Live event : OCA Plugfest & Conference Australia

October 21st, 2026

9:00 – 9:30
Registration & Coffee

9:30 – 9:45
Welcome & Opening
Speaker: TBC

9:45 – 10:00
OCA Opening
Speaker: Lonneke Driessen – Open Charge Alliance

Theme 1: Grid Intergration 10:00 – 12:00 

10:00 – 10:30
OCPP-to-DSO communications: OCPP and CSIP-AUS working together in practice
Speaker: TBC

10:30 – 11:00
OCPP-to-DSO communication II: Community observations and forward directions
Speaker: Laura Jones – The Australian National University
Recently, the OCA and the Australian CSIP-AUS community got together to contribute to a whitepaper on best practice, and to talk to what future directions may hold. ANU presents its observations on the process and the relevance of future directions in this space as it pertains to Australia as an early-adopter DSO market.

11:00 – 11:30
Morning Tea Break

11:30 – 12:00
Local controller architecture: OCPP, CSIP-AUS & edge resilience
Speaker: Christopher Hunt – Cuprous
Local controller design patterns in OCPP 2.0.1 – the various OCPP topologies supported under OCPP 2.x, EMS integration and offline resilience. How local controllers maintain safe, grid-compliant operation, maximise DER integration, flexibility and drive network compliance.

Theme 2: Cyber Security 12:00 – 13:00

12:00 – 12:30
Cybersecurity alignment – regulatory postures to vehicle charging
Speaker: Nicole Henry – Fortinet
An examination of regulatory cybersecurity regulations, policies and laws in Australia; how they currently apply to EV charging, how they may in future, and what the sector can reasonably anticipate moving forward.

12:30 – 13:00
EV Charger Security – OCPP Security Implementation Guide
Speaker: Lonneke Driessen – Open Charge Alliance
Overview of the OCA Security Implementation Guide and Security operations guide — its 164 security measures, prioritisation for Australian operators and CPOs, and the broader EV charging infrastructure threat landscape including network-connected charger vulnerabilities.

13:00 – 14:00
Lunch & Networking

Theme 3: International and Local Learnings 14:00 – 15:00

14:00 – 14:30
Australians overseas: a wrap up of key findinf from the VGN in Europe
Speaker: Nodoka Nakamichi – Climate KIC Australia
A VGN delegation recently toured Europe to attend the recent EU Plugfest and to meet with key industry, regulators, policy, research and grant bodies. Here’s the key findings.

14:30 – 15:00
Connecting system planning and industry capability: Realising the promise of coordinated and bidirectional charging
Speaker: Jonathon Dore – AEMO
AEMO’s 2026 ISP was released earlier this year – a structural review of its intentions, implied access barriers, industry trends and necessary artefacts for solution market design(s) using standards and capability uplift to reduce access barriers and drive value.

15:00 – 15:20
Afternoon Break

Theme 4: Implementation and Testing Readiness

15:20 – 15:50
Testing best practices
Speaker: TBC
A review of best practices for testing OCPP in isolation or in chain scenarios. From debug to full conformance testing, through interoperability testing and OCTT – and explanation of what’s what, who uses it, why you’d invest (or not).

15:50 – 16:20
Forward direction in market enablement
Speaker: Luke Dalla – ARENA
As ARENA reflects on recent projects and activities of VGN, ARENA offers its reflections on anticipated market needs, structural support requirements, and a call to industry for engagement.

16:20 – 16:50
V2G, vehicle-grid integration and future OCPP developments
Speaker: TBC
Notes on best practice for load management and EVs as flexible resources, plus what’s in the pipeline beyond OCPP 2.1. A panel will follow with involvement from CharIN and the Korean Electrotechnical Research Institute to share insights from leaders in testing and interoperability.

16:50 – 17:00
Closing remarks & handover to testing days

17:00 – 18:30
Networking drinks & bites

Laura Jones
Energy Systems Specialist
ANU

Laura Jones is Energy Systems Specialist at the ANU Centre for Energy Systems.

An electrical engineer and systems thinker, Laura has more than 20 years of experience in consulting, electricity network planning, research, and innovation. She brings a unique ability to bridge engineering and social science, helping to shape energy transitions that are technically robust and socially responsive. Laura joined ANU to deepen her understanding of participatory and interdisciplinary approaches, and now leads research that connects consumer insights with system design and policy.

At the ANU Centre for Energy Systems, Laura plays a key role in developing and delivering collaborative, impact-driven projects. She has led multidisciplinary trials exploring Vehicle-to-Grid technology, household flexibility, and integration of distributed energy resources. Her work often involves partnerships with governments, startups, and community groups, aiming to uncover practical barriers and opportunities for a more adaptive and inclusive energy system.

Conference topic: OCPP-to-DSO communications II: Community observations and forward directions

Christopher Hunt
Co-founder
Cuprous

Christopher Hunt Co-founder Cuprous, creating unified software and hardware products for the renewable energy sector.

