Preparing for a flood of electric vehicles, ANSI seeks input

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is forming a industry wide Electric Vehicles Standards Panel (EVSP) to promote the introduction of electric vehicles (EV) and ensure the support infrastructure is both safe and effective.

The EVSP is seeking participants from industry, government agencies, utilities, standards and conformity assessment organizations, code officials, trade associations, academia and other relevant areas to enable the safe, mass deployment of electric vehicles and the auxiliary infrastructure in the U.S.

The EVSP formation decision was reached at a March 4 meeting of an interim steering committee, convened by ANSI after it was suggested the U.S. standardization community needs to coordinate an approach in pace with EV initiatives in other parts of the world.

"With our history of bringing diverse stakeholders together to develop consensus-based solutions for emerging priorities and new technologies, ANSI is well positioned to respond to the need for greater standards coordination in this critical technology area," commented ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia.

ANSI has previously held standards panels in areas like homeland security, healthcare information technology and nanotechnology.

"The EVSP will provide a mechanism to foster coordination and collaboration among public and private sector stakeholders – including industry, government agencies, utilities, standards and conformity assessment organizations, code officials, and others – to enable the safe, mass deployment of electric vehicles and associated infrastructure in the U.S. with international coordination, adaptability, and engagement," Bhatia said.

All qualified and interested parties are invited to take part in an initial call on May 17, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern time. To participate either send an email to [email protected] or visit the EVSP site at www.ansi.org/evsp to RSVP and for more information.

As the U.S. member of various regional and international standardization bodies, the ANSI panel will also coordinate U.S. policy and technical input to relevant regional and international organizations on standards and conformity assessment programs for electric vehicles.

In addition, the EVSP will coordinate appropriately with other domestic and international electric vehicle initiatives. Many are already underway and will inform the panel's work, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology Smart Grid Interoperability Panel vehicle-2-grid activity.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.