Here is a new electric car charging station that could change our lives

The current standard previously prevented the approval of home or shared charging stations with attached cable. The situation is changing, with what would be the first model to have obtained the long-awaited approval.

You may have never noticed it, but alternating current terminals of 22 kW or less all have no cables, unlike direct current terminals which have an attached cable. A uniquely French law which does not exist elsewhere in Europe and which has long blocked the marketing of low-power terminals with attached cables. A very useful feature, which avoids having to constantly take out and put away your cable when you want to recharge your vehicle. In fact, the terminals with attached cable were not even eligible for the Advenir program, which conditions terminals in France. But since last year, the regulations have changed: terminals which have a mechanical shutter and meet the famous NFC-15 100 standard will finally be eligible. The market should therefore open up.

The ban on terminals with attached cables notably prevented the installation of a Tesla Wall Connector terminal at home in accordance with the rules. Some Tesla owners have still chosen the said terminal by purchasing it themselves, but no IRVE approved technician normally agrees to install it.

More surprisingly, French law does not say that you cannot leave your cable permanently “hanging” from the terminal at your home: this can act as a “tethered cable”, and it will be legal! Even if it won’t be as secure as a terminal with attached cable and real shutter. The joys of standards…

The first approved terminal?

Wallbox, specialist in charging stations, announces that it was the first to obtain NFC-15 100 certification allowing it to sell the Pulsar Pro, which therefore has the particularity of having an attached cable: no more need to take the cable out of your trunk ! On the other hand, the Pulsar Pro terminal does not have a credit card payment terminal, simply having RFID access for the numerous badges present on the market and 4G connectivity. According to the manufacturer, this would therefore be the first shared French terminal which has a cable attached to 22 kW. But by searching a little, we already found rare models of 22 kW or less terminals with a real mechanical shutter allowing them to meet, in theory, the standard in question. This is for example the case of the Lektri terminal which announces that its 22 kW terminal is well equipped with a mechanical shutter. Things are evolving slowly, but should gradually move in the coming months towards a home terminal market with, finally, cables attached.