Mobena harmonizes the deployment of new services for EV charging
May 17, 2021. The Mobena initiative was created in July 2020 by the main French professional organizations representing the electromobility ecosystem in the French market. The goal is to simplify the user experience by ensuring interoperability between charging systems and leading the way towards the deployment of a new generation of EV charging in the French market. The initiative now reaches two key milestones:
- the demonstration of an interoperability solution between multiple PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), organized with international partners of June 2nd, 2021. Learn more
- the kick-off of a collaborative project that gathers the e-Mobility actors and aims for ensuring a successful roll-out of the new EV charging services in the French market.
Towards an open and fair market with a reference architecture
The Mobena initiative’s objective is to ensure a successful deployment in the French market of the ISO 15118 services (Plug and Charge -PnC- and smart charging) in a harmonized way with Europe.
To do this, adopting a reference architecture, from technical and organizational point of view, is key. Such architecture shall ensure interoperability and enable an open and fair market between all EV actors and allow end-users and operators to freely select their providers.
A first technical feasibility verification
In preparation for the event planned on June 2nd, the Mobena initiative partners tested the technical feasibility of the Certificate Trust List (CTL) as a solution for Plug and Charge (PnC) interoperability between multiple PKI.
On March 11th 2021, VEDECOM hosted a Workshop for this objective at mobiLAB with the contribution of Freshmile, GIREVE, Hager, Groupe Renault, Stellantis, SAP Labs, Thales et Trialog
About the Mobena initiative
The Mobena initiative was created in July 2020 by the main French professional organizations representing the electromobility ecosystem in the French market. The goal is to simplify the user experience by ensuring interoperability between charging systems and leading the way towards the deployment of a new generation of EV charging in the French market.
Coordinated by VEDECOM, the Mobena initiative committee regroups AFIREV, AVERE-France, PFA, GIMELEC, UFE and VEDECOM.
About twenty companies representing the different roles in the ecosystem have joined this initiative. The mission is to support the players of the EV charging ecosystem, operating in France, by defining the roadmap and the means to ensure a successful and harmonized deployment of the e-Mobility services. The Mobena project, which will be launched in July 2021 and extended to more partners, will particularly focus on integrating interoperability as an initial requirement and providing high added value services through a massive adoption of the ISO 15118 standard in a competitive and open market.
A particular focus will be put on Smart Charging, Plug and Charge and the implicated end-to-end system interfaces, including backend communication protocols (OCPP, OCPI…), PKI and cyber security. This for both AC and DC charging.
For more information: Joe.matta@vedecom.fr
More information about Mobena initiative:
MOBENA website
It will bring a better experience and more services to users. In addition, it will save costs!
Industrial representatives from all electric mobility players gathered in a first plennery session. Their aim is to support the deployment of the new-generation electric mobility. Ultimately, any AC and DC terminal installed in France should be compatible with the ISO 15118 vehicle-terminal communication standard, but also secure and interoperable.
If you have ever owned an electric vehicle, you know the pleasure of less polluting the air… but also the complications of recharging. Today, electric vehicle charging system is at a crossroads. The price of electric vehicles becomes accessible, the batteries are breaking distance records. To allow a better user experience and more services, the major remaining obstacle is the maturity of charging systems. If overcame, it will bring smart charging, plug & charge (see definitions below) and later on, bidirectionnal charging systems (the car recharges the network) or even wireless systems.
To achieve this, the main French and European players are converging towards compliance with a standard for communication between terminals and vehicles, the ISO15118 standard. However, to enable the emergence of terminals compatible with this standard, and therefore an open market, it is necessary to bring all the players around the table and agree on the final specifications. One major point remains to be defined: that of cybersecurity (PKI).
General mobilisation
To this end, the main organisations representing the sectors involved in electric recharging joined forces on 7 July 2020 in the form of an Initiative for New-Generation Electric Recharge: AFIREV (Association Française pour l’Itinérance de la Recharge Electrique), AVERE (Association nationale pour le développement de la mobilité électrique), PFA (Plateforme Française de l’Automobile) and the VEDECOM Institute (research and innovation on the mobilities of the future), the latter being tasked with coordinating the initiative.
Several workshops then gave rise to a plenary meeting on 17 September 2020, bringing together around fifteen French industrialists from each sector: energy specialists such as Enedis, car manufacturers such as PSA Group, such as Schneider Electric, charging infrastructure and e-mobility services operators such as Freshmile, technology and services for e-mobility suppliers such as Trialog.
Electric Charging Initiative partners ©VEDECOM
The circle will gradually be extended to all manufacturers in order to deploy the ISO 15118 standard by 2023.
The plenary session enabled the participation of other institutional actors such as the French Ministry of Ecology (DGEC), which supports and accompanies the Initiative. It will ensure that the specicifications defined by the Initiative for the developpers are consistent with the French “Objective 100,000 charging stations” plan. The Ile de France Region was also participating. The local authority is working since 2029 on the deployment of more than 5,000 charging stations by 2022, notably with the help of the IRVE label: a system that complements national aid such as Advenir. Finally, the initiative is working together with existing French and European working groups on this theme.
3 years to manage the deployment of a standard
If one wants to implement 15118 standard into charging systems and allow plug & charge service, it is first necessary for the charging stations manufacturers to make them interoperable, i.e. able to recognise any electricity supplier and any charging infrastructure operator. It is also necessary for charging infrastructure and e-mobility services operators, as well as for technology and service providers, to learn how to make this standard work, how to implement new blocks in their information systems. This first step will allow cardless charging and plug & charge. Finally, they need to improve the security of the connection.
To achieve this, VEDECOM, as the project’s prime contractor, has proposed a two-step calendar:
- First step (2020): define the adapted cybersecurity architecture (ISO 15118 PKI) for Plug and Charge (PnC).
- Second step (by 2021-23): define a standardised, interoperable and industrialisable PnC and Smart Charging system to support a collaborative deployment. Some tests will be carried out on pilot sites. Various documents will be produced by the working group, training and technical workshops will be proposed in 2021 and 2022. At the end of this stage, all the players will benefit of all necessary tools and knowledge. By 2023, the planners and operaters will be able to start the deployment of the new-generation electric charging.
What will ISO 15118 bring in charging systems?
- Plug & Charge (PnC): this solution automatically identifies the user’s service contract by simply connecting the charging cable between the vehicle and the terminal, with a high level of security and a simplified user experience. It therefore avoids the need for multiple badges: “you plug in the cable.. and the charging process starts automatically”.
- Smart charging: this solution enables to program a recharging schedule that is negotiated between the terminal and the vehicle and optimised according to their technical constraints, the needs and requirements of the driver and the network electrical constraints.
Plug & charge preconditions :
- a service contract installed in the electric vehicle
- an electric vehicle and a PnC-compatible terminal
- interoperability so that any vehicle can be recharged at any charging station
Discover the main partners of the initiative:
- PFA (Plateforme Française de l’Automobile)
- AFIREV (Association Française pour l’Itinérance de la Recharge Electrique)
- AVERE (Association nationale pour le développement de la mobilité électrique)
- VEDECOM Institute (research and innovation on the mobilities of the future),
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