Ekoenergetyka implements Plug&Charge

Poland’s primary charging infrastructure provider Ekoenergetyka is implementing its own Plug&Charge technology. The first seven charging hubs in the Ekoen network will feature easy charging before the year’s end.

Ekoenergetyka has developed its own Plug&Charge application based on ISO 15118. The harmonised integration is still the “result of years of work and testing”, says the company based in Zielona Gora. The town is about 200 kilometres from Berlin, known as the Western Gate to Poland.

As for Ekoenergetyka, the company emerged as a spin-off in 2009. The starting signal for Plug&Charge development was given in 2020 when Eko joined the CharIN organisation – also in preparation to enter the consumer-facing charging business. A year later, the first tests with car manufacturers took place within the CharIn Test Festival framework. In 2022, Eko completed comprehensive tests with vehicle manufacturers to ensure compatibility with the company’s Plug & Charge software. This is not just about electric cars: tests were also carried out with Daimler Truck’s eActros in 2022, and Eko is prominent in the specialised e-bus business.

According to the company, one focus during development was on cyber security. Plug&Charge is based on certificates in the vehicle, the charging station and the mobility service provider. These certificates enable the vehicle to authenticate itself with the MSP and the charging station to start the charging process – billing is done via the deposited contract. Hubject holds the pool for these certificates. For the end customer, the start of the charging process is automatic once the cable is plugged into the vehicle – all individual steps are carried out by the Plug&Charge system on its own.

“Plug&Charge is a technology that works like magic. The process is technologically complicated but invisible to the customer,” says Michal Malecki, head of software development at Ekoenergetyka. “Everything happens automatically, which makes using the chargers extremely intuitive and easy.”

Ekoenergetyka, as a charging station manufacturer, is also bringing Plug&Charge directly to its charging network called Ekoen. In Poland, Plug&Charge is being implemented in seven HPC hubs but will also be available at other facilities, such as bus depots. Since entering the market, Eko claims to have equipped 20% of Europe’s charging stations for municipal buses with so-called Ultrachargers.

Source: Info via email