In an effort to increase electric vehicle adoption, the B2B Marketplace demonstration allows drivers to charge their vehicle and pay in any location across borders and geographies, regardless of their energy provider, an approach similar to international roaming for mobile phones. This project aims to allow cross network communication between multiple charging stations and various utility companies, in any territory.

As a result, EV drivers can travel without the worry of being too far from an allocated charge post or one supported by their provider. Utilities will also benefit, as the IT platform provides interoperable standards and payment support, reducing potential management issues with financial settlement and international conversion.

Part of the Green eMotion project, the initiative is funded by the European Union with the goal to establish a Europe-wide infrastructure for electric vehicles by 2015. This is part of the broader European Recovery Plan to reduce CO₂ emissions by 60% by the year 2050.

Based on IBM software and IBM SmartCloud Enterprise, the project creates a scalable open-standards environment that enables manufacturers and service providers to link their various services according to consumer and industry requirements. Using analytic software, participants will also have the insight to develop new or improved services to support more electric vehicles as the market grows. Green eMotion partners such as Enel, SAP and Siemens developed the required EV services.

Green eMotion is spearheading many key developments that have the potential to reinvent Europe’s complex transportation system and energy infrastructure. For other countries around the world, there is a lot to be learned from this initiative. Our goal is to help add a new layer of intelligence to the electric vehicle market and a new level of convenience to the driver through the Green eMotion project. We believe the demonstration project will foster innovation and further transformation across a larger geographical footprint.

— Clay Luthy, IBM Global Distributed Energy Resource Leader

IBM is one of 43 partners in Europe involved in the Green eMotion project, including energy providers, electric car manufacturers, as well as cities and research institutions, working to enable electromobility across Europe. Similar to the recently announced project with ESB Networks, IBM is helping to improve power grid reliability, encourage EV adoption amongst consumers, and address the challenges of financial and billing settlement by combining cloud and analytic capabilities.