The challenge of making EV charging a walk in the park

The future for Electric Vehicles in India is looking marginally good. Most of the top auto giants have already invested time and money into this venture and there are a mentionable number of EVs on the road. However, the real challenge for India is the number of electric car charging stations, which is perhaps the only deterrent that is holding back the masses from investing in EVs.

Clearly, people want to charge their batteries and hit the road as effortlessly as filling their tanks with fuel. No one wants to waste time hunting for available and working charging stations. Without ample EV charging infrastructure, the average driver will ever have to face the anxiety of his battery dying out on him. Are there any solutions? There sure are.

Simple solutions for EV charging infrastructure

1. Driver-friendly solutions

Not all drivers are going to be tech-savvy or loaded with money. These two aspects must be designed in a way that they cater to all the drivers who arrive at the station. The station must be compatible with all EVs. Drivers can choose between fast packages that come with higher fees and standard packages that come with basic charges. Easy-to-use, secure payment gateways and cloud-connecting software will make it easy for the public to find the station with their smartphones.

2. Sophisticated operational solutions

The efficiency of the back-end system also matters as much. Usage of high-end software and technology will support the seamless functioning of the station. Operators will be able to monitor the network status and ascertain which stations are currently available, in use or reserved. Operators can manage everything online-from troubleshooting to responding to hotline requests and making reservations.

Furthermore, using such an advanced back-up system will help to keep a tab on regular drivers who visit that station. It will also provide easy management of authenticated driver details and usage records.

3. Flexible and adaptable back-end systems

To manage multiple EV charging stations across the nation, the provider must have a super-strong back-end system that allows operators to monitor and control public charging stations from one single base. All charging stations must be connected to the back-end system with the help of an application-based protocol. The success of the EV charging infrastructure depends on how flexible and reliable this back-end system is. Big cities can choose Open Charge Point Protocol- a smart technological option that helps to keep track of multiple charging stations, regardless of the manufacturer.

What is Open Charge Point Protocol

OCPP is an application-based protocol that allows communication between a charging point and the central network system. The objective of the OCPP is to enable a seamless, glitch-free network between the EV charging station’s operators and the drivers. OCPP is already popular in countries that have over 10,000 charging stations because it is easy to adopt and does not require any licensing cost.

Many vendors are already welcoming OCPP as a must-have asset because they see it as a great way to reduce costs as it is vendor-neutral.