How does electricity reach a charger?
A residential street with forty houses. It is dark, cold, and people are coming home. Eighteen of the households have an electric car.
All forty houses hang on one transformer at the end of the street.
The questionWhere does the electricity for these cars come from, and how does it get here?
Guess firstWhat share of global electricity demand did electric vehicles account for in 2025?RevealHide
About 1%, around 250 TWh. In Europe and China the share was around 1.5% of total electricity demand.
Wind, solar, hydro and thermal plants feed in, the large ones at high voltage, rooftop solar directly at the bottom of the system.
Select each level. Voltages as in Germany; they differ between countries.
about 1% of final electricity demand
of total electricity demand in 2025
more than this under current policies
of EV electricity by 2035, from about 5%
IEA Global EV Outlook 2026, current policies scenario for 2035.
Where charging connects
- At home and at work, wallboxes connect at low voltage, behind the building's meter.
- Public AC points in a street connect at low voltage too.
- Fast-charging hubs connect at with their own transformer, see Charging infrastructure, stop 02.
In Germany, the grid has four voltage levels, from extra-high voltage at 220 to 380 kV to low voltage at 400 V; distribution system operators run the high, medium and low voltage networks. On the national scale, the extra demand is modest. In a single street, where many cars arrive at the same hour, it is felt first.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
At which grid level do home wallboxes usually connect?
Wallboxes sit behind the house connection at low voltage; fast-charging hubs connect at medium voltage.
About how much electricity did EVs use worldwide in 2025?
The IEA puts it at around 250 TWh, about 1% of final electricity demand; 1,500 TWh is the 2035 outlook.
Where is extra demand from charging felt first?
Nationally the share is small; locally, simultaneous charging adds up at one transformer.
- Medium voltage The grid level between the high-voltage network and the 400-volt street grid, in Germany 10 to 30 kV; fast-charging hubs connect here with their own transformer. Charging infrastructure, stop 02 Glossary
- IEA: Global EV Outlook 2026: Outlook for electric mobility, electricity demand. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026/outlook-for-electric-mobility-chap-9-11. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Bundesnetzagentur, SMARD: Network levels: extra-high voltage 220 to 380 kV, high voltage 110 kV, medium voltage 10 to 30 kV, low voltage 400 V, and who runs them. https://www.smard.de/page/en/wiki-article/5884/214026/network-levels. Checked 13 Oct 2026.