The Peer-to-Peer Future of EV Charging

In cities where EV drivers believe they have limited access to publicly available charging infrastructure, the resulting range anxiety hinders plug-in EV (PEV) adoption rates. VW’s subsidiary, Electrify America, required investment in infrastructure because of the dieselgate settlement, which should help reduce range anxiety in many areas. A variety of new technologies are bringing new value to the existing EV charging infrastructure, a trend that could also help ease range anxiety and grow the EV market.

Communication Standards

Many standards from organizations such as the Society of Automotive Engineers have been established for communications between EVs and EV supply equipment (EVSE). Of note is International Standards Organization (ISO) 15118, which specifies a common understanding of all processes between an EV and EVSE. Specifically, ISO 15118 standardizes the communications between the EV communication controller and the supply equipment communication controller. The communication standards enable everything from bidirectional charging to transaction services. Vehicles that comply with ISO 15118 will allow for automatic owner account authentication at charging points that both prevents data manipulation and initiates seamless smart charging of EVs. The establishment of this standard enables bidirectional charging, which can provide utilities with grid services and creates the groundwork for the buying and selling of electricity between the grid, EVSE, and EVs.

RFID Technology

South Korea has been aggressively trying to support and expand its EV fleet. In 2015, the City of Seoul partnered with company Power Cube to give out special electric charger cables to enable drivers to recharge their vehicles at 100,000 locations with standard outlets. These cables are equipped with RFID readers that scan an RFID tag attached to the power outlet to be used. Power Cube then processes the transaction by transmitting the driver’s identity, time, place, and electricity purchased via a 3G wireless module included in the charging cable to Power Cube. Power Cube bills the user later, and then pays the electricity provider.

Seoul hoped that the giveaway would incentivize more private EV ownership; as of the program launch, the majority of EVs in Seoul were owned by public sector entities. It intended to give out all 100,000 cables by 2018. Each cable costs 1 million won (about $917) and has a charge capacity at 3.3 kW. While there has been no coverage of the program since its inception, there continues to be a market opportunity for transaction authentication in the EV charging space, with the City of Busan’s launch of a similar program in 2016.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain could offer a low cost and reliable way for transactions to be recorded and validated across a distributed network with no central point of authority. It also removes some of the technological barriers associated with dynamic and wireless charging; these services can use blockchain technology to record and validate the purchase of electricity from these chargers automatically, without driver intervention.

In Germany, blockchain technology can be used to authenticate and manage the billing process for EV charging stations. For example, Car eWallet will enable a driver’s car to pay for charging, with no need for pulling out a credit card.

Share&Charge, another e-mobility service, has completed its pilot in Germany and is partnering with eMotorWerks to bring its services to California. Participation in the pilot will be based on a first come, first serve basis. Share&Charge uses the Ethereum blockchain because of its support for smart contracts. It creates a token on this chain and users provide/receive payment in these tokens that then can be redeemed for traditional currencies.

Although the use of these services for widespread dynamic charging services is still a ways down the road, these EV-focused transactional services could expand publicly available charging infrastructure by enabling point-to-point sharing of private EV charging stations. They could also enable future applications such as toll payments and carsharing services.

Guidehouse Insights’ upcoming report, Wireless EV Charging, focuses on how wireless charging technology has become increasingly more efficient over the past couple years. A growing number of pilot programs and applications are popping up around the world. As these actors move forward with expanding charging infrastructure, developing technologies may help process and authenticate future transactions.