A charging station, also called electric vehicle charging station, electric recharging point, charging point, charge point, electronic charging station (ECS), and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a machine that supplies electric energy to charge plug-in electric vehicles—including cars, neighborhood electric vehicles, trucks, buses and others.
Some electric vehicles have on-board converters that plug into a standard electrical outlet or a higher voltage outlet. Others use custom charging stations.
Charging stations provide connectors that conform to a variety of standards. For common direct current rapid charging, chargers are equipped with multiple adaptors such as Combined Charging System (CCS), CHAdeMO, and AC fast charging.
Public charging stations are typically found street-side or at retail shopping centers, government facilities and parking areas.