What is ISO 15118?

ISO 15118 is an international standard for communication between electric cars and charging stations, and this is done via your charging cable (type 2 to type 2). It describes how the car and the charging station should "talk" to each other to make charging safer, more efficient and more automated.

Some important points:

• It enables Plug & Charge – the car can identify itself automatically when connected, so you don't have to activate the charging box via RFID tags or apps.
• The standard defines how information about charging power, status, payment and identity is exchanged. This provides real-time data on battery level and how much energy is needed.
• It supports both AC and DC charging.
• It facilitates more advanced energy services, such as true smart charging and communication with power grids/energy systems such as Vehicle 2 Grid (V2G).

In short: ISO 15118 is the key to more seamless and automated charging in the charging infrastructure of the future.

What is Plug & Charge?

Plug & Charge makes charging user-friendly and is enabled by ISO 15118. You simply connect your electric car and charging starts automatically – without the need for apps, RFID cards or extra steps.

The function works like this:

• Plug the charging cable into the car and the charging station
• An encrypted and secure connection is established between the car and the charging station.
  
• The charging box checks whether the car is approved or not.
• Upon approval, charging starts automatically.
• In the case of an unknown car, charging will not start and this prevents unauthorized charging.

What is the difference between V2G, V2H, V2L and V2X?

The terms refer to different applications for two-way power flow.

Name	Abbreviation	Explanation
Vehicle to Grid	V2G	Sending power back to the grid
Vehicle to Home	V2H	Supply the home with electricity from the car
Vehicle to Load	V2L	Obtain power via the outlet for small electronics
Vehicle to Everything	V2X	Generic term for any form of power sharing from an electric car