Stations That Match the Current EV Trends

2024 brought us new trends, and electric car chargers aren’t exception. This industry is constantly changing, introducing new standards and specifications. Let’s acquaint ourselves deeply with them.

There are 5 current tendencies we follow now. ISO15118 is leading but monopolized by Tesla. Smart EV charging is the best solution for EV car charging station and is comfortable for the user who gets a notice about the process, so it doesn’t need to worry about the charging. That feature opened considerations about the development of the vehicle to everything charging technologies. The Open Charge Point Protocol is still developing and is presented in OCPP 2.0.1 version. And the final point is the charging as a service.

Cyber Switching is on the pulse of the developments and reacts at the demand immediately. Not surprising for the company whose experience in innovative creative is 20 years.

ISO15118

Many people dream of plugging the cord in the charger and refilling their car without problems. Today most drivers need to pay for subscription and depend on the branded application map. But not Tesla drivers. Elon Musk monopolized that standard. But now it has become available to everybody, so we expect a boom of new stations.

Of course, the driver will need the software, but the clever station will recognize the linked car anywhere./ That adapts the settings to your transport specifications. Now the Tesla Supercharger is one of the best in this category.

Smart charging

This is the previous generation of ISO15118. It supposes the developed infrastructure for communication between the cars, charging stations, and electricity providers about the load of the station. That helps to regulate the timing and power of charging depending on the type of car.

There are two types of management in this area. UMC (User-managed charging) means the driver uses the type of refill in the app. It chooses the option regarding the price or time available.

An alternative to the method is the SMC. It allows the supplier to restrict the voltage or other parameters to balance the grid. Such an example is rejection to charge at the consumption peak times (usually 7 to 11 am and 5 to 8 pm, but may be local variations.

There is one problem with renewable energy. It’s OK and empowers the purpose of using wind and solar energy for charging purposes. Clean energy is good, but it depends on the weather. Of course, we can build them in the Arizona and California deserts and transport the electricity throughout the country. But will it be effective taking into account the loss on the route to the final customer? And how much will we pay for it?

Most stations in the Cyber Switching assortment are smart. But we need to mention its branded CSE1 as the best commercial EVSE in this category. This level 2 station has plenty of settings. Besides, it has advanced security options. It will disconnect in the case of overvoltage or to secure if the tension is too low as well.

Vehicle to…

This idea considers cars as mobile electricity storage. That allows them to operate them more efficiently. For example, you finish the overnight renewal of your car and turn on the station to send the electricity to the grid in the daytime to earn money. But that will confuse the smart system. It will consider that your car is charged while you need to find a charger.

However, such a method has one major disadvantage – it shortens the lifecycle of both the station and electric vehicle battery. Anyway, that business won’t be beneficial because the expenses may be higher than you expect.

Any station fits for this operation. But the best here is ABB. This multinational brand has various ideas for every business available. Thus, everybody can find a compatible station to fulfill its capabilities. ABB has the highest top power at the level of 360 kW. That’s like two tram cars!

OCPP

The Open Charge Point Protocol for EV drivers is like the ChatGPT for programmers. Really, you install the station and apply the functions from the customizable list. That approach has the great advantage of service localization. The new version, OCPP 2.01, improves security and introduces blockchain implementation for better transaction handling. It can transmit important information to drivers on the screen. The experts consider that the transition to the new protocol will start in 2024.

British Petroleum created the BP Pulse stations lineup to provide qualitative service around the world. It’s ready to implement the new protocol with the guarantee of a better experience. Maybe one time that station will inform you about the special personalized discounts. It’s really cool.

Charging as a service

This feature concerns businesses and public places rather than charger manufacturers. The electric vehicle supply equipment is a must-have for the responsible public place owner or contributor. You can attract new customers plus the extra profit. That trend has been developing since 2020, when many businesses had to adapt to the pandemic. EV stations helped many entrepreneurs to save their businesses from operating.

Shell is an example of a branded service for businesses. Today the company has 90000 EV stations throughout the world. It plans to install another 50000 EVSE sets by 2025.