Epyon supporting open source OCP protocol for back-office integration for EV fast chargers
30 May 2011
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| The role of OCPP. Source: E-ladd.nl. Click to enlarge. |
Epyon Power, a European supplier of intelligent fast-charging solutions for electric vehicles (earlier post), announced compatibility with the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), developed by the E-laad.nl Foundation, a initiative of the collaborating gas and electricity network operators in the Netherlands, and other companies.
Epyon said that it will also embrace other commonly used standards for back-office integration.
Epyon’s Terra charge stations are the first DC chargers to offer compatibility with OCPP, a free-to-use standard. Compatibility with such protocols allows service operators to connect Epyon Terra charge stations in the field with their centralized back office, enabling real-time user authentication and authorization and a variety of other charging-related functionalities.
Epyon will also release a range of interfaces for back-office systems that support proprietary protocols, including the POD Point Network protocol by POD Point Ltd. All Terra DC fast-charging systems can be delivered with a built-in RFID reader, which allows users to swipe their card and be authenticated in any back-office system via the network link.
This latest addition helps operators get the most out of our networked solutions. It allows them to seamlessly integrate their charging operations into the existing back office, which will boost their efficiency and flexibility. This capability will soon be available to every charging network operator – no matter which back-office system they use.
— Wil van Gils, CTO of Epyon
Business and technology service company Logica has developed an OCPP-based back-office system called Chargepoint interactive Management System (CiMS). CiMS was already available for regular AC charging; now it’s also available to operators of DC fast-charging networks, said Rob Leijn, Managing Director Commercial Sector at Logica.
I still think induction home charging will be the way. Public chargers need to be available, but standards are a MUST.
Posted by: SJC | 30 May 2011 at 08:34 AM
Why make use of plastic cards, power cables and connectors? Electrified vehicles should have their own (IP like) cordless identification. Standard worldwide wireless induction charging is the way to go.
Posted by: HarveyD | 30 May 2011 at 09:48 AM
DC fast-charging systems
Induction has to be AC, these are quick charging DC. If you can get 6 kW through induction and are in the mall for an hour, you could get 20 miles more range, that might be enough for most people.
Posted by: SJC | 30 May 2011 at 10:17 AM
as soon as someone creates a lightweight 10-15Kw range assist, all of this money people are spending on quick charging will be a thing of the past. Make it small and you could even hang it on the rear bumper as an add-on.
Posted by: citizen | 30 May 2011 at 01:34 PM
The Crower six cycle might make an interesting genset.
Crower
Posted by: SJC | 30 May 2011 at 03:20 PM
You can get fast charging thru wireless power transfer, high frequency induction.. and yes the AC can be rectified to DC :)
Posted by: Herm | 30 May 2011 at 04:27 PM
Sure it can and will to charge the batteries, but what these guys seem to have in mind is a wire connection of DC to charge the batteries. I would say if there is a standard in the U.S. this could catch on. People may not mind plugging in once in a while to get a major charge in a short period of time.
Posted by: SJC | 30 May 2011 at 08:52 PM
Crower's system needs a very large amount of water compared to fuel, and does a crappy job of recycling heat. On top of that, it has the usual issues with temperatures below freezing. It's clever but not going to create a revolution. Make it better at turning waste heat to work and fix the freezing problem, and you've got something; until you do, you're more or less reinventing the Kitson-Still locomotive.
Fast-charging pretty much requires a plug for a cable (conductive charging). As long as a vehicle has one, it raises two questions:
- should the vehicle have a second charging connection?
- If so, should it be inductive or other?
A conductive charging system which allows charging in motion (probably much cheaper to lay rails in a roadbed than coils) holds out the potential for unlimited range. Given that, infrastructure cost is a very important consideration. I suspect that inductive doesn't win that one.Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 04 June 2011 at 09:09 PM