CharIN Testival Showcases Innovative Advances In EV Charging At Record-Breaking Event

The CharIN Testival and Conference, hosted by Lincoln Electric showcased new milestones in the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry with this year’s event marking the largest to date in Ohio, bringing 415 participants from various sectors of the EV ecosystem.

In details of the CharIN Testival and Conference, the event focused on improving EV charging security, interoperability, and communication. In detail, the Testival displayed several technical EV charging advancements including:

• Multi-PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) testing
• Prescribed testing for Plug & Charge and PKIs
• End-to-end Plug & Charge testing
• Testing of products with the ISO 15118-20 protocol

Steve Sumner, Vice President of Corporate Innovation at Lincoln Electric, expressed the importance of this event and other similar ones stating, “CharIN events like this, focused on ensuring robust interoperability, are crucial for the industry’s growth and ultimately, for instilling consumer confidence.”

An important highlight was the successful multi-PKI testing, which allows automotive producers to verify EV compatibility across various charging stations. Notably, this year’s event marked the first time online PKI testing linked charging stations directly to the backend, bringing the tests closer to real-world situations.

CharIN Testival and Conference Highlights

In terms of other highlights, the ChargeX Consortium, a collaboration between national laboratories, led an optional prescribed testing program. Sam Thurston, Testing Task Force Lead of the ChargeX Consortium, noted, “Twenty-two testers opted-in to the program, reserving 30 minutes of each testing slot to follow test procedures with defined pass criteria.”

Another highlight is Hubject, which conducted the first end-to-end Plug & Charge testing at the event. Trishan Peruma, Hubject North American CEO, underlined the importance of such testing for providing a reliable charging experience.

Furthermore, the event also featured demonstrations of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s EVerest project, Seamless Retry, and Remote Test Harness. In addition, it saw the debut of charging equipment products integrated with the ISO 15118-20 protocol.

Oleg Logvinov, Chair of CharIN North America, spotlighted the event’s focus on comprehensive interoperability stating, “We’re not just testing interoperability between the vehicle and the charger; we’re also looking at end-to-end interoperability, including the charge point management system.”

As the EV market sees more events like the CharIN Testival, it plays a crucial role in ensuring that charging infrastructure keeps pace with EV technology. With nearly 60 million EVs expected on roads by the end of 2024, the need for seamless integration between EVs and charging infrastructure will be a paramount aspect for the EV industry to resolve soon.

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