There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and I would say that cutting into a high-voltage electric car charging cable is where that line gets crossed. Yet vandalism of EV chargers is an unfortunate, inconvenient and dangerous reality. Fortunately, U.S.-based charging giant ChargePoint says it has a series of promising solutions in mind to solve this problem.
This starts with what it calls "the charging industry’s first cut-resistant charging cable," with extra-durable materials built into the cord itself to prevent slicing with an array of tools. That cable design will be offered to commercial and fleet charging stations and then licensed out to other charging companies in hopes that it will spread across the entire industry, the company said in a news release.
Next, there's ChargePoint Protect: a literal alarm system built into the charging station itself that uses its existing screens, speaker and lighting system. If that system detects vandalism, it sounds the alarm and hopefully triggers law enforcement to respond quickly. The ChargePoint Protect system will be available later this month, the company said, added to stations at no additional cost via an over-the-air software update.
“We are sharing the technology to combat vandalism in the most aggressive way possible with the aim to eliminate charger reliability as a hinderance to EV adoption,” ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer said in a news release. Our man Tom Moloughney of the State of Charge YouTube channel went deeper into it with Wilmer, and you can watch his full interview below.
EV charger vandalism continues to be a problem for the nascent charging space. The Electric Vehicle Charging Association said that in 2023, some 20% of U.S. charging stations experienced some form of vandalism with thieves often targeting copper wire or other electrical components. And the stations have seen cord-cutting or other forms of damage from people who are, essentially, just being jerks to electric car drivers.
But a damaged charger is the last thing any driver wants to encounter on the road, so with any luck, ChargePoint's updates will offer an extra layer of deterrence that catches on across the entire industry.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
