Term group
Charging protocols
- OCPP 1.6— Open Charge Point Protocol 1.6
- Open standard application protocol for communication between EV charging stations and a central management system. OCPP 1.6J (JSON over WebSocket) is the de-facto baseline for public charging deployments worldwide.
- Authorize, StartTransaction, MeterValues, and StopTransaction are the core messages. RFID cards present an idTag at the charge point; the station relays it to the CSMS for authorization.
- OCPP 2.0.1
- Current generation of OCPP with smart charging, ISO 15118 hooks, security extensions, and improved device management. Mandatory for many 2026+ rollouts under AFIR.
- Backward-compatible with 1.6 for core flows. Adds device security profiles (1–3), transaction-event reporting, and Plug & Charge support.
- OCPI— Open Charge Point Interface
- Protocol for roaming between e-mobility service providers (eMSPs) and charge point operators (CPOs). Lets one driver's card or app work across multiple networks.
- Currently at version 2.2.1, with 3.0 in active development. roaming provider and roaming provider are the dominant roaming hubs that implement OCPI on top of their own peer-to-peer protocols.
- ISO 15118
- Vehicle-to-grid communication standard. Enables Plug & Charge: the EV authenticates itself directly to the charging station via the charging cable, no card or app needed.
- ISO 15118-2 (current production) defines secure XML-over-PLC communication. ISO 15118-20 adds wireless and bidirectional V2G features.
- Plug & Charge— PnC
- Authentication flow defined by ISO 15118 where the vehicle proves identity directly to the charging station. No card swipe, no app — driver plugs in and charging starts.
- Promised as the RFID killer for years, but real-world rollout is slow. RFID remains essential for vehicles without Plug & Charge support, public driver authentication, and fleet credential management. Most networks run PnC and RFID side by side.
- AFIR— Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation
- EU regulation effective 2026 mandating ad-hoc payment support, transparent pricing, and OCPI roaming at all new public chargers above 50 kW. Drives RFID + contactless requirements across the EU.
- Eichrecht
- German calibration law requiring tamper-proof energy measurement and signed metering values at public charge points. Applies to anyone billing per kWh in Germany.
- Influences RFID card use: many German networks require the idTag to be cryptographically linked to the signed metering record for legal billing.
- CSMS— Charging Station Management System
- Cloud backend that manages a fleet of charge points: authorization, billing, roaming, monitoring, firmware. Examples: AMPECO, EV.energy, Driivz, Has·To·Be, ChargeLab.
Term group
Roaming & e-mobility ecosystem
- CPO— Charge Point Operator
- Company that owns and operates charging stations. Earns revenue per kWh or per session. Examples: Allego, Fastned, EVgo, Tesla Supercharger, BP Pulse.
- eMSP— e-Mobility Service Provider
- Company that issues RFID cards or apps to EV drivers and bills them, regardless of which CPO's network they charge on. Examples: roaming provider, roaming provider, roaming provider MSP, roaming provider, roaming provider.
- OICP— Open InterCharge Protocol
- roaming provider's proprietary roaming protocol. Translated to and from OCPI for interoperability with non-roaming provider hubs.
- idTag
- The string sent by an OCPP charging station to the CSMS when a card is presented. Typically derived from the RFID card's UID, optionally with a prefix or padding.
- Format matters: many CSMS platforms expect a specific encoding (decimal vs hex, length, padding). ChargeRFID pre-encodes idTags to match your CSMS expectations.
- eMAID— e-Mobility Account Identifier
- Globally unique identifier for a contract between a driver and an eMSP. Used in ISO 15118 Plug & Charge to bind the vehicle to the right billing account.
- EVCO-ID
- Older equivalent of eMAID — identifies the contract holder in OCPI-based roaming flows. Format: country code + provider ID + sequence.
- EVSE— Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment
- Industry term for a charging station or individual charging connector. One charging cabinet may contain multiple EVSEs.
Term group
Charging hardware
- AC Charging— Level 1 / Level 2
- Alternating-current charging where the on-board car charger does the AC-to-DC conversion. Power levels typically 3.7 kW (Level 1, ~16 A) to 22 kW (Level 2, 32 A three-phase).
- Dominant at home, workplaces, and destination charging. The slower charge speed makes long dwell times necessary, which is why RFID + reservation systems matter at AC chargers.
- DC Fast Charging— Level 3, Rapid charging
- Direct-current charging that bypasses the car's on-board charger, delivering 50–350+ kW directly to the battery. Used at highway corridors and urban hubs.
- Premium pricing and shorter sessions; per-session authentication via RFID, app, or Plug & Charge is critical. Some networks use AutoCharge (vehicle MAC address) as a transitional Plug & Charge alternative.
- CCS— Combined Charging System
- Dominant DC fast-charging connector standard in Europe (CCS Combo 2) and North America (CCS Combo 1). Supports up to 350 kW today, 500 kW in the spec.
- CHAdeMO
- DC fast-charging connector standard originating in Japan. Once widespread, now declining outside Japan as CCS and NACS dominate Western markets.
