A Fragmented Charging Infrastructure Needs EV Roaming

In the last few years, there has been an acceleration in the evolution of the North American public charging environment. The number of charging networks has been growing exponentially, reaching more than 100 in the USA and Canada in 2024, combining to over 200,000 public charging ports. While this is an improvement for EV drivers, the current landscape is fragmented, which unfortunately leads to payment compatibility issues for drivers and unscalable integrations for the industry.

North America's Charging Infrastructure is Growing Exponentially

Source: ChargeHub

It is worth noting that contactless payment is accepted very inconsistently when it comes to public charging and the Plug & Charge technology, which is the “ultimate refueling experience” that the industry is striving for, is limited by the existing hardware and software solutions which inevitably slows down its implementation. It is not an economically viable solution to retrofit an already massive EV charging infrastructure.

At the same time, we are seeing most automakers growing the EV category, with new models being announced on a regular basis by new and legacy OEMs. Apart from Tesla, which offers a tremendous charging network to its clients, and has recently given access to more partners, it remains that most automakers are left with too often subpar solutions when it comes to public charging.

Commercial fleets are also jumping on the bandwagon of electrification and are progressively realizing that while a back-to-base charging model avoids overreliance on public charging, most will need a solution that works at scale and seamlessly to maintain efficient operations that are unrestricted by vehicles’ ranges.

It is no surprise then that access to the most seamless integration to the public charging infrastructure is of critical importance to offer an easy charging and payment experience to EV drivers. 

This is why the concept of EV roaming is important. Simply put, EV roaming—also called eRoaming—enables EV drivers to charge their vehicles and pay for charging easily and conveniently, regardless of the network. EV roaming is behind public charging systems compatibility, enabling drivers to effortlessly connect and charge their vehicles across a diversity of charging networks without the headache of managing multiple subscriptions, apps or cards.

EV Roaming via a Hub Is Gaining Traction With Automakers, Commercial Fleets, Retailers and Charging Networks

The growth of Passport Hub, which has established itself as the leading EV Roaming Hub in North America, is a powerful accelerator to EV adoption. On the industry side, it helps streamline connections between eMobility Service Providers (eMSP), such as automakers and fleets, and Charge Point Operators (CPO) and Charge Site Operators (CSO), like large retailers, to offer the fastest way to achieve increased eRoaming. As a result, consumers end up with more choices to pay for and activate chargers, making public charging more simple.

With a coverage of over 70% of open network chargers in the US and Canada from a wide range of CSOs and CPOs, Passport Hub offers drivers direct access and frictionless transactions on over 85,000 charging stations. It is no surprise then that major industry players have decided to connect their charging networks and driver applications to Passport Hub as a way to get higher utilization rates for the former, and access to more EV charging options for the latter.

Meanwhile, new partners such as Parkopedia, Holman, and Fleetcor are also connecting to Passport Hub and will feed large volumes of charging sessions to participating CSOs and CPOs via the progressive utilization of their automakers and/or fleet clients connected payment solutions to ours. On the other end, the roaming hub is close to completing the integration of all of the most important CPOs in Canada and several major US players are also expected to join Passport Hub in 2024, making it the obvious choice for the industry.

There is currently a tremendous opportunity for more CPOs, CSOs, and eMSPs to join Passport Hub:

1. For CPOs and CSOs: Gain direct access to millions of potential vehicles from commercial fleets and automakers in the most effective way. With a single integration via Passport Hub, newcomers also have the potential to streamline roaming connections without creating a heavy burden on internal teams whenever a new connection is required to gain access to a new charging network.
2. For eMSPs: access a full turnkey integration to the largest pool of charging stations in the US and Canada, allowing you to offer drivers seamless activation and payment via a single account on more than 85,000 charging stations.

EV Roaming via a Hub Is Needed to Achieve EV Adoption at Scale

With tens of thousands of fleets, hundreds of retailers, dozens of automakers and over 100 (and growing) charging network operators throughout the US and Canada, Passport Hub is becoming an absolute must to enable seamless access to public charging at scale and support the massive EV adoption required to meet our ambitious decarbonization goals. Most charging networks simply don't have the bandwidth to connect to each eMSP individually and cannot spend all their time and resources building new solutions from scratch, defining individual legal & business agreements, and maintaining ongoing individual accounting reconciliation with every partner.

And that is just the beginning of scaling issues, since the industry also has to accelerate its effort to “beat the gas station experience”. That is why ChargeHub has also partnered with Irdeto, the world leader in digital platform cybersecurity, to provide an easy way for CPOs and eMSPs to integrate Plug & Charge capabilities, contributing to the development of a more user-friendly EV charging infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada, with Passport Hub acting as the needed roaming layer to fast-track this industry challenge.

Other key partnerships with players such as ChargePoint, Shell Recharge, VinFast, Electric Circuit, Holman and Fleetcor, and many more in the making with several key automakers, retailers and charging networks lining up to integrate Passport Hub will increase the appeal for new entrants wishing to get the quickest and most reliable access to more EV drivers and/or charging options.

Increasing the size and reliability of the charging infrastructure and increasing the affordability of EVs are crucial steps to EV adoption. But we mustn’t forget the behind-the-scenes strategies that lead the industry to a transition to a sustainable future, and providing EV Roaming at scale via a streamlined integration to Passport Hub, the #1 EV Roaming Hub in the USA and Canada, is an important one.