Sharing knowledge freely ensures a faster transition to clean mobility
The energy and mobility market of the future must (remain) open to new ideas and new players. To accelerate the transition to clean mobility, there should be no barriers for newcomers to apply their innovations. That is why ElaadNL encourages and develops open protocols and standards. With Open Source, knowledge is freely shared and a (digital) infrastructure is created for the charging infrastructure to which everyone can connect his or her product. Every vehicle must be able to charge anywhere in the world on any type of charging station and on any energy network.
ElaadNL is a driver and initiator of open source projects in many areas. Our researchers and developers make Proofs-of-concepts (PoCs) of various implementations around smart charging, V2G and interoperability, but also look at, for example, charging transactions with cryptocurrency (IOTA) and communication between charging station and charging infrastructure by means of LoRa. All findings are published and shared.
One of the most primary and influential open source projects is the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). A protocol for all charging stations in the world to provide communication between the car, charging station and back office in the same way. As the name implies, it is an ‘open’ system. Interested parties are free to download and apply the specifications of the protocol. Many organizations that have implemented OCPP participate in the ElaadNL-initiated Open Charge Alliance (OCA), a non-profit foundation with members that monitors the protocol and ensures innovations and updates.
ElaadNL actively cooperates with various organizations to implement Open Source in the charging infrastructure.
Some examples:
In collaboration with the IOTA foundation, researchers from ElaadNL have created a Proof-of-Concept for payment options between car and charging station using the crypto-currency IOTA. IOTA is an open source distributed ledger cryptocurrency that focuses on providing secure communications and secure payments between devices on the Internet of Things. With IOTA, a car could buy and sell energy itself in the future.
In collaboration with the Linux Foundation Energy (LF Energy), ElaadNL is carrying out the OpenLEADR project. This project is an open source implementation of OpenADR, the open standard for exchanging demand response information between global energy companies and energy management and control systems, to better manage energy supply and demand.
The Open Charge Network enables Charge Point Operators (CPOs) and eMobility Service Providers to communicate with each other for free and with very little internal effort. ElaadNL has successfully tested this network together with the Share&Charge Foundation.
The Share&Charge Foundation is an independent non-profit organization with the aim of enabling open innovation for a better charging experience for electric vehicles.