What is OCPI (Video) | Quick introduction to Open Charge Point Interface protocol

Growth of electric vehicles is phenomenal; there are more than 5 million EV’s on the road already. As the numbers of electric vehicles increase, number of charging stations and charge point operators (CPO) & eMobility Service Providers (EMP) are also exploding. But unfortunately not all these E-Mobility providers are speaking a same language to communicate each other.

Just think about a scenario : Shell gas stations accept only Visa card ; BP accepts only Master card; and like wise every gas station accepts only their own payment method. If you want to roam (refuel) between multiple gas stations , then you will have to possess a Master, Visa…and every other bank card! Do you think the fueling of your car will be seamless anymore with this scenario?. That’s exactly the issue the charging pools and charge point operators are currently going through.

Fortunately, the E-Mobility industry does not have to reinvent the wheel!. Open charge point protocol (OCPP) in combination with Open Charge Point Interface protocol (OCPI) makes the eRoaming between different charging station operators seamlessly – with the same/similar roaming principles from telecom and banking industry.

The Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) enables a scalable, automated EV roaming setup between Charge Point Operators and eMobility Service Providers. It supports authorization, charge point information exchange (including live status updates and transaction events), charge detail record exchange, remote charge point commands and the exchange of smart-charging related information between parties.

Below video by NKL may give a quick introduction to OCPI:

To learn more about : What is eRoaming and why it is critical for E-Mobility Interoperatbility