BSI, the business standards and improvement company, received accreditation from UKAS for its Electric Vehicle charger testing and certification laboratories on 16 November 20221. The company said the accreditation provides an independent mark of trust for consumers on the safety and quality of EV chargers1.
BSI described the accreditation as the first of its kind in the UK. It said it is "the only UKAS-accredited lab for EV charger testing", and that it is also a CB test lab for EV chargers under the global IECEE scheme1. Its EV charger work covers product safety and performance testing, IECEE CB Certificates for exporters, a specification on accessible public charge points (PAS 1899:2022) and a Kitemark for electric vehicle charging, which BSI said complements its existing charging standards such as the BS EN 61851 series1.
Graham McKay, Global Head of Energy Products at BSI, said:
"Being the first to achieve UKAS accreditation demonstrates BSI's leading role in shaping the future of EV charger testing and certification. Our collaborative approach to standard development provides much-needed reassurance to current and future electric vehicle owners of the safety, performance and quality of chargers that are certified by BSI."
The announcement set the accreditation against reported problems in the public charging network. BSI cited a Which? survey that found significant flaws in current infrastructure, leaving three-quarters of EV owners in the UK feeling dissatisfied, and BBC findings published on 2 November 2022 that one in four EV public charging points in Scotland were faulty, with issues ranging from broken plugs and screens to the entire system being offline1. BSI also noted that more than one million plug-in vehicles are registered in the UK and that the 2030 deadline for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is approaching1.
Why it matters for households
Much of the public debate about charging concerns charge points away from home, but the same standards and testing apply to the unit fitted on a driveway or in a garage. Accreditation of a testing laboratory is a statement about how chargers are assessed, not about any individual product, brand or installer. For a household, the practical relevance is that certification against recognised standards is one of the few independent signals available when comparing home EV chargers and the safety and performance claims made for them.
The figures BSI cites point to a wider issue of reliability rather than safety alone. A charger that fails, or a public point that is offline, leaves a driver dependent on infrastructure they do not control. A certified home unit is the part of that chain a household can verify, which is why EV charge point safety, standards and certification sits at the centre of home charging decisions. The Kitemark and the PAS 1899:2022 specification for accessible public charge points are separate from the accreditation itself, and BSI has not said which products hold either1.
What happens next
BSI has not reported any further dates, targets or changes to its testing scope beyond the accreditation received on 16 November 20221. No information has been reported on how many chargers have been tested or certified under the accreditation, or on fees or turnaround times.
Sources4 cited
- BSI becomes the first UKAS accredited lab for Electric Vehicle charger testing | BSI, bsigroup.com
- BSI becomes the first UKAS accredited lab for Electric Vehicle charger testing | BSI, bsigroup.com
- BSI becomes the first UKAS accredited lab for Electric Vehicle charger testing | BSI, bsigroup.com
- BSI becomes the first UKAS accredited lab for Electric Vehicle charger testing | BSI, bsigroup.com