Tritium Chargers Getting Simpler: No Card-Tap Needed

Brisbane-based charger manufacturer Tritium is taking the tap-to-pay step out of electric vehicle charging, with a Plug and Charge feature called Autocharge.

Autocharge will let EV charging operators recognise the car automatically and start a charging session without the owner needing to either tap or insert a payment card (providing a similar experience to a Tesla Supercharger where you simply plug in and walk away).

It’s been implemented in the latest release of the software behind its RTM 75kW and PKM 150kW chargers.

As well as being simpler for users, there are benefits for operators, Tritium said in its media release: for busy sites, it removes a step from the charging process, and site rollout is simpler because Autocharge removes the need for a credit card reader.

The company says Autocharge offers a new approach to vehicle identification that offers the same security as RFID cards.

Partner Lynkwell is the first adopter of Autocharge, and has activated the technology on RTM chargers at several fleet company sites.

The technology Autocharge supports, Plug and Charge, implements the ISO 15118 communications protocol, which handles the authentication, authorisation and billing for EV charging via the charging cable, without needing a physical RFID card or authentication via a smartphone app.

As Tritium explains in this 2020 white paper (pdf), Plug and Charge lets the customer “plug in the car, receive a charge, and drive away knowing that payment has been effortlessly managed via a set of digital certificates that contain pre-approved payment configurations.”

Lynkwell’s VP of engineering Nick Bordeau said:

“Autocharge allows drivers of personal, commercial, or fleet vehicles to simply plug in and walk away. Benefits like increased ease and efficiency that also leverage telematics compound the value over large fleets and help drive large scale EV adoption.”

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/tritium-chargers-autocharge/