ANSI Standards Panel Identifies Safety and Infrastructure Priorities for U.S. Electric Vehicle Investments

New report identifies fire protection in older buildings, power export, cable management, and automation as areas of growing focus, calling on more industry stakeholders to engage as efforts advance.

NEW YORK, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As electric vehicles move into the mainstream, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is helping U.S. industry stay ahead of the safety, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and consumer experience questions that come with mass adoption. A new report released today identifies the priorities that need coordinated action now.

The April 2026 Gaps Progress Report, issued by the ANSI Electric Vehicles Standards Panel (EVSP), elevates three safety and infrastructure issues from medium to high priority:

• Fire protection for EV parking and charging in or near older buildings, where existing structures were not designed with EV-related fire risks in mind
• Power export, as bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid applications expand
• Cable management, as charging stations see higher utilization and longer cables in public settings

"Electric vehicles are no longer a future technology — they are part of how Americans drive, work, and live today," said Christine Bernat, ANSI's Director of Standards Facilitation. "This report gives industry a clear, neutral view of where the standards system is keeping pace and where it needs to adapt. Fire protection in older buildings, power export, and cable management are priorities this cycle because industry is investing to bring these standards home. The more stakeholders we have engaged, the better positioned we are to get them right for mass EV deployment."

A trusted reference point for a fast-moving market

The report builds on the EVSP's 2023 Roadmap of Standards and Codes for Electric Vehicles at Scale, developed with input from more than 130 organizations across federal agencies, national laboratories, standards developers, industry, and academia. The roadmap identified 37 standardization gaps across vehicle systems, charging infrastructure, grid integration, and cybersecurity. Today's update reports progress on 17 of those gaps and adds three new ones, giving industry leaders a shared, neutral reference point for tracking where the U.S. stands and where investment and coordination are needed next.

The report is intended as a living document, updated as standards work advances, until the EVSP undertakes its next full roadmap.

About the ANSI Electric Vehicles Standards Panel

The ANSI EVSP brings public- and private-sector stakeholders together to coordinate the standards work needed for safe, large-scale EV deployment in the United States — with international alignment built in. The panel does not develop standards itself; it identifies where they are needed, tracks progress and helps industry move in the same direction.

To receive future updates, suggest edits to the report, or get involved, indicate your interest when you download the report or email evsp@ansi.org.

ANSI gratefully acknowledges the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) for its 2026 sponsorship of the ANSI EVSP. Organizations interested in supporting the panel's work can learn more here.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.

The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org and access the latest news and content on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. 

SOURCE American National Standards Institute