EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) is the industry term for the charging hardware that delivers electricity from the grid to an electric vehicle. While commonly called "chargers," EVSE units for Level 1 and Level 2 are technically supply equipment — the actual AC-to-DC conversion happens in the vehicle's onboard charger. Only DC fast chargers perform the conversion externally.
EVSE includes the charging station (or wall connector), the cable, the connector (J1772, NACS, CCS, or CHAdeMO), and the communication electronics that manage the charging session. Modern EVSE often includes features like WiFi connectivity, RFID card readers, smartphone app integration, load management, and energy metering.
The EVSE market includes residential units (Chargepoint Home, Tesla Wall Connector, Grizzl-E, JuiceBox), commercial units (ChargePoint CT4000, Blink IQ 200), and DC fast chargers (ABB Terra, Tritium RTM, Tesla Supercharger). The US EVSE market is projected to exceed $20 billion by 2030, driven by rising EV sales, federal NEVI funding, state incentives, and building code requirements mandating EV-ready parking in new construction.