Planning a holiday road trip abroad or need to drive out of the country for work and not sure how charging your EV will work? Or worried that your charge card won’t be accepted and you won’t be able to charge?
The good news is that many EV charging networks and service providers like E-Flux by Road offer international roaming agreements, so that you can use your charge card in different countries without stress. Roaming allows EV drivers to easily access and pay for EV charging across multiple charging networks and countries without lots of apps or a wallet full of charge cards. It’s similar to cellular roaming where you can use your mobile phone outside your own network or country.
How does roaming work?
Roaming works through the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI), an open communication protocol that allows for automatic roaming between EV networks. OCPI links Mobility Service Providers (MSPs), Charge Point Operators (CPOs), Energy Service Providers (ESPs) and Network Service Providers (NSPs).
OCPI simplifies roaming between charging networks and ensures accurate exchange of information such as location, charger availability and pricing (pricing is only available if a tariff model has been implemented with the MSP/CPO).
When you go to a location covered by a roaming agreement (find this in the E-Flux by Road app), you can use your charge card in the same way as you would at home. Simply access the partner network’s charge point with your charge card, and once your credentials are verified, you’ll be able to start your session.
After charging, the charge station will communicate your session details to your home network, and collect payment. The fee will be added to the invoice you receive monthly from your home network. Be aware that you will pay a roaming transaction fee, which is set by the CPO. However, when you use the E-Flux by Road charge card at any charge station connected to E-Flux by Road charge management software, you won’t pay any roaming transaction fees. This means you can save up to 3 eurocent per kWh in roaming fees.
E-Flux by Road charge card options for roaming
Choose from two charge card options – “Orange” subscription for frequent EV drivers, or a “pay-as-you-go” charge card without a monthly fee. Both are available for private and business use.
You can charge seamlessly at more than 500,000 charge points in 35 European countries connected to the network.
