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Network interoperability and secure payments: the twin pillars of EV charging infrastructure
EV charging stations are projected to post a 14.3% combined annual growth rate from 2019 to 2025. Network interoperability and secure payments are key to the evolving EV infrastructure.
June 26, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
With an election year approaching, "green" solutions are getting plenty of attention as public interest in sustainability has reached a record high.
One rapidly expanding "green" technology, electric vehicles, represents a growth opportunity for kiosk manufacturers, as EV charging stations are projected to post a 14.3% combined annual growth rate from 2019 to 2025, according to MarketersMedia, a research firm.
As with any new technology, EV vehicles have faced their fair share of challenges. A lack of uniform standards among EV charger networks has emerged as an issue for this relatively young and evolving industry, but progress is on the horizon.
According to a recent white paper by ABB Inc., a multinational corporation active in the automation technology industry, a key challenge of EV charging infrastructure is the interoperability among charging stations. For consumers to feel confident about owning EV vehicles, drivers need to be able to charge their vehicles at available charging stations. Proprietary charging systems that are only available for a certain make of vehicle require drivers to sign up for an additional network, download a new app, and/or get a new payment card.
Network interoperability evolves
Fortunately, progress has been made in interoperability of different charging networks.
Three charging networks — EVgo, ChargePoint, and EV Connect — recently signed an agreement that allows drivers to use charging stations from any of the three networks with any of the three networks' apps, according to a cleantechnica.com report.
"It's almost a little like the cell phone roaming model of a few years ago," said Dave Koma, vice president of sales and business development, industry solutions, at Elatec USA Inc., referring to the model that allows a mobile phone being used outside of its home network to connect to other cellular phone networks.
RFID technology key to secure payment
Secure, easy-to-use payment methods are also needed to encourage EV adoption.
The emergence of RFID readers for reliable and secure access has been a promising development for EV infrastructure, Koma said. RFID readers contain an integrated circuit that stores and processes information, and an antenna that can transmit a radio signal from a card or a smartphone to a reader.
From the EV charging network operator's perspective, user identification is one of the most important considerations, Koma said. "I need to know who is using this service," he said.
RFID selection considerations
An important consideration in selecting an RFID reader is the reader's ability to accept different RFID user identification protocols.
One German based EV charger manufacturer, EBG compleo, recognized the benefits of RFID readers when it bid on an upgrade project for the city of Berlin. Beginning in 2016, the city installed 400 EV charging stations, for which it required a specific RFID user identification protocol. One challenge EBG compleo faced was that it had never previously worked with the local protocol.
Elatec's RFID reader supported the local protocol, enabling EBG compleo to secure the bid.
"The reading flexibility of the Elatec multi-reader enables us to answer any RFID protocol requirements in cities and regions all over the world," Dag Hagby, CEO of EBG group, said in an Elatec case study.
"We have a very broad-based reader," Koma said. Elatec RFID readers can read more than 60 RFID card technologies, including NFC and BLE technologies that are increasingly used with mobile devices. "We can do all of them in a single device. We're prepared to accommodate any one of those (EV charging hardware) manufacturers."
Moving forward, Koma expects smartphones will become prevalent devices for accessing EV charging stations. Such systems save the charging station operator the cost of issuing physical cards.
Elatec readers can be reconfigured to support smartphones, Koma said, meaning there is no need to replace the reader to support smartphone apps.
Challenges ahead
Challenges do remain for EV charging infrastructure.
While many EV charging stations rely on RFID enabled credit cards or smartphone apps, some U.S. states have proposed mandatory credit card readers. A recent study by the Digital Citizens Alliance has warned that such credit card readers would subject EV vehicle drivers to risk of fraud, cybercrime and identity theft. Proposals in California, Vermont, Nevada and Arizona call for payment technologies such as magnetic stripe readers that cyber criminals exploit on a daily basis, the study noted.
Challenges are to be expected for emerging technologies. Fortunately, solutions exist to allow EV charging networks to support the rapidly expanding EV market.
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About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
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