Universal charger: USB-C to become the standard in Europe

In fall 2024, electronic devices other than computers will be marketed with the aim of charging only via a USB-C port in Europe. This measure, which was definitively voted on by the European Parliament on October 4, 2022, highlights the role of voluntary standards in making equipment interoperable and, ultimately, combating the proliferation of different and superfluous models.
We all have one at home: that desk drawer where electrical cables with different connectors accumulate, used to charge our various electronic devices. USB, micro-USB, Lightning... Why on earth are there so many different models? In Europe, Brussels has said enough is enough: the Commission and Parliament have agreed to impose a single model in the fall of 2024: the USB-C model. All manufacturers of mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earphones and headphones, digital cameras, portable video game consoles, and portable speakers will have to comply if their devices can be recharged with a wired cable. Laptops will follow in 2026. Proprietary technologies, such as Apple's Lightning, will therefore have to give way to the USB-C model.

USB at the heart of several voluntary standards

USBL chargers have been a standardized model for some time. The voluntary standard NF EN IEC 62680-1-2 , for example, details the elements necessary for implementing USB power delivery for manufacturers such as power supply suppliers, platform manufacturers, device manufacturers, and cable assembly manufacturers. The Part 1-3 of this same standard focuses on cables and connectors. Finally, the Part 1-4 proposes authentication specifications for USB Type-C. "These voluntary standards have been in place since 2018. By making them mandatory and universal, European regulations are simply selecting a model for which manufacturers had already embraced standardization. This measure will have even greater impact as it goes beyond the phone market alone," comments Alioune Cissé, who monitors these issues within AFNOR's electro-technology department. The voluntary standards in question are international standards, developed within the International Electrotechnical Commission, hence the prefix IEC. "NF" and "EN" mean that they have been adopted in France, in the AFNOR collection, and in Europe, via CENELEC, respectively.

A gradual alignment of the market

The European Commission took up this issue in 2009. An initial memorandum of understanding was reached to develop a common specification based on the USB 2.0 Micro-B port for mobile phones only. This measure reduced market fragmentation and achieved near-global alignment, reducing the number of charging solutions for these devices from thirty to three. However, the memorandum of understanding also allowed for proprietary charging interfaces, such as those used by Apple.

The June 2022 announcement, which has yet to be formally approved, is therefore a further step forward. In doing so, it highlights the benefits that voluntary standards bring in making life easier for consumers who demand interoperability and compatibility. Stakeholders involved in the standardization of electrical technologies, brought together in this commission in France, under the auspices of AFNOR and the French Electrotechnical Committee, are now preparing the next step: the harmonization and interoperability of wireless charging interfaces, with a view, once again, to simplifying users' lives.