Electric vehicles
EV Charging Infrastructure: AC, DC, CCS2 and Charging Stations
Learn how AC and DC electric vehicle chargers work, from CCS2 plugs to OCPP software, and plan a public charging site.
EV Charging Infrastructure: AC, DC, CCS2 and Charging Stations is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for electrical and site engineers working on EV charging. It has 9 modules and takes about 9.3 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$28.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Intermediate
- 9.3 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$28.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Electrical and site engineers working on EV charging
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: energy engineer, power systems engineer, solar or EV technician and site engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- None required. A spreadsheet for the calculations. Hardware: none.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Explain the difference between AC and DC charging
- Calculate charging times and currents
- Describe what is inside AC and DC chargers
- Explain how OCPP and OCPI connect chargers to software
- Calculate the payback of a charger from use and margin
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Electrical and site engineers working on EV charging.
Level: Intermediate. Intermediate. You should know basic electrical theory: single and three-phase supply, power and current. No power electronics background is needed; the course explains what is inside a charger at the block level.
What you need
Software: None required. A spreadsheet for the calculations..
Hardware: None.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
9 modules in order, at your own pace. 9.3 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1Charging and swapping: the picture, with lab practice: 19m
- 2Slow or fast: charger types52m
- 3Inside an AC charger and Type-2 charging, with lab practice: 59m
- 4Inside a DC charger and CCS257m
- 5Standards, on-board chargers and OCPP35m
- 6Public charging stations, with lab practice: 51m
- 7Battery swapping and bulk charging55m
- 8Economics and analytics of public charging51m
Show the other 1 modules
- 9Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
Any spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc) is enough for the calculations.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Walk a charging site, read the control pilot when a car will not charge, and share a limited supply between chargers in the Solar and EV lab.
- Site survey: name every part and every isolation pointSolar and EV labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Site survey: name every part and every isolation point
- EV charger fault: a car will not chargeSolar and EV labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): EV charger fault: a car will not charge
- Load management: three chargers on a limited supplySolar and EV labOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Load management: three chargers on a limited supply
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 8 hours
Planning a highway fast-charging hub at a fuel station: load list, site design basis, risk register and business case
Plan an EV charging hub at a highway fuel station, as the project engineer. Produce a load list, a site design basis, a risk register and a business case with payback and sensitivity. The sample pack shows each document for a station near Naivasha, Kenya.
- 4documents in the pack
- 6steps to follow
- 5things to hand in
- 8 hof work, at your pace
- Load listLoad list: Naivasha highway charging hub
- PlanSite design basis: Naivasha highway charging hub
- Risk registerRisk register: Naivasha highway charging hub
- ReportBusiness case: Naivasha highway charging hub
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$28.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
Electrical and Solar Energy
Eight short weeks of electrical basics, rooftop solar PV, batteries and EV charging, from site survey to testing and handover: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Energy engineer
- Power systems engineer
- Solar or EV technician
- Site engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: NPTEL IIT Madras, NPTEL IIT Roorkee, Juic'd Garage, MG Prodtech, IIT Roorkee July 2018, NPTEL-NOC IITM. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
NPTEL IIT Madras · NPTEL IIT Roorkee · Juic'd Garage · MG Prodtech · IIT Roorkee July 2018 · NPTEL-NOC IITM. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the EV Charging Infrastructure course for?
Electrical engineers, site engineers and technicians moving into EV charging, and anyone planning or running charging sites. Basic electrical theory is assumed.
Is this an NPTEL course?
No. It is built on NPTEL's free public lectures from IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee, credited on each module, but it is not the NPTEL programme and is not affiliated with NPTEL or the IITs. EDWartens wrote the notes, practice, project and assessment.
Do I need power electronics?
No. The course explains AC and DC chargers at the block level. The full IIT Roorkee lectures go deeper if you want to.
Which countries' standards does it cover?
Mainly the international ones: IEC 61851 and the Type 2 and CCS2 connectors used across Europe and much of the world. India is the worked national example, with its IS 17017 adoption of IEC 61851, the earlier Bharat AC-001 and DC-001 standards and the Ministry of Power's 2024 charging guidelines.
How long does the EV Charging Infrastructure course take?
About 6.4 hours of video lessons across eight teaching modules, plus the notes, practice questions, the final assessment and an optional project of around 8 hours. At a few hours a week it fits into three to four weeks.
What is the project in the EV Charging Infrastructure course?
You plan a fast-charging hub at a fuel station on a busy intercity highway: the load list and charger mix, the site design basis from grid connection to OCPP, a risk register and a business case with payback. A worked sample pack shows each document.
Is the EV Charging Infrastructure course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the EV Charging Infrastructure course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the EV Charging Infrastructure course cover, module by module?
The EV Charging Infrastructure course has 9 modules. It opens with "Charging and swapping: the picture", goes through "Slow or fast: charger types", "Inside a DC charger and CCS2", "Public charging stations" and "Economics and analytics of public charging" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the EV Charging Infrastructure course?
After the EV Charging Infrastructure course: Explain AC and DC charging and where conversion happens; Calculate charging times and control pilot currents; Describe what is inside AC and DC chargers. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the EV Charging Infrastructure course, and does it cost anything?
For the EV Charging Infrastructure course, software: None required. A spreadsheet for the calculations. Hardware: none. The course itself is free.
Is the EV Charging Infrastructure course suitable for me, and what level is it?
EV Charging Infrastructure is rated intermediate. Intermediate. You should know basic electrical theory: single and three-phase supply, power and current. No power electronics background is needed; the course explains what is inside a charger at the block level. It is written for electrical and site engineers working on EV charging, and takes about 9.3 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the EV Charging Infrastructure course?
Skills from the EV Charging Infrastructure course (for example: explain AC and DC charging and where conversion happens) are used in roles such as energy engineer, power systems engineer, solar or EV technician and site engineer, and in EV charging engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
EV Charging Infrastructure: AC, DC, CCS2 and Charging Stations, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.