Who issues the certificates?
The charger's certificate chains to one root, the car's contract certificate to another.
The session still works: the car carries the charger's root, and the charger's backend accepts the contract's root through its trust list.
The questionWho issues the certificates, and how do different issuers come to trust each other?
Several of these roles can sit in one company; the structure is the same.
Several roots, one market
There is not one single root for . CharIN, the industry association behind the combined charging system, does not operate systems itself; it handed its PKI root to Irdeto for operation in 2024 and coordinates the governance of a multi-PKI architecture for Europe, including work with the PKI subgroup of the EU Sustainable Transport Forum in 2025.
CharIN also coordinates OPNC, a neutral API that builds on and supports environments with several V2G PKIs and several provider PKIs.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
Does CharIN issue Plug & Charge certificates itself?
CharIN states that it does not operate PKI systems; it handed its root to Irdeto in 2024 and coordinates governance.
What does a trust list do?
With several roots in the market, a list of trusted roots lets their chains work together.
Who needs the contract certificate to be created for it?
The contract belongs to the provider, so the contract certificate is issued for the provider's contract.
- ISO 15118 International standard for the digital communication between car and charger, the basis of Plug & Charge. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- Plug & Charge The car identifies itself with a certificate when plugged in, so no card or app is needed. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- PKI Public key infrastructure: certificate authorities, their roots and the rules by which certificates are issued, checked and revoked. Glossary
- V2G Vehicle to grid: the car feeds energy into the public grid; because one car's effect is small, many cars are usually pooled by an aggregator. Bidirectional charging, stop 02 Glossary
- CharIN: Plug & Charge at CharIN: standardised and interoperable. https://www.charin.global/technology/plug-charge/. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- CharIN: Plug & Charge at CharIN: standardised and interoperable. https://www.charin.global/technology/plug-charge/. Checked 13 Oct 2026.