Reimagined EV Charging Experiences & Software Solutions

SAN FRANCISCO — JULY 16, 2024 — LF Energy, the open source foundation focused on harnessing the power of collaborative software and hardware technologies to accelerate the energy transition, announces the release of LF Energy CitrineOS 1.3.0. This new release marks a significant advancement in CitineOS’ implementation of an Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 2.0.1 compliant Charging Station Management System (CSMS). S44 Energy, a global leader in EV charging solutions, lead contributions to the latest version as part of an open source community developing CitrineOS. This underscores S44 Energy’s commitment to driving innovation and scalability within the electric vehicle charging industry.

S44 Energy, a leader in revolutionizing global EV charging experiences, announces its membership in the Open Charge Alliance (OCA). The OCA is dedicated to advancing global development, adoption, and compliance of communication protocols within the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure through collaboration, education, testing, and certification.

Ever been on a long road trip with your electric vehicle and finally found an available charging station, only to realize your charging network card isn’t accepted? You try your credit card, but the hardware’s too finicky. You call customer service, and they suggest downloading an app and registering. At this point, all you want is a simple way to charge your car without jumping through hoops, the way it used to be at the gas pump! Enter Scan-N-Charge, a seamless solution designed to make EV charging as simple as scanning a QR code. This innovative project, developed by our team at S44, exemplifies the kind of user-friendly, tech-forward solutions we specialize in.

The shift to electric power is revolutionizing the transportation industry, especially for long-haul trucks. Four key stakeholders—governments, truck manufacturers, charger manufacturers, and CSMS companies—have significant interests in electrification. The U.S. government's (Transition to Zero-Emission Heavy-duty Vehicles) and the EU's (AFIR) initiatives demonstrate government support, addressing key challenges like charging infrastructure, costs, grid impact, and en-route charging.

EV adoption at scale is highly reliant on government-funded and -supported infrastructure. Consider the endless miles of gas stations that fuel America’s cities and highways today. Each gas station’s infrastructure is standard and can be operated by any gas company. If British Petroleum moves out, ExxonMobil can take over, never leaving drivers without access to gas. This is because the U.S. government recognizes gas stations as critical infrastructure.

As more drivers embrace electric vehicles (EVs), innovative car and charging solutions are hitting the streets. Manufacturers, distributors and drivers all have something to gain, whether it’s from new technology, improved compatibility or the adoption of industry-wide standards. Let's take a look at the EV charging and driving trends that will take hold in 2024 and beyond.

In our first webinar, we discussed how CitrineOS can help to upgrade EV charging networks to the OCPP 2.0.1 standard. In our newest blog post, Thana Paris, our Director of Open Source Program, answers your most asked questions in detail.

Thana Paris discusses how standards, accessibility, and user-centric focus shape the path to seamless innovation in this article on Spiceworks.

Thana Paris joins industry experts who share predictions for 2024. Read her thoughts on the future of EV charging in the 16th annual VMblog.com series.

Julian Offermann argues that open standards will expedite a new EV charging network and meet consumer demands for widespread coverage

For many EV charging station networks, the transition to the modern and new OCPP 2.0.1 standard is a real challenge. In this article, Thana Paris shows how software developers can best overcome these challenges with open source software.

OCPP is a protocol that outlines the requirements for standardized EV charger management software, but it’s up to users to implement it.