What is OCPP(Open Charge Point Protocol) and How its helpful in EV Charging

OCPP stands for Open Charge Point Protocol. Basically, it is an open specification for EV charging stations enabling them to communicate with a centralised management system.

It’s similar to a smart home where your light switches, air-conditioners and even garage doors are exchanging messages with your phone so that everything can be controlled from one place.

How does OCPP Work?

OCPP is the open-source language used by charging stations and network management systems to communicate with one another, no matter how different they may be. The OCPP communication protocol was written and published by the Open Charge Alliance (OCA), based in the Netherlands, to promote open standards for EV charging networks globally.

Essentially, the OCPP’s role is to make any EV charging station work in a compatible way with any charger management software. Charge points rely on OCPP compliance to enable charging sessions, manage remote diagnostics, and ensure a secure exchange of data.

The latest OCPP version is OCPP 2.0.1, which delivers some improvements over OCPP 1.6. The OCPP 1.6 version, as an application protocol, has also been improved to meet current industry standards and is therefore still in use as people slowly adopt OCPP 2.0.1.

Who Uses OCPP?

We can identify three different players in the field of EV charging that need to cooperate seamlessly for a great end-user charging experience:

1. EVSE Manufacturers: These are hardware companies that manufacture the EV chargers themselves.
2. CSMS Software Providers: These are software companies that build charging station management systems (CSMS).
3. CPOs: These are the charge point operators (CPOs) who own the customer relationship. They’re the brands that EV drivers interact with.

Using OCPP to enable smart charging

What is smart charging? Smart charging controls the charging point’s power output to reduce energy costs and ensure the on-time departure of electric vehicles. The most common use cases for smart charging are load management and demand response.

OCPP offers smart charging messages that send smart charging commands from the charging software to the EV charger. The charger receives the OCPP message and adjusts the power level accordingly. Most smart charging use cases allow the optimization of load and energy over entire charging locations rather than one single charge point.

Without OCPP, most charge point operators could not deploy large charging locations. OCPP can also be combined with other standards, such as openADR, to allow more complex utility integrations for demand responses and spot pricing.

OCPP Benefits

Most things in life come with both fors and againsts. OCPP breaks this “rule of thumb” and brings you a win from every angle.?

Let’s start with the main advantage - OCPP enables charging stations to communicate with management systems from various vendors. If you know how many suppliers there are with how many different payment plans, you will surely appreciate this opportunity. ?

Some other excellent benefits as well! Here they are:

• Flexibility Just imagine: your software provider suddenly folds and is no longer there to offer you the services you need. What do you do then? The answer is simple if your charging stations are OCPP-compliant - you change the provider and find a new one within a couple of days.?
• More independence The market offers plenty of hardware and software options. The more freedom you have, the more likely you are to find the one that suits you best. ?
• Financial security? Sometimes, network operators raise their prices out of the blue. But that’s not a conspiracy theory, so they don’t do it all together. With OCPP, if one network operator increases prices, you can switch to another one in no time.

Example: OCPP in Action

A typical sequence of events for electric vehicle drivers when they need to charge their car looks like this:

1. The driver makes a reservation request for a particular charger prior to arriving at the charging station, typically through a mobile app or through messaging.
2. On the backend, this charger is put on hold for the driver.
3. As the driver arrives, they identify themselves and the charger authorizes them.
4. The charger physically unlocks the connector that the driver plugs into their car.
5. The charger starts the charging session.
6. The driver enters a nearby store for a cup of coffee and eventually receives a notification that the charging session has ended.
7. The driver sets the connector back into the socket and the charger locks the socket.
8. The charger triggers a billing event with the driver according to their usage and the CPO’s pricing.

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