Why does Plug & Charge not work everywhere yet?
At the next stop, a charger from another operator. The driver plugs in and waits. Nothing happens.
After a minute, the driver taps the provider's card, and charging starts at once.
The questionWhy did Plug & Charge work in the morning and not here?
| Needed | If missing | |
|---|---|---|
| CarISO 15118 and a contract certificate | card or app | |
| ChargerISO 15118, certificate, roots | card or app | |
| BackendOCPP 2.0.1 or the 1.6 extension | card or app | |
| Contractprovider offers Plug & Charge | card or app | |
| Trustcar's and charger's roots accepted | card or app |
When one condition is missing, charging still works with a card, an app or ad hoc payment.
Five parties have to meet
Each of the five conditions sits with a different company: the car manufacturer, the charger manufacturer, the operator, the provider and the certificate authorities. works only where all of them meet.
What helps
- Data: 2.3.0 added flags on connectors for Plug & Charge compatibility, so apps can show where it works.
- Trust: shared governance of several PKIs and , coordinated in Europe with the EU Sustainable Transport Forum.
- Protocols: newer versions support the certificate functions natively.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
Plug & Charge does not start, but the card works at once. What is the most likely reason?
The charger and contract work, as the card shows; something in the Plug & Charge chain is missing.
How can apps show where Plug & Charge works?
OCPI 2.3.0 added Plug & Charge compatibility flags on connectors.
Why does Plug & Charge depend on many companies?
Manufacturers, operator, provider and certificate authorities each hold one condition.
- OCPP Open Charge Point Protocol: the open protocol between a charger and its operator's backend. EV charging fundamentals, stop 03 Glossary
- OCPI Open Charge Point Interface: an open protocol for roaming between operators and e-mobility service providers. EV charging fundamentals, stop 03 Glossary
- 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
- Trust list A list of root authorities that cars and chargers accept, so certificate chains from different authorities work together. Stop 04 Glossary
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI version history. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/version_history.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- CharIN: Plug & Charge at CharIN: standardised and interoperable. https://www.charin.global/technology/plug-charge/. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- Open Charge Alliance: What is new in OCPP 2.0.1? Whitepaper, version 1.0, March 2023. https://openchargealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/new_in_ocpp_201-v10.pdf. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY-ND 4.0.