Innovative company launches new software to solve major problem with EV charging: 'There is really no reason to look elsewhere'

OpenOCPP, a free open-source software package that lets companies build electric vehicle chargers compatible with existing charging networks much faster, has been launched by ChargeLab, reported Electrek.

The software enables EV chargers to communicate with charging station management systems on nearly any hardware setup. It works with current Open Charge Point Protocol standards on devices from simple microcontrollers to advanced linux systems. This flexibility makes it suitable for many types of charger designs.

EV charger manufacturers spend considerable time and resources developing their own firmware to meet industry standards. This often takes 18 to 24 months, slowing down new product releases and limiting progress in the charging market. Many smaller companies struggle with these lengthy development cycles.

Using OpenOCPP, companies can cut this timeline to just a few weeks. The software includes robust security that meets the most stringent OCPP 2.0.1 requirements, integrates with many backend systems, and passes the necessary tests immediately. This ready-made solution removes major hurdles for manufacturers.

OpenOCPP doesn't lock charger makers into using ChargeLab's management system either. Companies can pair it with any back end that supports OCPP standards, giving them more freedom in their product design.

The software now runs on over 4,000 chargers through early manufacturer programs, many used by big companies with tough security needs. It can even run on systems with as little as 4 megabytes of memory, making it suitable for low-cost charger designs.

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By making development easier, OpenOCPP puts more charging options on the market faster. This gives consumers more choices while boosting EV adoption, which reduces transportation pollution. The open-source license also means the software will keep up with future OCPP changes.

"ChargeLab's embedded software stack helped us launch faster," said FractalEV founder Chris Mendes. "With OpenOCPP going open source, there is really no reason to look elsewhere for an OCPP communication stack."

"We've designed an incredibly memory-efficient embedded software stack that can run on any underlying hardware," added ChargeLab Chief Technology Officer Ehsan Mokthari, who also co-chairs the Open Charge Alliance's OCPP 2.lite working group.

"OpenOCPP also comes with enterprise-grade security pre-built, so manufacturers can get up and running quickly," Mokthari added.

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