Autocharge: Simplifying the EV charging experience

Even though the EV charging market has evolved over the years, charging remains complex for many drivers, with manual authentication and payment processes being the norm.

Offering seamless charging experiences is essential, especially for CPOs investing heavily in DC charging infrastructure. That’s why the industry has been looking for technology that could simplify these manual processes and remove charging friction.

What is Autocharge?

Just plug in and charge

Autocharge does exactly what its name promises: it automatically initiates EV charging the moment a vehicle is plugged in. No manual steps, no hassle. The result? Less charging friction, higher charger utilisation, and stronger customer engagement and revenue.  

Autocharge is steadily becoming a standard in the EV charging ecosystem. Embracing it now helps you stay ahead of your competition and shows you’re on top of technological progress. 

How does Autocharge work? 

The technology behind Autocharge is quite a simple one. It relies on the EV’s ability to communicate with the Charge Point Management System (CPMS) via the OCPP protocol. Nearly all EVs have a unique MAC address (Media Access Control), which identifies them on a network. 

When a driver plugs in, the MAC address is sent to the CPMS, automatically triggering the charging session. Authentication and payment happen in the background. When the driver’s ready to go, they simply unplug, and the charging session stops. 

During the first plug-in, the driver is prompted to enable Autocharge. Once activated, their vehicle’s MAC address is linked to their charging account, enabling automatic recognition at any compatible charger in the future. 

What’s needed for Autocharge to work? 

A compatible vehicle: One that is equipped with a MAC address (most modern EVs are) and uses CCS charging connectors. 

A supported charging station: Autocharge is not yet available on all chargers, but drivers are able to use it on most DC chargers. 

Mobile app access: This applies only to the initial set-up. Afterwards, simply plugging in does the trick.  

Key benefits for CPOs 

As a CPO, your top priority is delivering a smooth, seamless charging experience. But the benefits of Autocharge go far beyond that: 

Increased station utilisation​: Drive more frequent use, especially at DC stations,​ thanks to the simple process. 

Improved ROI​: Get higher returns on premium assets like high-investment fast DC chargers​. 

Market differentiation​: Stand out from your competition by offering modern, app-free charging experiences.

Future-proof offering​: The industry is moving toward touchless, automatic solutions​. Don’t let your offering fall behind. 

Value for EV drivers 

For EV adoption to continue moving forward, simplicity is key, and Autocharge delivers exactly that. By eliminating the hassle of apps and RFID tags, drivers enjoy a smoother experience with multiple benefits.

Faster charging start​: EV drivers save time during their daily charging sessions as the charging starts instantly.

Convenience under all conditions: Autocharge is ideal for charging in poor weather, during nighttime or at high-traffic locations​.

Easy setup​: Autocharge only needs to be activated once. Every time after that, it’s completely automated.  

Autocharge vs. Plug and Charge: What’s the difference? 

As attempting to simplify charging isn’t a recent effort, Autocharge isn’t the first technology of its kind. Some years ago, the industry started working on a solution you might have heard about – Plug and Charge. Even though both technologies aim to solve the same problem, there are some key differences between the two.

As we established, Autocharge is based on the vehicle’s MAC address, while Plug and Charge uses the ISO 15118 standard. This means that Plug and Charge only works with EVs that support ISO 15118, which not all do yet.

Also, thanks to the ISO 15118 standard, Plug and Charge is more secure. Communication between the vehicle and the charger is facilitated using digital certificates and public key infrastructure (PKI). However, the added security comes at a cost; Plug and Charge is much more complex, resource-intensive and costly to implement.

Autocharge serves as an easy-to-implement, secure, and user-friendly solution that is easily adaptable to many EV charging players, especially across Europe. Plug and Charge is a more future-proof solution, but it is still some time away from becoming a widely used standard.

Read more about Plug and Charge here!

We constantly monitor the market’s evolving needs and offer broad, agnostic authentication solutions to meet its demands.

Enable Autocharge with Virta 

Autocharge is only available through certain EV charging network operators. At Virta, we focus on giving our customers the tools to offer simple EV charging experiences. That’s why we made Autocharge available through our platform. 

As a CPO, once your chargers are configured in the Virta system, we enable Autocharge for you.

After activation, your Autocharge-compatible stations will become visible and identifiable in the Virta app. This way, EV drivers will easily find your chargers with a few taps. 

Ready to enable Autocharge on your charging stations? Let’s talk!