Raising Electric Vehicle Standards Throughout A Century: Principal Trends And Evolutions Peter VAN DEN BOSSCHE Vrije Universiteit Brussel, TW-ETEC, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel pvdbos@vub.ac.be Joeri VAN MIERLO, Gaston MAGGETTO Vrije Universiteit Brussel, TW-ETEC, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel jvmierlo@vub.ac.be gmagget@vub.ac.be Abstract In urban traffic, due to their beneficial effect on environment, electric vehicles are an important factor for improvement of traffic and more particularly for a healthier living environment. The emergence of the electrically driven vehicle, either as a completely new technology or as a new field of application of existing technologies, represents particular challenges in the field of standardization. It encompasses in fact various domains of technology such as electric traction motors, power converters, storage batteries, battery chargers and general automotive technologies, each of which have their own traditions and constraints in the field of standardization. Specific electric vehicle standardization has a long history: the first real “electric vehicle standard”, which dealt with charging plugs, being published in 1912. Since then, work has been performed by various agencies on a diversity of topics. The paper will give an overview of this evolution throughout the century, defining the main evolution lines that have been remarkably constant during the years. At first, the main areas where standardization has been performed will be drawn: with the exception of general topics like terminology, standardization work can be mainly divided in three major areas: o Dimensional standards, like plugs, sockets and battery sizes, which have been the first to emerge, their introduction being beneficial in practice; o Safety standards, where the interaction between standardization and governmental legislation has to be taken into account; o Performance standards, which allow to compare products to eachother and which have gained particular interest for energetical and environmental assessment Furthermore, interesting viewpoints can be derived from considering the interaction between actors in the field. Electric vehicle standardization started from within the electric vehicle community, but quickly became absorbed by the larger national, regional and international standardization bodies. The very nature of the electric vehicle, which is both a “road vehicle” and an “electric appliance”, created particular problems as to the responsibility for standardization work, as these main subject are treated, for historical reasons, by different bodies which have each their own approach and “standardization culture”. The paper, which is the result of a PhD project [1], will provide interesting insights in the process of electric vehicle standardization, which in itself provides a reflection of the economical and societal developments surrounding electric vehicles. Keywords: standardization