EVgo interoperates with ChargePoint & EV Connect
EVgo just announced a massive expansion of roaming access to public chargers for EVgo customers across the US. The expansion has been made possible with bilateral interoperability agreements with network providers ChargePoint and EV Connect.
As a result of these agreements, EVgo customers will have access to the more than 400 fast charging stations operated by these networks, in addition to more than 750 EVgo DCFC stations across the US.
EVgo customers will be able to access fast chargers as well as more than 9,000 Level 2 stations from all three charging companies using their EVgo app. Jordan Ramer, Founder and CEO of EV Connect said that his company is a perfect partner to supplement the EVgo network since they have “4,500 charging stations conveniently installed in the parking lots of government agencies like the LA Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the NY Power Authority as well as at Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Marriott, Hilton, and Western Digital”.
Interoperability means that drivers can roam between charging networks without the need for additional cards or accounts. More so, industry-wide collaboration and cooperation without third-party aggregators help keep down the costs of the companies involved.
EVgo is already using equipment compliant with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) that enables remote activation and troubleshooting on all DC fast chargers on the EVgo public network.
EV Connect has already made interoperability agreements with Electrify America (the Volkswagen subsidiary founded to build charging infrastructure as a consequence of the diesel scandal) as well as with Greenlots and SemaConnect.
This new cooperation is well in line with recent news from the California Air Resources Board that is considering a new regulation in two weeks, which would mandate that EV charging network operators must become more interoperable. What this would effectively mean, is that an EV driver in California would no longer have to sign up for a membership or subscription to use a public electric vehicle charger. A hard hit or perhaps a chance for operators such as Chargepoint, Electrify America und EVgo as the draft legislation would require network operators to facilitate roaming for users.
The same point was made by Marissa Galizia of ChargePoint in our recent interview, also with a view to Europe.
Additional reporting by Nora Manthey.
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