After four and a half years of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging innovation, the eCharge4Drivers project has concluded its journey. The 29 project partners developed and demonstrated innovative technologies and services to help make EVs as convenient to use as internal combustion engine vehicles, especially within cities and for longer trips, supporting the transition to EVs in Europe. Aligning with ERTICO’s vision for cleaner mobility, eCharge4Drivers significantly contributed to increasing electric mobility and supporting the sustainability goals outlined in the European Green Deal. The project also reinforced the priorities of the 2Zero Partnership, a European initiative dedicated to zero-emission road mobility.
Launched in 2020, under the European Commission’s Horizon2020 programme, eCharge4Drivers aimed to improve the charging experience to make it easier for users to switch to an EV. The project addressed common challenges, such as the lack of interoperability between charging solutions, unintuitive or confusing interfaces of some charging stations, and the uneven deployment of the charging infrastructure between regions, which often does not meet current needs. eCharge4Drivers successfully demonstrated a wide range of user-friendly options in ten demonstration sites, paving the way for a harmonised charging experience in Europe.
From the outset, eCharge4Drivers placed users at the heart of its work to guide the project’s solutions and ensure they align with user needs and expectations for greater acceptance. The project conducted two surveys at different stages to collect user feedback on the tools provided, including battery swapping, smart charging, enhanced booking, route planning, and Plug and Charge. The feedback revealed a positive reception among users, with many expressing satisfaction with the tools’ simplicity and effectiveness. Users’ willingness to adopt the project’s solutions underscores the success of the eCharge4Drivers approach and highlights the critical importance of engaging with users when developing future solutions.
The eCharge4Drivers solutions to make EV charging more attractive
To make EV charging more accessible and efficient, the project developed various advanced technologies, services, and tools. These included charging stations for different types of vehicles and enabling fast charging, a requirement for most users. These modular and scalable stations were developed for both EVs and Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) and feature ergonomic displays, longer cables, and inclusive access. In addition, smart charging stations with an improved interface were tested in Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Austria, where they proved more intuitive for users and resulted in energy cost and peak load reductions for operators thanks to optimised charging.
To address challenges with planning long-distance trips, the project introduced a route planner, an enhanced charging station booking service, and a real-time navigation tool. Providing useful information before, during, and after charging, these tools improve the charging network accessibility and enable drivers to find a charging point based on specific needs, such as location, battery charge requirements, or time slots available.
The ISO 15118-2 Plug and Charge service was tested to enable seamless and more secure communication between EVs and charging stations, without the need for different apps or cards. The project worked on conformity testing and validation scenarios to provide valuable technical recommendations for EV manufacturers and Charge Point Operators (CPOs) to achieve interoperability, a key requirement to enable Plug and Charge.
More targeted solutions include battery swapping stations for LEVs, which reduces the vehicle purchase cost and offers ultra-fast charging as simple as putting a new battery. Tested in Berlin and Barcelona, the service is gaining popularity and is expanding rapidly to new locations. The feasibility of charging points on lamp posts was also explored in Grenoble. These proved more challenging due to technical constraints, such as restricted charging during the day. This demonstration highlighted the importance of political support and integration with legacy technologies to make this solution more widely available.
Additionally, a new tool was developed to help operators and administrations plan the future development of the charging infrastructure. By incorporating socio-demographic data, mobility flows, and existing charging session data, the tool enables data-backed, long-term planning to ensure charging infrastructure is deployed where it is most needed.
Recommendations for the future of sustainable and user-friendly electromobility
To ensure the continued impact of its advancements, eCharge4Drivers focused on producing recommendations and guidelines for investors and public authorities for future charging investments, an effort led by ERTICO. The recommendations and guidance were formed based on the experiences from the project partners in developing and demonstrating the solutions, as well as from a European interview survey with 26 public authorities and CPOs, covering legal aspects, payment, deployment rules and incentives, and EV parking and charging spaces. The main recommendations that emerged emphasise the need for design guidance tailored to specific zones like heritage areas, as well as clearer differentiation in regulations between public street and off-street charging. Increased grid connections and fast charging availability along highways and at destinations were identified as priorities to reduce the need for slow urban charging points and for scarce urban street space to be needed for charging. From an operational perspective, streamlining the location planning process for CPOs and planning future integration with public transport and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) emerged as key recommendations. The guidelines also stress the importance of user-friendly interfaces and interoperability between all EVs and chargers, which requires closer cooperation among stakeholders. Political support is also crucial to ensure long-term development and ensure the benefits of innovative EV solutions reach all users.
Andrew Winder, Senior Manager at ERTICO and ERTICO lead in the project, comments: “The EV charging landscape is evolving rapidly, with innovation but also often fractured services and local public authorities lacking appropriate guidance and good practice. eCharge4Drivers took a major step to address these issues and its engagement with public authorities and end users was as crucial to its success as the technologies themselves”.
Celebrating the end of an important chapter in Barcelona
eCharge4Drivers held its Final Event on 7 November 2024 in Barcelona to showcase its key achievements and exchange with experts on the project’s impact and legacy. The interactive programme featured presentations on selected eCharge4drivers solutions, focusing on their benefits for users, and provided ample opportunities for attendees to share feedback and explore future opportunities. A roundtable discussion with experts from the INCIT-EV, USER-CHI, and TIPS4PED projects highlighted the need for coordinated efforts to address regulatory and market challenges.
The event provided an opportunity to celebrate the collaborative efforts of the consortium and to ensure that the project’s legacy continues to inspire further advancements in EV charging. By combining innovation with a commitment to sustainability, eCharge4Drivers leaves a lasting impact on Europe’s transition to zero-emission mobility.
eCharge4Drivers has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement n° 875131.
