Ministry of Industry and Trade works with Ministry of Science and Technology on standards and regulations for electric vehicle charging stations

Attending the meeting were representatives of the leaders of specialized units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade including: Department of Legislation, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry Office, Department of Energy Conservation and Sustainable Development, Department of Import and Export, Department of Industry, Department of Electricity Regulation, Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment.

On the side of the Ministry of Science and Technology, there were leaders of the National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality, the Legal Department, the Ministry's Office, representatives of the Standards Board and the Metrology Board of the National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality.

Reporting at the meeting, Director of the Department of Industry Pham Nguyen Hung said that currently, a complete charging station infrastructure with fast, reliable and convenient charging technology will support the use of electric vehicles more easily, promote environmentally friendly transportation and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. A complete charging infrastructure for electric vehicles includes electrical infrastructure, control and communication infrastructure, charging ports and plugs that meet different standards.

There are three rapidly growing electric vehicle markets in the world : China, the United States and Europe. Along with that, the electric charging industry, including the production and installation of electric charging stations, charging fee collection services and other services, is growing rapidly and developing according to two basic models, including car manufacturers building their own charging stations; companies specializing in charging stations investing in construction.

In Vietnam, a number of enterprises are manufacturing and assembling electric cars such as Vinfast with battery electric vehicles (BEV), Hyundai Thanh Cong with battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hybrid vehicles (HEV), Thaco with hybrid vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), TMT with small battery electric vehicles (mini-BEV). In 2023, a total of 15,676 BEVs and 5,220 HEV/PHEVs will be sold in Vietnam. In the first 6 months of 2024, a total of 17,536 BEVs will be sold in Vietnam, including 17,482 domestically produced and assembled vehicles and 54 imported vehicles. With the rapid development of electric cars in recent years, many enterprises have expressed interest in the market providing equipment and services for electric vehicles, especially charging stations for electric cars in Vietnam.

At the meeting, representatives of professional units of the two ministries also made proposals on directions for coordination with ministries, branches and localities in the coming time to remove obstacles and soon develop specific standards and regulations related to electric vehicle charging stations.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said that electric vehicles in Vietnam are increasingly welcomed, favored and developed by consumers. Along with improving the quality of products, services, and financial support, charging station infrastructure is also a factor that many countries are focusing on investing in. Vietnam is not out of the race for station infrastructure, especially thanks to the drastic investment of VinFast, Vietnam is becoming one of the countries with the leading number of charging ports in the region as well as the world. According to the plan, VinFast's charging stations alone have about 150,000 charging ports covering 63 provinces and cities. The growth rate of vehicle charging stations recently is much higher than that of countries in the region and countries with large charging stations such as the US and South Korea.

" If there is no timely policy to support the development of the charging station network and the technical standards and regulations related to charging stations have not been fully developed, it will lead to a lack of synchronization and unity in the implementation of the charging station system nationwide " - Minister Huynh Thanh Dat emphasized and added that the Ministry of Science and Technology has announced 8 Vietnamese standards (TCVN) related to charging stations for electric vehicles and 3 Vietnamese standards on sockets. In April 2024, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued a Circular amending and supplementing the regulations on measurement for group 2 vehicles with the content of adding "electric vehicle battery charging power measuring devices" and issued a plan to develop national technical standards in 2024, in which the Ministry is developing 8 Vietnamese standards on power sockets and chargers for green vehicles.

However, according to Minister Huynh Thanh Dat, in the Vietnamese national standards system, there are no Vietnamese standards for electric vehicle charging station systems.

To ensure consistency and synchronization in state management of electric charging stations/equipment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed that the Ministry of Science and Technology soon develop and promulgate standards and regulations on design, installation and operation requirements for electric vehicle charging stations/equipment, ensuring that they are suitable for electric vehicle models circulating in Vietnam. Regarding this content, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat emphasized that according to the report of the National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality, standards related to electric vehicle charging stations have been issued. Implementing the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Ministry of Science and Technology will report on these standards.

