EV charger operating system manufacturer ChargeLab has recently introduced OpenOCPP, a groundbreaking free and open-source software stack that is set to revolutionize the EV charging industry. This innovative software stack is the first of its kind, being hardware-agnostic and pre-certified, supporting OCPP 1.6J and 2.0.1. In simpler terms, it enables EV chargers to communicate effectively with charging station management systems (CSMS) across a wide range of hardware setups, from lightweight ESP32 microcontrollers to full Linux embedded systems.
Traditionally, EV charger companies have had to invest significant resources in developing and certifying their own firmware to support OCPP, a process that typically takes 18 to 24 months, hindering rollout and innovation. However, with the introduction of OpenOCPP, ChargeLab claims that this timeline can be reduced to just a few weeks.
Ehsan Mokthari, the CTO of ChargeLab and co-chair of the Open Charge Alliance’s OCPP 2.lite working group, explains, “We’ve designed an incredibly memory-efficient embedded software stack that can run on any underlying hardware. OpenOCPP also comes with enterprise-grade security pre-built, so manufacturers can get up and running quickly.”
As a member of the Open Charge Alliance (OCA), the organization behind OCPP, ChargeLab has ensured that OpenOCPP is added to the OCA Validation Test Bed, facilitating companies in verifying that their products conform to OCPP standards.
The benefits of OpenOCPP for EV charger manufacturers are manifold. It offers built-in security that meets the toughest standards of OCPP 2.0.1, does not restrict manufacturers to a single provider, and is compatible with ChargeLab’s CSMS or any other backend supporting OCPP. Moreover, it passes the OCA’s conformance test tool out of the box and meets California’s CTEP requirements. With its ability to run on microcontrollers with as little as 4MB of memory, its modular design, and open-source Apache 2.0 license, OpenOCPP is well-equipped to handle future developments in the OCPP industry.
One company that has already embraced OpenOCPP is FractalEV, a North American Level 2 EV charger manufacturer. They have successfully deployed units using a beta version of the software across over 20 CSMS platforms, enabling them to launch faster and more efficiently.
OpenOCPP is currently running on over 4,000 chargers through manufacturer beta programs, with many deployed by major corporate customers with stringent cybersecurity standards. As OpenOCPP exits beta today, ChargeLab invites more manufacturers and developers to join the project and benefit from this cutting-edge software stack.