- Type 2— Mennekes, IEC 62196-2
- European AC charging connector. Standard for public AC chargers across the EU and increasingly in the UK and other markets.
- NACS— North American Charging Standard, Tesla connector
- Tesla-originated connector, now adopted by most US automakers and emerging as the North American DC standard alongside CCS.
Term group
RFID technology
- ISO 14443A
- International standard for 13.56 MHz contactless smart cards. The dominant standard for RFID charging cards.
- All AES-authenticated 13.56 MHz credential, NFC-enabled chip option, and compatible chips run on ISO 14443A. Read range 0–10 cm.
- NFC— Near Field Communication
- Short-range (≤4 cm) wireless protocol that extends ISO 14443. Enables tap-to-pay style flows with cards or smartphones.
- legacy sector-memory 13.56 MHz credential
- First-generation contactless chip using the proprietary CRYPTO1 cipher and 4-byte UIDs. No longer recommended for new EV charging deployments.
- Still produced in volume for hospitality keycards and access control, but inexpensive consumer tools can clone legacy sector-memory credentials in seconds. The EV charging industry has shifted to entry-level 13.56 MHz credential and AES-authenticated 13.56 MHz credential for new credentials.
- entry-level 13.56 MHz credential
- Mid-tier contactless chip family with 7-byte UIDs and 32-bit password authentication. The most common chip for general-purpose EV charging cards in 2026.
- Sits between legacy sector-memory credential and AES-authenticated 13.56 MHz credential on cost, speed, and security. Fast authentication keeps the tap-to-charge experience snappy; the 7-byte UID matches what roaming provider and modern roaming hubs expect.
- AES-authenticated 13.56 MHz credential
- high-security contactless chip family with AES-128 encryption and mutual authentication. The standard for high-value EV charging cards and roaming credentials.
- Replaces the now-broken legacy sector-memory 13.56 MHz credential for security-sensitive deployments. Each card holds multiple applications (authentication, billing, loyalty) with separate cryptographic keys.
- AES-128
- Advanced Encryption Standard with 128-bit key — the encryption used in AES-authenticated 13.56 MHz credential.
- Combined with mutual authentication, AES-128 makes each card tap a cryptographically signed transaction. Cloning resistance is cryptographic, not on obscurity.
- UID— Unique Identifier
- Factory-set serial number on every RFID chip. Returned in the clear before authentication. Often used to derive the idTag sent over OCPP.
- Anti-cloning
- Cryptographic property of AES-128 chips: each card tap involves a fresh challenge-response, so a captured exchange cannot be replayed by a cloned card.
- AutoCharge
- Network-specific transitional alternative to ISO 15118 Plug & Charge. Uses the vehicle's MAC address (visible during charging handshake) as identity. Less secure than ISO 15118 but works without certificate provisioning.
Term group
Industry roles & billing
- Fleet Operator
- Owner of a fleet of EVs — utilities, last-mile delivery, ride-share, taxi, corporate company-car programmes. Buys RFID cards in bulk and assigns them per driver or vehicle.
- MSP / EMP— Mobility Service Provider / E-Mobility Provider
- Umbrella term for any party that issues credentials and bills EV drivers. Includes eMSPs as well as utility-led mobility offerings.
- Per-kWh Billing
- Charging session billed by energy delivered (€ or $ per kWh). The dominant model in Europe and many US states. Often requires calibration-law-compliant meters (see Eichrecht).
- Per-session / Time-Based Billing
- Charging session billed flat per session or per minute. Less common at AC, sometimes used at DC fast-charging to discourage parking after charging completes.
Term group
Materials & sustainability
- Recycled PVC
- Post-consumer or post-industrial PVC recovered and re-extruded into card stock. Same durability and chip-embedding properties as virgin PVC, lower carbon footprint.
- PLA / Bio Cards— Polylactic acid, biodegradable plastic
- Plant-derived biodegradable plastic used as a card body alternative to PVC. Composts in industrial facilities. Same RFID performance.
- FSC-Certified Wood— Forest Stewardship Council
- Wood from certified sustainable forestry. Used for premium charging card bodies — typically walnut, bamboo, or beech. Laser-engraved for branding.
Term group
Standards & certifications
- ISO 9001
- International quality management standard. ISO 9001-certified manufacturers follow a documented, audited quality process. ChargeRFID is ISO 9001 certified.
- CE Mark
- European conformity marking. Required for RFID products sold in the EU/EEA. Indicates compliance with applicable health, safety, and environmental directives.
- MOQ— Minimum Order Quantity
- Smallest quantity a manufacturer will produce in a single run. ChargeRFID's standard MOQ is 500 cards.
Applying the terminology
Picking the right charging card
For new deployments in 2026, the practical short list is:
- OCPP RFID cards — The physical credential is matched to the installed reader and backend token workflow. OCPP connects the charger and management system; roaming protocols connect participating backends. Neither is a universal compatibility certificate for the card.
- Fleet charging cards — Identifier format and data handoff defined in writing
- All products — Material claims documented for the approved construction