The rapid rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure across Europe and beyond is exposing an unexpected vulnerability: the charging cable itself.
As EV infrastructure scales, the industry is being forced to confront a simple but costly reality: electrification does not only depend on generating and distributing power, but on protecting the physical hardware that delivers it
Across the EV sector, however, the issue is far broader. Operators in Europe, the UK and the US are reporting rising incidents of copper cable theft from public charging stations, creating significant financial losses and undermining driver confidence in the reliability of networks.
Johannes Erdinger, International PR Manager at Igus, said the problem was already visible in Germany’s public charging network. “Even in cities like Cologne, at some charging areas where five to ten charging stations are installed, the cable gets stolen overnight,” he said. “The next morning, people come to charge while shopping, and there’s no cable anymore.”
He added that motorway sites were particularly exposed. “The thieves come over the border, drive to every charging point, cut off the cable, steal it, and then leave again,” Erdinger said. “Even the police have no opportunity to follow them.”
In many cases, he said, EV drivers are increasingly forced to carry their own charging cables in their boots in order to guarantee access.
Moreover, the economics are stacked against charging companies. A stolen cable contains only around €100 worth of copper, but replacement costs for operators can reach €4,000 to €8,000 once labour, downtime and logistics are included. “One cable theft costs the energy supplier about €4,000 to €8,000,” Erdinger said. “That’s a big problem.”
Cable theft is emerging as one of the most persistent physical vulnerabilities in the EV transition, cutting across Europe, the UK and the US. While software and hardware improvements have boosted charger reliability, the cable itself remains a high-value, easily targeted component.
In the UK, charging operator InstaVolt has warned that cable theft is a fast-growing crime undermining confidence in EV infrastructure. The company said the problem extends beyond inconvenience, with every stolen cable representing lost investment, downtime, and delays to net zero targets. More than 40 charging sites across West and South Yorkshire have been hit in just over a year.
In response, manufacturers and infrastructure providers have been coming up with a variety of technologies aimed at improving EV infrastructure.
At this week’s Hannover Messe, Igus presented its new mechanical redesign – a cable that retracts charging cables into an overhead or enclosed unit when not in use. Drivers pull the cable down to connect, and after charging, a light tug triggers automatic retraction.
Erdinger said the design is particularly suited to logistics environments, where space constraints and vehicle movement create additional risks. “In logistics centres for e-trucks, we don’t have space for charging stations or other infrastructure in manoeuvring areas,” he said. “The risk would be much too high that truck drivers collide with it.”
The system also includes access control designed to prevent unauthorised deployment. “If you’re not authorised to pull out the cable, it is blocked,” he said. “The cable cannot be stolen.”
Elsewhere, others are putting forward more IoT focussed solutions.
Last year InstaVolt started to roll out live GPS tracking technology in partnership with Trackit247. The system delivers real-time location updates every three seconds, with each tracker geo-fenced to its charger.
Alerts are triggered immediately if a cable is moved outside its designated area, allowing the company’s security centre to track incidents in real time and coordinate with police.
And in the US, operators including Tesla, ChargePoint and Electrify America have responded by increasing surveillance, working with recycling centres to trace stolen copper, and deploying reinforced cable sleeves designed to make cutting or resale more difficult.
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