Plug & Charge

The car identifies itself with a certificate when plugged in, so no card or app is needed.

Explained in

EV charging fundamentals · Stop 08Which standards and rules make all of this work?IEC 61851 and ISO 15118, OCPP, OCPI and AFIR mapped onto one charging session: three technical standards for the connections, one EU regulation for the duties, 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 “Three standards for connections, one regulation for duties”, 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. OCPP in depth · Stop 09One day of messages, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  3. OCPI and roaming · Stop 08One session abroad, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  4. Plug & Charge · Stop 01What changes when the car identifies itself?Automated, not anonymous
  5. Plug & Charge · Stop 04Who issues the certificates?Several roots, one market
  6. Bidirectional charging · Stop 08One evening of V2H, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  7. Regulations and compliance · Stop 03What must a driver be able to do without a contract?Always a way to pay
  8. Regulations and compliance · Stop 08One charger, fully checkedThe review in seven moments

Named in 3 further stops as well.

  1. ISO 15118International standard for the digital communication between car and charger, the basis of Plug & Charge.
  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.