Three EV industry collaborators—Mer Germany, Hubject, and Driivz—will demonstrate ISO 15118-based Plug&Charge technology at the Intercharge Network Conference (ICNC23) in Berlin later this month.

• Mer Germany, part of the Mer Group, a leading EV charging operator in Norway, Sweden, UK, Germany and Austria, is focused on sustainable electric mobility and the initiator of the collaboration.

• Hubject, a provider of global eRoaming and Plug&Charge services, is the organizer of a growing operational Plug&Charge ecosystem and trusted Certificate Authority.

• Driivz, provider of an EV charging and smart energy management software platform, which is ISO 15118-certified to ensure that Mer and other Driivz clients can deliver Plug&Charge capabilities to their customers.

This collaboration grew from our mission to make sustainable electric mobility easy and accessible for everyone by offering solutions that give our customers seamless EV charging experiences. Demonstrating Plug&Charge to ICNC23 attendees shows that the vision of seamless charging for all EV drivers is now a reality.

—Anton Achatz, director of business development and product management, Mer Germany

How Plug&Charge works. When the EV driver plugs the vehicle into the charge point, the EV identifies itself to the charging station, allowing for instant authorization and the initiation of charging. The communication includes data on the driver’s account with the EV charging service provider, which ensures that the electricity used for charging will be billed automatically.

To make the Plug&Charge experience happen, all stakeholders in the EV charging ecosystem must support ISO 15118, the international standard that enables secure and scalable communications for EV charging. Stakeholders include EV and charger manufacturers, the charge point operators (CPOs) and electric mobility service providers (EMSPs) that deliver public EV charging services, and the back-end software providers whose products manage EV charging networks, energy use and business functions such as driver accounts, billing and roaming reconciliation.

Plug&Charge allows for a seamless roaming experience for drivers, and it delivers a true “charge anywhere” experience. Using Plug&Charge secured authentication, EV owners can charge on the road, across regions and borders and on any eMobility service provider’s EV charging network. This capability is enabled once the EV owner pairs the EV’s unique identifier (PCID) with the EV charging app.

The start of the roll-out of Plug&Charge in Germany at all hyperchargers from alpitronic is scheduled for the last quarter of 2023.