Irdeto announced a strategic partnership with Pionix, a trailblazer in open-source EV charging technology, to enhance the security and reliability of the EV charging ecosystem. This collaboration integrates Irdeto CrossCharge with Pionix’s uMWC (Ultra Mega Watt Charger) which is based on the Linux Foundation Energy (LF Energy) EVerest Project, the leading open-source technology for EV chargers.
This partnership addresses a critical challenge in the EV market: interoperability. With a wide range of chargers and protocols available, ensuring secure and seamless charging experiences across different networks can be complex. By combining Irdeto’s expertise in digital security with Pionix’s knowledge and experience with the LF Energy EVerest technology, this partnership delivers a robust, secure, and universally compatible solution.
Simplifying Certificate Management for a Seamless Plug & Charge Experience
Irdeto CrossCharge’s PKI, certificate provisioning service (CPS) and certificate pools are at the core of this partnership. These services simplify certificate management for charge point operators (CPOs), mobility service providers (MSPs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). By enabling secure authentication and connection establishment between EVs and chargers, CPS ensures a seamless Plug & Charge experience without any manual interaction. Irdeto CrossCharge is tailored to meet the diverse needs of the EV charging industry, from charge point operators and mobility service providers to critical infrastructure managers by delivering cryptographic keys and certificates that ensure secure and streamlined EV charging.
LF Energy EVerest is an open source modular framework for EV charging, consisting of multiple modules which can be configured and customized for any possible business case. It covers most major industry standards such as OCPP and ISO 15118-20. LF Energy EVerest has been proven to make EV charging much more reliable. Due to its collaborative open source model, EVerest has the potential to cut down on the problems EV drivers have had when chargers don’t work or aren’t properly maintained.
LF Energy EVerest was originated by Pionix and contributed to LF Energy in early 2022. Based on EVerest, Pionix provides a commercial version of EVerest, PIONIX BaseCamp. The enterprise-ready operating system for EV chargers comes with constant testing, regular updates and ensures a reliable and convenient EV charging experience.
“Partnering with Irdeto allows us to strengthen our EVerest based solution with state-of-the-art certificate management capabilities,” said Dr. Marco Möller, CEO of Pionix. “For a reliable charging experience, it’s important to have a solid, high-quality EV charger operating system. With Irdeto’s support, we’re ensuring we meet the needs of OEMs and the broader EV market in regard to reliability and interoperability, delivering on the promise of secure, seamless charging experiences.”
Accelerating the Rollout of Secure and Reliable Charging Solutions
The partnership between Irdeto and Pionix promises to ensure compatibility with Plug & Charge standards by providing robust certificate support. To this end, Irdeto CrossCharge provides pre-installed Production (PROD) and Quality Assurance (QA) certificates on Pionix’ uMWC, a portable battery powered DC charger for developers running EVerest. This setup enables OEMs to confidently test their solutions and accelerate the rollout of secure and reliable charging infrastructure.
This partnership also ensures that chargers that run EVerest meet U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) requirements. By providing fast, reliable, and equitable charging solutions. EVerest can ease the application process for the NEVI funding, which covers up to 80% of project costs for qualifying charging locations. With over 20 companies already using EVerest, this collaboration paves the way for wider adoption of secure and interoperable EV charging solutions.
“Our partnership with Pionix is a significant step towards building a more reliable EV charging ecosystem,” said Niels Haverkorn, SVP of New Markets at Irdeto. “By integrating Irdeto CrossCharge with the innovative EVerest platform, we’re simplifying certificate management and ensuring secure communication between vehicles and chargers. This collaboration sets the standard for secure, interoperable Plug & Charge experiences that work across all networks.”
