Mer, Hubject and Driivz announce Plug&Charge rollout
The cooperation partners Mer Germany, Hubject and Driivz want to establish Plug&Charge on the German market and will show their vision of seamless charging at the Intercharge Network Conference from 29 to 30 August 2023 in Berlin. Alpitronic’s Hyperchargers are also planned to play a role.
Plug&Charge is known to be an automatic authentication and charging authorisation based on the ISO 15118 standard. Plug&Charge is intended to make RFID cards and mobile apps superfluous by having the vehicle communicate directly with the charging station. The three partners mentioned at the beginning had already entered into a cooperation two years ago to promote the introduction of Plug&Charge.
Among the three participants, Mer Germany acts as the initiator of the cooperation, Hubject as the certification body and Driivz contributes its software platform for charging and intelligent energy management, which is certified according to ISO 15118. This constellation makes it possible for Mer and other Driivz customers (such as Shell Recharge) to now offer Plug&Charge functions to their end customers.
Initially, the focus is now on Alpitronic’s Hyperchargers. The “start of the rollout of Plug&Charge at all Alpitronic Hyperchargers in Germany is planned for the last quarter of this year”, the trio informs. A year ago, Alpitronic’s HYC150 (150 kW) and HYC300 (300 kW) Hyperchargers had already successfully passed Hubject’s audit for Plug&Charge.
Nevertheless, the statement by Mer, Hubject and Driivz is surprising in its globality (“all Alpitronic Hyperchargers in Germany”). After all, Alpitronic’s major customer EnBW will probably not introduce Plug&Charge at its Hyperchargers. EnBW has been critical of Plug&Charge in the past and believes that the solution is too complex. EnBW favours the technically simpler, but from the point of view of Plug&Charge advocates more insecure AutoCharge solution.
Christian Hahn, CEO of Hubject, comments on the upcoming presentation at the IAA Mobility in Munich as follows: “Over the past five years we have gathered invaluable expertise regarding ISO 15118 and Plug&Charge. The result is a solution that is actively driving the EV charging industry toward mass adoption by enabling that seamless and secure charging experience for EV drivers. This joint demonstration illustrates how adopting international standards ensures interoperability between all EV charging industry participants.”
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