What standards make all of this work?
The session needed a charger talking to a backend, companies recognising each other's customers, a car agreeing limits with a charger and a visitor paying by card.
None of this works between different companies and devices without shared rules. You have already seen each of them at work. Here they get their names.
The questionWhich agreement made each moment of the session possible?
Guess firstAn operator wants to change its backend provider without replacing 800 chargers from four manufacturers. What makes that possible?RevealHide
OCPP. Because chargers and backends use the same open protocol, the operator connects the existing chargers to the new backend instead of replacing them. This freedom to combine hardware and software is a central benefit of open standards, and the reason tenders ask for certified conformance.
Governs the exchange between car and charger (stop 4): IEC 61851 the basic signalling, ISO 15118 and DIN SPEC 70121 the digital dialogue. ISO 15118 also enables Plug & Charge, where the car identifies itself.
You have crossed each of these connections in the earlier stops.
Four standards, four connections
- , charger to backend: chargers and backends from different manufacturers work together.
- , company to company: one card works in many networks, alongside other protocols such as .
- IEC 61851 and , vehicle to charger: safe signalling, and with ISO 15118 , where the car identifies itself and the tap is no longer needed.
- , the EU regulation for public charging: payment, price information, data and coverage.
AFIR step by step
payment at every public charger; new ones accept electronic payment, by card from 50 kW.
Operators publish operational status, availability and ad hoc prices through an open interface.
Along the core network, a every 60 km in each direction, with at least 400 kW per pool.
Existing fast chargers along the TEN-T need a card reader or contactless payment.
The pools along the core network grow to at least 600 kW, with two charge points of 150 kW or more.
From datasheet to field
“Supports OCPP” on a datasheet is a starting point. Implementations can differ in details such as start-up behaviour, offline handling or error recovery. Certification programmes and tests with the actual backend before rollout close this gap, which is why tenders ask for certificates.
The standards also evolve. New versions add security, and , so the choice of version is an ongoing decision.
Check your understanding
4 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
Why are the standards introduced at stop 8 and not at stop 1?
The method of this path: understanding first, names afterwards.
What does Plug & Charge (ISO 15118) remove from our session?
The card is no longer needed: a contract certificate in the car handles the authentication.
Which rule ensured that the visitor without a contract could pay?
AFIR sets the common rules: anyone can pay ad hoc, with the price shown before the session.
What turns “supports OCPP” from a claim into confidence?
Implementations differ in details. Certificates and tests close the gap between datasheet and field.
- OCPP Open Charge Point Protocol: the open protocol between a charger and its operator's backend. Stop 03 Glossary
- OCPI Open Charge Point Interface: an open protocol for roaming between operators and e-mobility service providers. Stop 03 Glossary
- OICP Open InterCharge Protocol: the roaming protocol of the Hubject platform. Stop 03 Glossary
- Roaming Charging in another company's network with your own card or app. Stop 03 Glossary
- Ad hoc Charging without a contract, paid directly at the charger, for example by card or QR code. Stop 05 Glossary
- ISO 15118 International standard for the digital communication between car and charger, the basis of Plug & Charge. Glossary
- Plug & Charge The car identifies itself with a certificate when plugged in, so no card or app is needed. Glossary
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. Glossary
- Charging pool AFIR's term for one or more charging stations at a specific location, counted together for the targets along the main roads. Charging infrastructure, stop 01 Glossary
- Bidirectional charging Smart charging in which the electricity can also flow from the car's battery back to the charging point. Bidirectional charging, stop 01 Glossary
- TEN-T The 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. Truck charging, stop 05 Glossary
- Smart charging Charging 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. Bidirectional charging, stop 01 Glossary
- Open Charge Alliance: Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). https://openchargealliance.org/protocols/open-charge-point-protocol/. Checked 07 Oct 2026.
- EVRoaming Foundation: Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI). https://evroaming.org/ocpi-background/. Checked 07 Oct 2026.
- 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.
- 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.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 07 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 07 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 3, 5 and 20. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 07 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- Open Charge Alliance: OCPP certification programme. https://openchargealliance.org/certification/. Checked 07 Oct 2026.