Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI)
Suppliers of software for companies that provide services in the field of e-Mobility services and charging station management often refer to the acronym OCPI. What exactly is this interface and what can you do with it?
Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) is an open protocol used for connections between charging station operators and service providers. Simply put, this protocol facilitates automated roaming for EV drivers between different EV charging networks. This interface supports the affordability and accessibility of charging infrastructure for EV owners, allowing drivers to charge across different networks. The protocol provides accurate data on charging stations, such as location, accessibility and pricing, and takes into account real-time billing and mobile access to charging stations.
The OCPI protocol is managed and maintained by the EVRoaming Foundation, making it freely available to software vendors.
How is OCPI being used?
OCPI consists of several modules. The role of a company in the EV landscape determines which modules of OCPI you need and how you use it.
| OCPI Module | CPO | eMSP | Hub | NSP | NAP | SCSP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDRs | Sender | Receiver | Both | |||
| Charging Profiles | Receiver | Both | Sender | |||
| Commands | Receiver | Sender | Both | |||
| Credentials | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both |
| Hub Client Info | Receiver | Receiver | Sender | Receiver | Receiver | Receiver |
| Locations | Sender | Receiver | Both | Receiver | Both | |
| Sessions | Sender | Receiver | Both | Receiver | ||
| Tariffs | Sender | Receiver | Both | Receiver | Both | |
| Tokens | Receiver | Sender | Both | |||
| Versions | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both |
Last Mile Solutions and OCPI
Last Mile Solutions is one of the companies that pioneered the most widely used EV Charging standards, such as OCPP and OCPI. We were also the first to integrate smart innovative charging solutions such as dynamic charge distribution, renewable energy integration and vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G). Our solution for Charge Point Operators (CPOs) is cloud-based, which means new features come to you automatically.
EVRoaming Foundation
The EVRoaming Foundation manages and supports the Open Charge Point Interface protocol (OCPI) as a free, reliable standard worldwide. The ultimate goal is to give every EV rider the ability to charge at any charging station. The EVRoaming Foundation wants to ensure that OCPI is a sustainable and strong protocol that will remain accessible in the long term. The foundation is not limited to OCPI and can also support other related activities and services.
OCPI documentation and repository
Developers can find the code and (open source) documentation of OCPI in the Github repository.
