ISO 15118

International standard for the digital communication between car and charger, the basis of Plug & Charge.

Explained in

EV charging fundamentals · Stop 08What standards make all of this work?ISO 15118, OCPP, OCPI and AFIR mapped onto one charging session: which agreement makes each moment possible, and why certification matters.

IEC 61851 and ISO 15118, vehicle to charger: safe signalling, and with ISO 15118 Plug & Charge, where the car identifies itself and the tap is no longer needed.

From “Four standards, four connections”, stop 08

Also in

  1. Load management · Stop 03How does a backend tell a charger how much power to use?The car can talk too
  2. Load management · Stop 04How is power divided between cars?Where the data comes from
  3. Plug & Charge · Stop 01What changes when the car identifies itself?Automated, not anonymous
  4. Plug & Charge · Stop 04Who issues the certificates?Several roots, one market
  5. Plug & Charge · Stop 05How does the certificate get into the car?OCPP versions and Plug & Charge
  6. Plug & Charge · Stop 06Why does Plug & Charge not work everywhere yet?What helps
  7. Bidirectional charging · Stop 08One evening of V2H, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  8. Fleet charging · Stop 04How is every vehicle ready by morning?Knowing the vehicle
  1. Plug & ChargeThe car identifies itself with a certificate when plugged in, so no card or app is needed.
  2. AFIRAlternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage.
  1. IEC: IEC 61851-1:2017, Electric vehicle conductive charging system, Part 1: General requirements. https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/33644. Checked 07 Oct 2026.
  2. ISO: ISO 15118-20:2022, Road vehicles, Vehicle to grid communication interface, Part 20. https://www.iso.org/standard/77845.html. Checked 07 Oct 2026.