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CCS (Combined Charging System) is one of several competing charging plug (and vehicle communications) standards for DC fast charging.
Competitors to CCS for DC charging are CHAdeMO, Tesla (two types: US/Japan and Rest of World), and the Chinese GB/T system.
The CCS charging socket combines the AC and DC inlets together using shared communication pins. This allows the charging socket of a CCS-equipped car to have less space than the equivalent CHAdeMO or GB/T DC socket plus AC socket.
CCS1 and CCS2 share the design of the DC pins and communication protocol, so manufacturers can simply choose to swap out the Type 1 AC plug part for the US and (possibly) Japan with Type 2 for other markets.
The Combined Charging System (commonly referred to as CCS and CCS 2) is a European standard plug and socket type for connecting electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles to DC fast chargers.
In Europe, nearly all new pure electric vehicles come with a CCS 2 socket. It consists of a nine-pin input that splits into two sections; the upper seven-pin section is also where you plug in a Type 2 cable for slower charging via a home wallbox or other AC charger.
It’s worth noting that, to initiate and control charging, CCS uses PLC (Power Line Communication) as a way to communicate with the car, which is the system used for grid communication.
This allows the vehicle to easily communicate with the grid as a “smart device”, but makes it incompatible with CHAdeMO and GB/T DC charging systems without a special adapter that isn’t easily available.
An interesting recent development in the “DC plug wars” is that Tesla adopted the CCS2 standard for DC charging when it launched the Tesla Model 3 in Europe.
Charging an electric vehicle (EV) isn’t a one-size-fits-all job. Depending on your vehicle, the type of charging station, and your location, you’ll be faced with different cables, plugs… or both.
This article describes the different types of cables, plugs, and focuses on country-specific standards and developments.
There are 4 main EV charging cable types. Most dedicated home EV charging stations and plug chargers use Mode 3 charging cables, and fast charging stations use Mode 4.
EV charging plugs vary based on manufacturer and country, but there are a few dominant standards around the world, each used in a specific region. North America uses Type 1 plugs for AC charging and CCS1 for DC fast charging, while Europe uses Type 2 connectors for AC charging and CCS2 for DC fast charging.
Tesla cars have always been an exception. While they have adapted their design to fit the standards of other continents, in the US they use their own proprietary plug, which the company now calls the "North American Charging Standard (NACS)". Recently, they shared the design with the world and invited other car and charging equipment manufacturers to incorporate this connector type into their designs.
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