What is OCPP and why should you care?
OCPP — the Open Charge Point Protocol — is the open language charging stations use to talk to the software that runs them. It is what keeps you from being locked into one vendor's closed app.
What OCPP actually is
Think of OCPP as the USB of EV charging: a shared standard that lets any compliant charger plug into any compliant management platform. The charger and the cloud exchange commands — start a session, report energy used, flag a fault — over a documented, vendor-neutral protocol maintained by the Open Charge Alliance.
Why it protects your investment
Proprietary chargers chain your hardware to one vendor's software and app. If you outgrow them or their fees change, your chargers can become expensive bricks. OCPP-compliant hardware lets you switch cloud platforms, add third-party billing or connect to roaming networks without replacing a single unit.
OCPP 1.6J vs 2.0.1
| Feature | OCPP 1.6J | OCPP 2.0.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Maturity | Widely deployed, battle-tested | Newer, growing fast |
| Smart charging | Basic, via profiles | Native smart-charging and load control |
| Security | Good | Stronger, with TLS and secure firmware update |
| Device model | Limited | Rich device model for diagnostics and remote control |
Migrating to OCPP 2.0.1
- Confirm your charger firmware supports 2.0.1 — or can be updated over the air.
- Verify your CPMS and billing tools are 2.0.1-ready before you switch.
- Run a small pilot on a few stalls before a fleet-wide rollout.
- Keep 1.6J fallback configured while you validate the new stack.
Three questions to ask any manufacturer
- Which OCPP versions do your chargers support, and are they certified by the Open Charge Alliance?
- Can I switch to a different CPMS later without changing the hardware?
- Do you support over-the-air firmware updates to move from 1.6J to 2.0.1?
