vCharM: Enterprise-Grade Charging Station Management System for Fleet Operations
vCharM is a charging and load management backend. It is designed to operate many charging points at high availability. Prime example use cases are charging depots for electric buses and commercial vehicles as well as high-capacity car parks. Once a charging station has been connected to the vCharM backend, each charging point can be conveniently configured, monitored and controlled.
Join us April 23!
7th Vector E-Mobility Symposium
On April 23, 2020 the Vector E-Mobility Symposium will continue the tradition of the Vector E-Mobility Engineering Day with leading experts from industry and science on new technologies, standards and trends in e-mobility.
The event will take place for the first time at the Wagenhallen Stuttgart and will conclude a series of symposiums with a total of three events.
- 2020-04-23: Vector E-Mobility Symposium
- 2020-04-22: Vector Cybersecurity Symposium
- 2020-04-21: Vector Automotive Ethernet Symposium
Advantages
- Charging station manufacturer-independent solution using standardized communication protocol OCPP 1.6J and OCPP 2.0
- Optimized for fleet operators, e.g. bus depots, special vehicle fleets, company vehicle pools, car parks and other electric vehicle fleets
- Optimized load management for vehicles with and without smart charging according to ISO 15118 and DIN 70121
- Connection to fleet management system for automated exchange of vehicle data
- Vehicle authorization via RFID, Plug&Charge, Autocharge and other methods
- Control of vehicle preconditioning via Value-Added-Service according to VDV 261
Functions
Load Management
Manage load consumption dynamically with configurable charging strategies
Load management is required at the latest when the total power of the charging stations exceeds the available installed power. However, costs can also be saved beforehand by avoiding peak loads at individual charging stations. The operator decides on the prioritization of the charging processes by selecting the charging strategy that suits best.
Charging Station Control
Monitor, configure and control charging stations via OCCP 1.6J and OCPP 2.0
Charging points can be configured, monitored and controlled via the user interface. Guided dialogs support the operator in his various tasks. In case of problems with a charging session, the operator is notified and supported in failure diagnosis. Communication with the charging station is via the manufacturer-independent OCPP protocol.
Vehicle Preconditioning
Monitor and control individual vehicle preconditioning via the implementation of Value-Added-Services
The control of the preconditioning of electric buses was standardized by the Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV) as a Value-Added-Service. vCharM supports the VDV 261 specification and offers various control interfaces.
Vehicle Authorization
Manage and verify vehicle authorization requests
Various methods are available for the authorization of charging sessions. vCharM supports established technologies such as RFID chips and Autocharge. It is also prepared for future vehicles with ISO 15118 Plug&Charge functionality.
Reports
Generate and analyze reports with statistics of finished charging sessions
Reports with statistics on completed charging operations can be created for various purposes. Pre-defined reports can be customized and exported if desired.
Fleet Management
Automate data exchange with your fleet management system
Existing fleet and depot management systems can be integrated via an automated data interface and used for optimized load management or pre-conditioning control. Fleet and depot management systems can use vCharM data for their own purposes, e.g. for availability display. Further tools can also be integrated, such as a maintenance ticket system.
Clearing
Log transactional data of charging sessions in law-conform manner
Meter readings are centrally recorded and processed. The data is made available for billing transactions. The meter readings can be protected against manipulation by a digital signature in order to meet the requirements of the new calibration law.
User Interface
Use vCharM from a browser-based frontend with a modern and intuitive user experience
A browser-based interface allows the user access to all functions. The views are adapted to the respective user role. The interface is available in different languages. An HTTPs connection secures the access.
Supported Standards
- OCPP 1.6J & 2.0
- VAS/VDV 261
- ISO 15118
- DIN 70121
- IEC 61851
- IEC 63110 (planned)
System Architecture
The vCharM architecture provides a REST interface for the integration into other management systems. The exchanged data can be used to optimize the charging sessions and the operational business.
Smart Charging with ISO 15118
The protocols ISO 15118 and OCPP 2.0 provide a comprehensive interface to control the power consumption of charging procedures for electric vehicles. vCharM uses these mechanisms to adhere to physical limits of the infrastructure as well as to guarantee the ideal scheduling of charging sessions.
A load management algorithm depends highly on the charging environment and the customer needs. vCharM offers different algorithms, each optimized for a specific use-case. This enables the usage of vCharM in different application areas, e.g. for bus depots, special vehicle fleets, company vehicles pools, car parks and other EV fleets.
Hosting Variants
vCharM can be operated on-premises or in the cloud, depending on the customer requirements. It is even possible to combine the benefits of both models and operate vCharM in a hybrid mode.
Downloads
vCharM Fact Sheet
Get an overview about vCharM on two pages.
Share it with your colleagues and friends.
> Download Fact Sheet (PDF)
