98 terms
Glossary
The terms of charging, software, energy and money, each in one sentence and linked to the stop that explains it.
A
- Ad hocCharging without a contract, paid directly at the charger, for example by card or QR code.
- AFIRAlternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage.
- AggregatorA company that pools many small devices, such as cars and home batteries, so they can take part in electricity markets.
- ArbitrageStoring energy when it is cheap and using or selling it when it is expensive.
- AutoChargeAuthorisation of a charging session by the vehicle's MAC address, without a card or app; one of the token types in OCPP 2.0.1.
- AVASAcoustic vehicle alerting system: the sound EU law requires from electric and hybrid cars up to about 20 km/h and when reversing.
B
- Battery electric carA car that takes all of its energy from the grid, with no engine and no fuel tank.
- Battery passportAn electronic record required from 18 February 2027 for EV batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh, with information on the model and the individual battery.
- Bidirectional chargingSmart charging in which the electricity can also flow from the car's battery back to the charging point.
- BMSBattery management system: the car's electronics that decide how much power the battery accepts at each moment.
- Break-evenThe amount of charging at which two offers cost the same; above it, the offer with the lower price per kWh is cheaper.
- Break-even utilisationThe utilisation at which a charger's revenue covers its fixed and variable costs.
C
- CDRCharge detail record: the digital receipt of a session, with energy, duration and tariff.
- Charging modeThe IEC 61851 classes of charging: Mode 2 from a socket with a control box in the cable, Mode 3 from a fixed AC charge point, Mode 4 from a DC charger.
- Charging periodA stretch of a session in an OCPI CDR with its own dimensions, such as energy and time or parking time, and the tariff that applied; a new period starts when the tariff or the state changes.
- Charging poolAFIR's term for one or more charging stations at a specific location, counted together for the targets along the main roads.
- Charging profileAn OCPP message that sets a limit in amperes or watts for a station, for new sessions or for one session, valid for a time or as a schedule.
- Combo 2The DC connector of the combined charging system: the Type 2 shape with two DC pins below, required at public DC points in the EU.
- Construction cost contributionA one-off payment to the grid operator for the grid behind a new or enlarged connection; in Germany, above low voltage, priced per kilowatt of agreed capacity.
- ContactorAn electrically operated switch for high currents; in a DC charger it connects the output to the car only after both have checked the connection and matched the voltage.
- Contract certificateA certificate in the car that binds the driver's contract ID to a key only the car holds, used for Plug & Charge.
- CPMSCharge point management system: the operator's software backend that monitors and controls the chargers. OCPP calls it the Central System in version 1.6 and the CSMS, charging station management system, from version 2.0.1 on.
- CPOCharge point operator: runs the chargers, keeps them available and sells the charging service.
- Credit CDRA record that cancels a CDR already sent; OCPI does not allow CDRs to be deleted, so corrections run through credit CDRs.
D
- Daily restThe rest a truck or bus driver must take each day under EU driving time rules, regularly at least eleven hours; for an electric truck, the long, slow charging window.
- DC/DC converterThe stage of a DC charger that turns its internal DC voltage into the voltage and current the car asks for, moment by moment.
- Depot chargingCharging of fleet vehicles at the company's own site, usually overnight while they are parked.
- Device modelOCPP 2.0.1's standard description of a charger's components and variables, for configuration and monitoring across manufacturers.
- DSODistribution system operator: runs the local power grid and connects charging sites to it.
- Dynamic electricity priceA contract whose price follows the wholesale market, for example quarter hour by quarter hour; available to customers with a smart meter.
- Dynamic load managementLoad management that measures the load at the connection and gives the chargers the room that is left, moment by moment.
E
- eMAIDThe contract ID of an e-mobility contract, carried in the contract certificate for Plug & Charge.
- eMSPE-mobility service provider: issues the charging card or app, sets the driver's price and sends the invoice.
- EPBDThe EU directive on the energy performance of buildings; its 2024 recast sets charge points, pre-cabling and a right to install for buildings.
H
- Heat pumpA heater that moves heat from outside air into the cabin and needs less electricity for the same warmth than a simple electric heater.
- Heavy-duty vehicleA truck or bus above the weight of vans and cars; in AFIR, the vehicles for which dedicated recharging pools are set out along the TEN-T network.
- Hours of useA year's energy divided by its highest quarter-hour power, in hours; German grid fees switch between two price structures at 2,500 hours.
I
- IDROThe body in each EU Member State that issues ID codes to charge point operators and mobility service providers.
- InverterPower electronics that turn the battery's direct current into alternating current for the motor, and back when the car regenerates.
- ISO 15118International standard for the digital communication between car and charger, the basis of Plug & Charge.
L
- LeaseThe contract that lets an operator use a site's parking bays and space for its chargers for a fixed term, often ten years or more, in return for rent or a revenue share.
- LFPLithium iron phosphate: a lithium-ion chemistry without cobalt, lower in cost, with less energy per kilogram than NMC.
- Light goods vehicleA van or small truck for goods with a maximum mass of up to 3.5 tonnes, category N1 in EU vehicle approval.
