The Plug and Charge concept allows the EV driver to initiate charging by simply plugging in the cable. No fumbling with an app or trying to locate an RFID chip.
Underneath that end-user simplicity exists a much more complex ecosystem of certificates and digital handshakes between the car, the charger, the charge point operator (CPO), the e-Mobility Service Provider (eMSP), and the roaming network (Hubject).
Don’t worry, however. In Spirii Connect, we have reduced that complexity for the admin experience as well by enabling the CPO to install and activate Plug and Charge with a single click:
🤩 Why enable Plug and Charge on your chargers?
Plug and Charge is a much more hassle-free charging experience for the end users, leading to higher satisfaction scores on the location and a higher rate of returning users.
How does it work?
The Plug and Charge (P&C) solution is built on Hubject’s ecosystem, meaning that charging via this authentication method is handled as any other roaming transaction.
When P&C is enabled on a charge box, the charge box is available for this authentication method to any roaming EMPs who have subscribed to Spirii’s offer in Hubject.
When an EV driver with a P&C-compatible car (e.g. Audi e-Tron Q6) and a payment contract with an eMSP visits the location, charging will start automatically when the cable is connected.
How to enable Plug and Charge on a charge box?
☑️ Prerequisites:
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Only Connect users with the “Operator” role can enable Plug and Charge.
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Only charge box models that are feature-validated for Plug and Charge by Spirii can be enabled via Spirii Connect (As of now only Alpitronic HYC_300).
In Spirii Connect, the operator needs to do the following:
- Ensure that the location:
- Has Enabled for roaming set to Yes.
- Has a tariff set.
(The tariff defines the pricing of the P&C transactions - Note: This refers to the normal tariff and not the legacy tariff) - Has a roaming tariff set
(This is a general requirement to have the location published to Hubject but is otherwise not related to the plug and charge setup)
- Has Enabled for roaming set to Yes.
- Go to the Charge Boxes tab:
- ⚠️ Ensure that the charge box is online and all connectors are in an Available state, i.e. no active charging sessions are in progress.
- Click the three dots to open the menu for the charge box.
- Select Plug & Charge.
- Enable the feature.
When the button is switched on, an “ installation in progress” spinner will be presented to the user. The charger will go through the installation process which includes a reboot and a subsequent installation and activation of certificates when the charger comes online.
Expect the whole process to take a few minutes.
When the Plug and Charge enabled ✅ text is displayed, the charger is ready to receive Plug and Charge users.
This is also confirmed when viewing the charge box in the table afterward:
How do pricing, payment, and billing work?
The price for charging via this method is defined by the tariff set on the location in Spirii Connect (i.e. not the roaming tariff nor the legacy tariff).
This means that the end user pays the same amount as a Spirii app user or RFID holder would + any additional rate the eMSP might put on top.
👀This also means that the Plug and Charge solution supports Spirii’s advanced tariff settings like dynamic pricing and conditional fees!
The driver pays through whatever deal they might have with the eMSP similar to other roaming transactions. Spirii will then invoice the eMSP (who owns the P&C certificate in the EV).