Cuprous creates unified software and hardware products to further the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

Cuprous is a product-focused company having developed industrial IoT secured-edge gateway hardware and software targeted at the renewable energy sector. We have developed our own brand of Linux for this gateway, known as Cuprux. Cuprux is focused on edge-based security and connectivity. In addition to Cuprux, we have developed software services so that the Secured Edge Gateway is able to connect securely with the cloud without requiring any configuration.

Conference topic: Local controller architecture: OCPP, CSIP-AUS & edge resilience

Nicole Henry
Head of Government Relations at Fortinet
Fortinet on behalf of the Tech Council of Australia

Nicole Henry is the Head of Government Affairs for Australia and New Zealand at Fortinet. She brings more than 20 years of senior experience across science, industry, and international policy. Nicole has led national and bilateral initiatives on clean energy, digital trade, and research commercialisation, with a focus on technology policy, infrastructure security, and standards development.

At Fortinet, Nicole leads engagement across government, industry, and academia on cyber security, critical infrastructure, and digital trust. She works across the organisation to align external engagement with national priorities and sector expectations. Her role helps position Fortinet as a trusted partner in secure digital transformation, trusted technology adoption, and national resilience.

Conference topic: Cybersecurity alignment – regulatory postures to vehicle charging

Lonneke Driessen
Director
Open Charge Alliance

Lonneke Driessen-Mutters is Operational Director of the Open Charge Alliance (OCA). OCA is a global consortium of public and private electric vehicle infrastructure leaders that have come together to promote open standards through the adoption of the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). She is also Director of Standardisation and Test Lab at ElaadNL, the Dutch Knowledge and Innovation Centre in the field of smart and secure charging infrastructure. Within ElaadNL she is responsible for the EV Charging testing facilities, open standards development and Public Key Infrastructure solutions. Mrs Driessen has a longstanding career in the Utility Industry and has operated in key strategic developments, such as market liberalisation, smart metering and smart grids before entering the EV charging domain nine years ago.

Conference topic: EV Charger Security – OCPP Security Implementation Guide

Nodoka Nakamichi
Lead – Strategic Projects at Climate KIC Australia
Project Lead at the Vehicle Grid Network

Nodoka designs and leads multi-stakeholder collaborations that enable systems-level climate action. With over six years’ experience across energy, transport, agriculture, heavy industry and health, her practice combines systems innovation, experience design, knowledge brokering, and visualisations to shape strategy, unlock shared value, and support coordinated action to accelerate decarbonisation solutions to market scale. Nodoka also leads cutting-edge co-design initiatives that integrate bespoke AI tools with human-centred processes to generate actionable insights and support collaborative decision-making.

Conference topic: Australians overseas: a wrap up of key findings from the VGN in Europe.

Jonathon Dore
Distributed Energy Resource Technical Integration
AEMO

Jonathon Dore is a renewable energy specialist with over two decades of experience across PV manufacturing and R&D, rooftop solar performance and distribution system operation. At AEMO, as the Manager of DER Technical Integration, Jonathon is helping guide the transition to net zero emissions.

Conference topic: Connecting system planning and industry capability: Realising the promise of coordinated and bidirectional charging

Luke Dalla
Senior Client Manager
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Luke Dalla is a clean energy specialist working at the critical intersection of renewable technology, transport, and policy. As a Senior Client Manager at the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Luke helps drive the integration of innovative technologies designed to modernise Australia’s electricity network. His core expertise spans Distributed Energy Resources (DER), vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems, vehicle-grid integration (VGI), and navigating complex public policy. Throughout his career, which includes impactful roles in private sector clean-tech deployment and government initiatives, Luke has built a reputation for turning complex technical and regulatory challenges into actionable, scalable solutions.

Conference topic: Forward directions in market enablement

October 22nd, 2026

Several testing rounds are organized. We use a round-robin testing schedule to match participants with multiple partners.

9:30 – 11:00 : OCPP Plugfest test slot 1

11:00 – 12:30 : OCPP Plugfest test slot 2

12:30 – 13:30 : Lunch break

13:30 – 15:00: OCPP Plugfest test slot 3

15:00 – 16:30: OCPP Plugfest test slot 4 

16:30 – 18:00: OCPP Plugfest test slot 5 

October 23rd, 2026

Several testing rounds are organized. We use a round-robin testing schedule to match participants with multiple partners.

9:30 – 11:00 : OCPP Plugfest test slot 6

11:00 – 12:30 : OCPP Plugfest test slot 7

12:30 – 13:30: Lunch break

13:30 – 15:00: OCPP Plugfest test slot 8 

15:00 – 16:30: OCPP Plugfest test slot 9 

16:30 – 18:00: OCPP Plugfest test slot 10 

Costs of the event

OCA members
Attendance at the Plugfest is free of charge for OCA members. OCA members have received a unique discount code, which can be entered during the checkout process.

Non-members
We charge a registration fee for non-member Plugfest participants. This fee helps us to ensure a high-quality event and testing schedule. The fee includes refreshments and lunch throughout the days.

• Online tester – AUD$ 160 per team
• Onsite tester – AUD$ 800 per team (group members are free of charge)
• Conference – AUD$ 300 per participant
• Conference & On-site Observer – AUD$ 300 per participant
• Conference & On-site Tester = AUD$ 1.100*