- Load managementShares a site's grid connection between the cars charging at the same time.
M
- Medium voltageThe grid level of roughly 10 to 20 kV between the high-voltage network and the 400-volt street grid; large charging hubs usually connect here, with their own transformer.
- Megawatt Charging SystemA system of standards for DC charging of heavy vehicles at megawatt power: the connector (IEC TS 63379), the charging equipment (IEC 61851-23-3) and the communication (ISO 15118-10 and -20).
- Mild hybridA car whose small 48-volt motor helps the engine but never drives the car on its own.
N
O
- Occupancy feeA price per minute that AFIR allows at fast chargers to discourage cars from blocking a charge point after charging.
- OCMFOpen Charge Metering Format: the common container for signed meter readings of a charging session, with gateway, meter, identification, readings and signature, kept by SAFE e.V.
- OCPIOpen Charge Point Interface: an open protocol for roaming between operators and e-mobility service providers.
- OCPPOpen Charge Point Protocol: the open protocol between a charger and its operator's backend.
- OICPOpen InterCharge Protocol: the roaming protocol of the Hubject platform.
- Onboard chargerThe converter in the car that turns AC from a wallbox or public AC charger into DC for the battery; its rating limits AC charging power.
- OSCPThe Open Smart Charging Protocol: it sends available grid capacity, including a 24-hour forecast, to a charging operator's backend.
P
- Payment authorisationThe terminal's approval at the start of an ad hoc session; the final amount is captured after the session.
- Phase rotationConnecting charge points in turns, starting on L1, L2 or L3, so single-phase cars spread evenly over the three phases.
- PKIPublic key infrastructure: certificate authorities, their roots and the rules by which certificates are issued, checked and revoked.
- Plug & ChargeThe car identifies itself with a certificate when plugged in, so no card or app is needed.
- Plug-in hybridA hybrid with a socket and a larger battery, so everyday distances can run on grid electricity and longer trips on fuel.
- Power electronicsSemiconductor circuits that convert and control electrical energy: in the car mainly the inverter for the motor, in a DC charger the rectifier and the DC/DC converter.
- Power moduleOne of several identical conversion units in a DC charger; together they set its power, and one can fail or be replaced without the others.
- Pre-cablingCabling installed in advance at a parking space, so a charge point can be added later without new works.
- Price componentsThe parts of a charging price: per kWh, per minute, per session and any other; AFIR sets the order in which they are shown.
R
- RectifierThe first stage of a DC charger, which turns the grid's alternating current into an intermediate direct voltage.
- Regenerative brakingSlowing down with the motor working as a generator, which returns part of the car's energy of motion or height to the battery.
- RepurposingUsing a battery, or parts of it, for a purpose other than the one it was designed for, such as a car battery in a stationary system.
- Revenue shareAn arrangement in which the site host receives a share of the charging revenue, per kWh or per session, instead of a fixed rent.
- RoamingCharging in another company's network with your own card or app.
- Roaming hubA platform that connects many operators and service providers, each through one connection.
S
- Safe and secure parking areaA certified parking area for trucks with security and facilities for drivers; AFIR requires truck charging stations at each one.
- Security profileOne of three OCPP levels of protection, from a password over an unencrypted connection to TLS with certificates on both sides.
- Signed meter valueA meter reading signed by the meter itself, so drivers and operators can check that it is authentic and unaltered.
- Site hostThe owner of the location, who provides the parking spaces for the chargers.
- Smart chargingCharging whose power is adjusted in real time, based on information received electronically, for example from the grid operator or a price signal; EU law calls it smart recharging.
- State of chargeHow full the battery is right now, in percent; the BMS calculates it from voltage, current and temperature.
- State of healthHow much energy the battery can hold today compared with when it was new, in percent.
- Stationary battery energy storage systemIn EU law, an industrial battery with internal storage designed to store energy from and deliver it to the grid or to end users.
- SubstationA facility of the grid operator that transforms electricity between voltage levels; its spare capacity decides how quickly a large new connection, such as a depot, can be supplied.
- Surplus chargingCharging only with the solar power a household does not use itself, above the car's minimum charging power.
T
- Tariff dimensionWhat an OCPI tariff prices: energy, time while charging, parking time or a flat fee.
- TEN-TThe trans-European transport network, the EU's main roads and corridors, divided into a core and a comprehensive network; AFIR sets charging targets along it.
- TokenIn OCPI, what a driver starts a session with, such as a charging card, a key fob or an app account; it carries the contract ID of the driver's provider.
- Trust listA list of root authorities that cars and chargers accept, so certificate chains from different authorities work together.
- TSOTransmission system operator: runs the high-voltage grid and keeps generation and demand in balance.
- Type 2The seven-pin AC connector that EU law requires at public AC charge points.
U
V
W
- WebSocketA connection that the charger opens to the backend and keeps open, so messages can travel in both directions at any time.
- Whitelist typeOCPI's rule per token for cached or real-time authorisation: ALWAYS, ALLOWED, ALLOWED_OFFLINE or NEVER.
- WLTPThe test procedure set in EU law for consumption and range: a 30-minute cycle at an average of 46.5 km/h.