The Internet of Things helps electric vehicle charging facilities move into the future

The electric vehicle solutions and technology landscape are changing rapidly. The integration of IoT technologies is redefining the future of charging facilities. On the other hand, the demand for smart charging networks is also increasing.

IoT empowers electric vehicle charging facilities

IoT charging facilities are changing the entire industry landscape. Charging stations can communicate with each other and with the power grid to optimize charging time and energy use, ensuring that electric vehicles can be charged quickly at a lower cost during low electricity consumption. In addition, the IoT can provide real-time data on charging station availability, energy consumption, and user behavior, enabling efficient grid management and helping users quickly find available charging stations. The IoT also helps remotely monitor and maintain charging stations, detect problems early, and reduce downtime and maintenance costs.

Advantages of IoT Charging Solutions

IoT charging solutions have significant advantages, including real-time monitoring and remote management capabilities. It facilitates predictive maintenance, minimizes downtime, and ensures the optimal operation of electric vehicle infrastructure. For drivers, it can easily track charging status, locate stations, and check maintenance needs, thereby improving user experience.

These solutions also allow charging stations to adjust charging rates based on real-time grid demand and energy supply, thereby optimizing energy management. This helps stabilize the grid by smoothing demand fluctuations and avoiding congestion. In addition, global networks, including cellular and non-cellular, also play a vital role to ensure seamless data management and connectivity regardless of location.

Meeting connectivity and management needs

To meet the changing needs of the electric vehicle charging ecosystem, BICS offers a variety of innovative solutions. Its globally unified eSIM and connection management platform "eSIM HUB" allows roaming destinations to use preferred local configurations, ensuring seamless global connectivity. For companies that want to manage their connectivity business and achieve profitability, BICS turnkey solutions provide comprehensive tools to simplify operations and maximize revenue. In addition, BICS fully supports the API connection management platform, simplifies integration with back-end systems, has ready-to-use cloud connections between data centers of all major cloud providers, and connection twins for creating digital twins of infrastructure. Together, these solutions improve the efficiency, reliability and scalability of electric vehicle charging networks and promote the development of the industry.

Opportunities for OEMs

The market offers a variety of opportunities for OEMs. As electric vehicles become more popular, there is a growing demand for a variety of charging infrastructure. This includes fast charging stations for long-distance travel as well as energy-efficient charging centers for urban areas.

By working with governments and technology companies, OEMs can build a more cohesive ecosystem to support the mass adoption of electric vehicles. These partnerships can focus on emerging technologies such as wireless charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities to drive innovation and advancement in the industry.

Overcoming obstacles to development

Despite the opportunities, the adoption of IoT faces challenges, mainly related to interoperability and standardization issues of IoT protocols and communication interfaces. Security and privacy issues related to data collection and transmission also pose significant obstacles.

To overcome these issues, OEMs should work with partners who provide end-to-end security solutions and assist them in overcoming regulatory barriers. Ensuring fixed IP for device software updates, using APN and VPN for secure connections, and leveraging global connectivity partners with multi-network coverage are essential steps. In addition, manageable automation processes through portals and APIs can simplify integration and improve efficiency.

Success Stories

Let’s look at two use cases that highlight the successful application of IoT technology in the field of electric vehicle charging.

First, some OEMs have successfully implemented smart charging products for electric vehicles. They have worked with IoT solution providers to enhance remote monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities, improving reliability and uptime. This not only improves the user experience, but also makes their brands stand out in a highly competitive market.

Second, system integrators and software vendors (such as BICS’s collaboration with Engie) use IoT to optimize EV charging infrastructure. They deploy customized solutions for various environments, including public and workplace charging, residential areas, and fleet management. They use cloud platforms for real-time monitoring, analysis, and billing, and integrate third-party services such as payment gateways and navigation applications to improve user convenience and operational efficiency.

Innovation shapes the future

The future of EV charging and IoT is promising, led by innovative technologies such as digital twins (connected twins) and real-time data analytics (SMART). These technologies enable data monetization strategies, giving OEMs deep insights into charging patterns, energy consumption, and vehicle performance. This data can be used to develop advanced analytics tools, subscription services, and personalized user products, driving further development and efficiency improvements in the EV charging ecosystem.