What is an OCPP Plugfest
What is the OCPP Plugfest?
What to expect during the testing days?
OCA hosts OCPP Plugfests throughout the year in different locations around the world. The goal is to give developers the opportunity to test their OCPP implementation in real-life scenarios with other industry participants. This helps teams understand how well their implementation works with others, identify issues and improve interoperability.
Participants can expect two full days of testing, with multiple testing rounds based on a round-robin schedule. The Plugfest is a non-competitive and non-binding testing event focused on OCPP 2.0.1 and OCPP 2.1. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to learn from other implementations, solve issues together and get real value from hands-on interoperability testing.
To make Plugfests accessible to as many participants as possible, most events offer the option to test either on-site or online. When registering as an online participant, please keep in mind that we may not be able to schedule you for every testing slot you select. On-site participants will be given priority when the testing schedule is created.
How is the testing usually structured?
At OCPP Plugfests, developers of Charging Stations and Charging Station Management Systems (CSMS) collaborate to test and ensure interoperability of their OCPP implementations. Our goal is to achieve optimal communication between Charging Stations and CSMS.
Testing is organised using a round-robin schedule, which means you will test with a different partner in each round. This gives participants the opportunity to test their implementation with a variety of Charging Stations or CSMS’s throughout the event.
During registration, participants provide their availability and testing details. Once registration has closed, OCA will organise an online check-in meeting via Microsoft Teams to make sure all information is still up to date and to avoid last-minute no-shows. The round-robin testing schedule will then be created based on the confirmed information.
Plugfest guidelines
An OCPP Plugfest is all about working together. The goal is to learn from each other, find implementation issues and improve interoperability between Charging Stations and Charging Station Management Systems (CSMS). We therefore ask everyone to approach the testing in an open, professional, and constructive way.
- Collaborate, do not compete: A Plugfest is not a competition or product comparison. Work together with your testing partners to understand unexpected behaviour and find out what might be causing an interoperability issue.
- Respect confidentiality: What happens at the Plugfest stays between the participants involved. Information about another participant’s product, implementation, test results, bugs or vulnerabilities must be treated as confidential and should not be shared publicly without permission. This is also covered in the Terms & Conditions that participants must sign before attending the event.
- Do not rank or compare participants: Plugfest results should not be used to create rankings, scorecards or public comparisons between companies or products. Taking part in a Plugfest does not count as OCPP certification or endorsement by OCA.
- Come prepared for your testing sessions: Make sure your implementation, equipment and test environment are ready before a testing round starts. Please also exchange any necessary configuration details with your testing partner in good time.
- Stick to the testing schedule: Testing takes place in scheduled rounds with different partners. Please be on time, let others know as soon as possible if technical issues cause delays, and keep to the agreed testing time so everyone gets a fair opportunity to test.
- Work together when things do not go as expected: Unexpected behavior and failed test scenarios are a normal, and useful, part of a Plugfest. Share relevant logs and technical information with your testing partner where possible and try to investigate the issue together.
- Test safely: Please follow all venue, electrical and equipment safety instructions. The safety rules and instructions are also part of the Terms & Conditions document that must be signed upfront. Please make sure to carefully read the document and stick to these instructions.
- Be respectful and constructive: Treat other participants with respect and keep discussions constructive. Focus on understanding the technical behavior and solving the issue together rather than assigning blame.
Most importantly, be open, curious, and collaborative. The real value of a Plugfest comes from learning from different implementations and working together to improve OCPP interoperability across the industry.
How to prepare for when attending an OCPP Plugfest?
To make sure you are ready to start testing from the first round, please prepare the following before the Plugfest:
Set up your Slack account
Use the invitation shared by OCA to join the relevant Slack workspace and set up your account before the event. Slack will be used for communication between OCA and the testing teams, as well as between testing partners.
Prepare your testing setup
Think about what you would like to test and make sure your implementation and test environment are ready. This includes having any required certificates, connection details and other configuration information available.
Plan the shipment of your Charging Station
When bringing a physical Charging Station, please arrange shipment well in advance and make sure the equipment arrives at the venue in time for the testing days. Take delivery times and any return shipment arrangements into account.
Who can participate in the OCPP Plugfest?
Everyone from the EV charging industry is welcome to participate. We invite OCPP enthusiasts from all over the world, from startups to established companies. Plugfests are the ideal platform for testing and networking, especially for:
- Manufacturers of Charging Stations
- Developers of Charging Station Management Systems (CSMS)
- Everyone interested in OCPP, working in the EV industry and working with global standards
What makes the OCPP Plugfest so special?
“It is always great to be part of Plugfest. It is much more than testing! It is a great opportunity to connect with other industry experts.”
“We had a lot of great conversations with companies, learning about their expertise. Plugfest is a great networking opportunity. It gives you the chance to discuss challenges and successes with OCPP.”
Where are the OCPP Plugfests organized?
We organize several Plugfests a year at partner locations worldwide, ensuring that everyone from our global community has the chance to attend a Plugfest nearby. If you can’t attend in person, you can also join online! In the past years, we have organized Plugfests with the following partners:
✔ DEKRA ✔ KTC ✔ Vector Informatik
Experience the vibe at OCPP Plugfest The Netherlands
From September 30 to October 1 2025, OCPP enthusiasts gathered at ElaadNL in Arnhem, the Netherlands, to test, gain new insights and connect with developers from all over the globe. Watch this video to get a sense of the open, constructive and enthusiastic atmosphere of the OCPP Plugfests.
Impression of our past Plugfests
