
For many EV owners, especially those who don’t drive a Tesla, charging their vehicle isn’t as seamless as it could be. Typically, you drive up to a charging station, plug in, fuss around with the station’s app, attempt to use tap-and-pay, and cross your fingers that everything works properly for your car to charge.
But it doesn’t have to be so complicated — and sometimes, it isn’t. It’s 2023, and technology should be able to function more smoothly. There is already a standard designed to streamline this process. Plug & Charge, also known as ISO 15118, enables secure communication between the car and the charging station, taking care of user identification and payment validation automatically. All you need to do is plug in, and your car handles the rest.
This technology might sound familiar to Tesla owners. Teslas have mostly operated this way from the start. However, Tesla uses its proprietary automatic charging technology instead of the exact ISO 15118 specification. Yet, Tesla has included the potential to use ISO 15118 in the NACS standard, meaning that automakers adopting the new connector could also implement Plug & Charge if they choose to.
Tesla isn’t the only company with automatic charging technology, but it is the only automaker that uses it as a default. For instance, Ford EV owners can activate Plug & Charge through the FordPass app, though it only works with certain charging stations, which isn’t quite convenient.
Worth noting, Plug & Charge isn’t a mandatory feature with the shift to NACS. It is included as an option in the standard but isn’t required by car manufacturers. NACS itself is simply a connector, while the underlying technology operates separately.
According to an Electrify America representative, “The transition to NACS shouldn’t impact the adoption of Plug & Charge. NACS is simply the connector, and the underlying communication is largely unchanged.”
Car companies could have incorporated Plug & Charge in their Combined Charging System (CCS) electric vehicles, but most haven’t. There’s no definite sign that this will change with the new NACS connector either.
Electrify America added, “A vehicle must be built from the factory with ISO 15118 to support Plug & Charge. Many new vehicles have this technology built-in, so adoption will likely increase over time, but many existing EVs don’t have it.”
Still, there’s hope. Tesla’s charging stations have long been known for their simplicity and convenience, and soon, non-Tesla cars will be able to charge at these stations in large numbers. Tesla Superchargers rely heavily on Plug & Charge, to the point where they don’t even have built-in payment terminals. Instead, you’ll set up a payment method in the Tesla app and use Plug & Charge for charging.
It’s not just up to car manufacturers to embrace Plug & Charge; charging networks play a role too. Tesla has the technology perfected, and others, like Electrify America (since 2020), have adopted it as well. However, some, such as ChargePoint, are not onboard just yet.
Plug & Charge isn’t necessarily the perfect solution that some might hope for. ChargePoint, for example, believes that Plug & Charge inserts an unnecessary middleman into the payment process, introducing potential security risks. Additionally, ChargePoint argues that Plug & Charge gives too much control over pricing to utilities rather than charger operators, who might want to offer free charging to employees. We reached out to ChargePoint for comment and will update this article upon hearing back.
Despite any drawbacks, it’s evident that we need a more convenient charging solution to be widely adopted. Charging has the potential to be much more convenient than refueling with gasoline has ever been, and that mainly hinges on how payments are managed.