Road to Reliability: Engineering High Uptime EV Charging Infrastructure

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The transition to EVs is no longer constrained solely by vehicle capability. Instead, it is increasingly defined by a simpler, but more unforgiving question: Will the charger work when I arrive? This high uptime does not happen by accident. As EV technology has matured, limitations in battery range, power electronics, and thermal management are no longer the primary barriers to adoption.

As charging infrastructure moves from early deployment into the realm of critical energy systems, expectations now mirror those of traditional fueling networks. Governments are mandating uptime levels as high as 97%, and drivers expect charging to “just work” every time.¹ Meeting this expectation is about engineering, not deployment.

For electronics designers and manufacturers, EV supply equipment (EVSE) represents a convergence of high-voltage power electronics, outdoor-rated electronic assemblies, software-driven control systems, and grid-connected infrastructure. Public charging infrastructure is at the intersection of automotive, industrial, and utility electronics. Reliability is the cumulative result of numerous design, material, process, and validation decisions made long before a charger is installed in the field. Engineering high-uptime EV charging infrastructure requires a mindset shift where uptime must be treated as a core design requirement, equal in importance to power level, efficiency, and cost.

To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the May 2026 edition of SMT007 Magazine, click here.