SAE International released the Technical Information Report (TIR) for the SAE J3400 standard covering the development and implementation of the Tesla-developed NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector to couple public and residential charging units to EVs made by any automaker. The organization said the SAE J3400 North American Charging Standard Electric Vehicle Coupler Technical Information Report (TIR) was developed through broad-based industry consensus in the SAE Hybrid-EV J3400 TM NACS Electric Vehicle Coupler Task Force.

Release of the TIR for the J3400 standard means certain critical engineering and development parameters have been established to allow developers to proceed with certainty about many critical aspects of deployment and commercialization of the NACS connector, SAE said. Ford and GM this spring were the first in a string of automakers to indicate they would adopt the NACS charging connector and SAE said in June 2023 that it would standardize the NACS connector.

SAE said that in addition to benefiting EV drivers, the standard will help to ensure that any supplier or manufacturer will be able to use, manufacture, or deploy the J3400 connector for vehicles and charging stations in North America.

Crucially, the standardized approach also means that the same utility power feeds used for public DC fast charging can be utilized for single-phase AC charging used in homes and other facilities, “eliminating the need for separate circuit panels and additional step-down transformers at charging sites, resulting in lower infrastructure costs and higher efficiencies,” SAE said.

In the release confirming the completion of the TIR for the J3400 standard, SAE said the U.S.’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation was instrumental in fostering the SAE-Tesla partnership to expedite plans to standardize NACS.