“Vietnam’s standards on electric charging stations, the Ministry of Science and Technology will carry out this task and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Currently, the technical parameters related to this standard are already included in the standard ” - Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said, at the same time requesting the Ministry of Industry and Trade to report in writing to the Government, the Prime Minister to assign the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop standards according to the shortened process. Regarding other contents related to the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Technology is ready to coordinate.

Based on the opinions of Minister Huynh Thanh Dat and the professional units of the two ministries, concluding the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that the development of electric vehicles is the main trend of the world today and Vietnam is no exception to this trend, transportation is also one of the sectors with relatively large emissions. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, changing the means of transport from using fossil fuels to using electricity also plays a very important role. This is an urgent task directed by the Government and the Prime Minister.

According to Minister Nguyen Hong Dien, the system of standards and technical regulations for electric vehicles and charging stations is not only a tool for state management but also contributes to guiding automobile manufacturers, assemblers and supporting industries in protecting and encouraging consumers to use vehicles that reduce emissions. In addition to the general standards and regulations for charging stations and poles, there is currently a lack of specific standards and regulations. In particular, there are no specific regulations on determining the location and location for building charging stations and poles and technical regulations on electrical safety and the type of energy supplied for this form.

To implement the Prime Minister's instructions and unify the opinions at the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien proposed:

After the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology will finalize the meeting minutes, in which it is necessary to unify the tasks of the two ministries, and at the same time, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities of relevant ministries and branches such as the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Construction and local authorities in developing standards for electric vehicle charging stations and regulations related to determining the location, location, and power supply for stations/poles. This is a factor to submit to the Prime Minister to assign tasks to units to ensure clear people, clear responsibilities and clear completion time. In addition, relevant functional units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade need to urgently study, review and adjust the National Power Development Plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, to add more power sources for the installation of charging stations; research and develop technical standards on power supply systems and power supply plans for charging stations.

Regarding the Ministry of Science and Technology, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien suggested that, in addition to the existing general standards and regulations, the Ministry of Science and Technology should soon develop its own technical standards and regulations for charging stations. This should be implemented in a streamlined process to be completed in September 2024. At the same time, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien suggested that the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport supplement the planning for the construction of electric charging stations in all buildings, residential areas, rest stops on highways, etc. Local authorities also need to review and supplement locations where electric vehicle charging stations can be built.

According to Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, as amended and supplemented, the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for electric vehicle charging stations is in the field of electric energy. Specifically, industrial technical safety (safety of pressure-resistant equipment, lifting equipment, safety of equipment with specific safety requirements for the industrial sector); electrical safety in the management and operation of electrical equipment; mining and oil and gas (except for equipment and means of exploration and exploitation of oil and gas at sea); safety in mechanical production, metallurgy, electricity, energy, oil and gas exploitation, mineral exploitation, chemicals (including pharmaceuticals); occupational safety and hygiene (except for machines, equipment, and materials with strict requirements on occupational safety).

Thus, for the electric energy sector as prescribed in Decree No. 78/2018/ND-CP, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for developing and promulgating technical regulations on safety in the above-mentioned electric energy sector, which do not include national technical regulations on electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging stations and electric vehicle power supply infrastructure.

Pursuant to its authority, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has presided over and coordinated with relevant ministries and branches to develop and submit to the Government for promulgation Decree No. 14/2014/ND-CP dated February 26, 2014 detailing the implementation of the Electricity Law on electrical safety; Decree No. 51/2020/ND-CP dated April 21, 2020 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 14/2014/ND-CP dated February 26, 2014 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Electricity Law on electrical safety; Circular No. 39/2020/TT-BCT dated November 30, 2020 promulgating the National Technical Regulation on Electrical Safety. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has fulfilled its responsibility to develop and promulgate national technical regulations on electrical safety as assigned by the Government.

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao-bo/bo-cong-thuong-lam-viec-voi-bo-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-ve-cac-tieu-chuan-quy-chuan-tram-sac-xe-dien.html