Top 10 EV Charging Standards Engineers Should Master (2026 Edition)

The EV charging standards ecosystem looks complex from outside but resolves into 10 standards every working charging engineer should know. Fluency here is the most under-rated callback driver for charging-infrastructure roles in India.

Why this list matters

Charging-infrastructure interviews at Tata Power EZ Charge, Statiq, ChargeZone, BPCL EV + IOCL EV consistently test for standards-vocabulary fluency. The candidates who can name + briefly explain the 10 standards below win senior-band offers; the ones who only know one or two get bottom-of-band.

The 10 standards

• 1. IEC 61851 — international standard for conductive EV charging. Defines AC + DC charging system architectures, communication requirements, safety provisions. The foundation everyone references.
• 2. IS 17017 — the Indian variant of IEC 61851; adopted by BIS for Indian charging deployments.
• 3. AIS-138 — Automotive Industry Standard for the Indian EV charging system; specifies Bharat AC-001 + DC-001 connector + protocol requirements.
• 4. CCS (Combined Charging System) — the dominant DC fast-charging protocol in EU + US + emerging in India. Covers CCS1 (US + Japan) + CCS2 (EU + India + most of world).
• 5. CHAdeMO — Japanese DC fast-charging protocol; declining adoption globally but still relevant for older Nissan + Mitsubishi installations.
• 6. OCPP 1.6 (Open Charge Point Protocol) — the most-deployed charging-station-to-CMS communication protocol. JSON-over-WebSocket transport.
• 7. OCPP 2.0.1 — the next-generation OCPP standard; adds ISO 15118 Plug & Charge support, smart-charging profiles, secure firmware update.
• 8. ISO 15118 — Vehicle-to-Grid Communication Interface; defines Plug & Charge authentication + payment + V2G coordination. Adoption growing fast for premium EV programmes.
• 9. OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface) — the roaming protocol between Charge Point Operators (CPOs). Enables a driver with one CPO's account to charge on another CPO's stations.
• 10. UNECE R155 + R156 (cybersecurity + software updates) — UN regulations now mandatory for new EV programmes; cover the cybersecurity + OTA-update requirements for connected vehicles + charging-network interfaces.

How to acquire fluency

Read the executive summaries of all 10 standards over a 4-week sprint. You don't need to memorise — you need to recognise + briefly explain each one in interview discussions.

DIYguru's AICTE-approved Charging Infrastructure track via emobility.academy covers all 10 in structured modules with practical exercises + sample CMS code that implements OCPP 1.6 + 2.0.1 message flows.

Build one portfolio project that implements OCPP 1.6 → 2.0.1 message handling + ISO 15118 Plug & Charge skeleton. Push to GitHub + reference on your emobility.careers profile. The combination of standards-literacy + working code beats either alone.

Where to go from here

EV charging standards literacy is the single most-under-supplied differentiator for charging-engineering candidates in India. DIYguru's AICTE-approved Charging Infrastructure track via emobility.academy is the most-structured route to fluency across all 10 standards; pair with one OCPP portfolio project + an active emobility.careers profile + the CPO + charging-hardware-OEM employer-interview-conversion rates rise dramatically.

Make this real: create a free emobility.careers account to match with EV jobs, see live salary medians and unlock 200+ JD templates. Want hands-on training? Check out the AICTE-approved EV programs at DIYguru — the largest EV academy in India with placement support across OEMs, charging operators and Tier-1 suppliers.