Electric mobility: Mennekes VDE-tested charging plug system

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The VDE has awarded its test seal for the first electric mobility charging plug system. The developer of the international draft standard, Mennekes Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG, has successfully submitted a charging cable as well as the infrastructure socket for testing. ?Based on the demands of the German automotive industry concerning the fast availability of a normative document and due to the fact that the formulation of a corresponding IEC standard would take considerable time, the DKE developed and published the VDE utilization directive VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2 “Plugs, sockets, vehicle plug and socket connectors and vehicle plugs – charging of electric vehicles – part 2-2: Demands on the main dimensions for the exchangeability of pin and socket equipment” on basis of the draft by Mennekes.?All physical demands like the design and array of the charging plug system and charging cables take safety aspects as well as the compatibility for different charging types into account. All safety demands in connection with the charging stations are also considered at the same time. ?The international standard will also be based on the German standards draft, the so-called type 2.? ?

Uniform charging plugs for electric vehicles:

?Besides the German draft type 2, there is also a Japanese and an Italian draft. All three types could be standardised in the international standard IEC 62196-2. As a consequence different systems would be applied in different regions. Walter Mennekes, managing partner of Mennekes, Kirchhundem: “Three parallel systems endanger the broad acceptance of electric mobility. As these charging plug systems are not compatible with each other, it may be a problem to find a matching charging station. To prevent this, an at least Europe-wide system would be desirable, because different types of plugs and sockets confuse potential consumers.”?The DKE also pursues this issue on an international level, because type 2 is the technically and economically most balanced solution with a high safety level. It defines plugs and interfaces for the connection between the utility and the electric vehicle allowing users to charge their vehicles with 16, 32, 63 amp (single-phase and three-phase current) as well as with 70 amp (single-phase current only) at an operating voltage of max. 500 volt and 50 to 60 hertz. This bandwidth covers all globally defined electricity supply systems.? 

?High acceptance among vehicle manufacturers and utilities:

?The German draft is met with substantial acceptance among the European vehicle manufacturers, utilities and network operators, because the draft standard type 2 sees the charging systems for electric mobility from an integrated point of view: ?The draft standard type 2 is suited for all charging currents up to 63 amp. Thanks to a uniform geometry for one to three-phase connectors, a single charging socket type is sufficient.?Type 2 charging plugs and sockets are already today suited for future applications like intelligent energy management with bi-directional energy transfer and allow electric vehicles to become a part of the intelligent power network “SmartGrid”.
MENNEKES Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1935. Today the company is a leading manufacturer of industrial plugs and sockets with subsidiaries and representations in over 90 countries. The company employs over 800 people worldwide, of those more than two thirds in Germany. The product range comprises standardised industrial plugs and sockets in over 11,000 different variants and designs. In addition, the company has concentrated on the development of a charging plug system for electric vehicles since the 1990ies. In the course of time, MENNEKES then developed a charging plug system that meets all of today’s demands and is also ready for future demands. MENNEKES submitted this as an open draft standard to the IEC in the spring of 2009. We take an integrated approach towards electric mobility and develop components like charging plugs, sockets, charging cables and vehicle plugs as well as complete charging stations for commercial and private application. ?In the past business year, the MENNEKES Group achieved a consolidated turnover of around 100 million Euros. More than half of the turnover is made in export business.
MENNEKES Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG
Burkhard Rarbach
Aloys-Mennekes-Straße 1
57399 Kirchhundem
+49 (0) 27 23 / 41-3 80

www.MENNEKES.de

Pressekontakt:
MENNEKES Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG
Burkhard Rarbach
Aloys-Mennekes-Straße 1
57399
Kirchhundem
[email protected]
+49 (0) 27 23 / 41-3 80
http://www.MENNEKES.de

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