OCPP : Open charge point protocol

The goal for Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is to offer a uniform solution for the method of communication between charge point and central system. With this protocol it is possible to connect any central system with any charge point, regardless of the vendor. A uniform standard prevents all kinds of coordination problems and  is therefore an advantage for the whole electric vehicle market. At the moment there are two versions of OCPP available.

OCPP 2.1 Open charge point protocol 2.1

OCPP 2.1 is the coming version of the Open Charge Point Protocol. Since the release of OCPP 2.0.1, the Technology Working Group and the Technical Editors have been working hard to create a backwards-compatible version of OCPP with many new features. OCPP 2.1 introduces highly anticipated features like DER control and Vehicle-to-Grid, along with numerous improvements to existing functional blocks. OCPP 2.1 is currently in the final phase before its official launch.

OCPP 2.1 includes the following improved and added functionalities compared to OCPP 2.0.1:

• New functional block on DER Control 
• New functional block on Bidirectional Charging
• New functionalities for ISO 15118 Plug and Charge
• Improved Smart Charging 
• Support for ad hoc payment
• Support for local cost calculation
• Secure dynamic QR Codes
• Many additional improvements requested by the EV charging community  

OCPP 2.1 and OCPP 2.0.1 are backwards compatible.

The release of OCPP 2.1 is expected Q1 2025.

OCPP 2.0.1 Open charge point protocol 2.0.1

OCPP 2.0 made it’s first appearance in 2018 as the successor of OCPP 1.6. However, OCA decided together with the community that the 2.0 version could use some additions. Due hard work from both our OCA team and the community OCPP 2.0.1 was introduced in 2020 and is on its way to replace OCPP 1.6 as the new industry standard in communication protocol between the CS and CSMS. OCPP 2.0.1 has the following improved/added functionalities in comparison to OCPP 1.6:  

• Device Management Features to get and set configurations and also to monitor a Charging Station. 
• Improved transaction handling 
• Added security 
• Added smart charging functionalities 
• Support for ISO 15118 
• Display and messaging support 

• Many additional improvements requested by the EV charging community  

Note that OCPP 1.6 and OCPP 2.0.1 are not compatible.  

OCPP 1.6 Open Charge Point Protocol 1.6

OCPP 1.6 was released in 2015 and took OCPP to a new level. OCPP 1.6 downloaded rose in the years after and is now worldwide integrated by CS and CSMS manufacturers.
OCPP 1.6 functions are:  

• OCPP 1.5 
• Both SOAP and JSON versions 
• Smart Charging support for load balancing and use of charge profiles 
• (Local) list management support 
• Additional status 
• Message sending requests such as CP time or status at the CP 
• Minor improvements in specifications (In comparison to OCPP 1.5)