The automotive industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation with IoT becoming a critical supporting engine in these changes. One key area in the industry is the rising adoption of electric or hybrid electric vehicles (EVs).
One of the hurdles in creating more accelerated use of this sustainable technology is the accessibility of charging stations. It’s not enough to have personal charging capability at home, as this only gets road users so far due to limited driving range and limited charging infrastructure (availability and lengthy charging time). So how can operators innovate to make it easier for users?
Firstly, get connected with IoT. Electric vehicle charging stations need connectivity to operate – for several key reasons. For one, the billing and payment processing is critical for the usage of the charging station. It’s the same ease of payment that enabled mobile applications across any service that requires payments, such as ride sharing.
Secondly, remote monitoring is necessary for these vital pieces of equipment. If a charging station goes down, it will impact customer service and lost revenue. Remote monitoring of the stations also helps support machine health in the long run and can decrease costs of field technician visits with predictive and remote maintenance capability.
Thirdly, due to the time it takes for cars to gain a sufficient charge, EV charging companies are looking for alternative locations to service station car parks, workplaces and homes. And the retail industry has realized the power of offering EV charging while encouraging customers to shop, eat at restaurants, etc.
Having comprehensive and reliable cellular connectivity can make it more difficult to deploy widespread charging stations. Tying together a connectivity solution when you’re in the business of manufacturing or managing EV charging stations can be a difficult feat and one that is suited for IT – or even better, IoT – experts.
The challenge in creating a deployment of cellular-run charging stations should not be understated. There are many crucial determinants – where will the charging stations be located? Can they all connect to the same network or do they need multiple carriers? If multiple carriers are needed, who will be in charge of monitoring billing, usage, and – in the event something goes wrong – customer support. It’s a large-scale framework that, to many EV charging companies, might only be a small slice of the pie in an entire solution offering.
KORE has nearly two decades of experience in providing customers with the “always on” connectivity they need no matter the use case. We understand the demands and needs of our customers in the ever-evolving world of technology, which is why we leverage key partnerships with industry leaders in hardware and carriers across the globe to ensure you have the right tools to deploy IoT solutions that perform.
To learn more about our services and offerings, as well as more details on how we as well as more details on how we can help companies overcome the challenges facing the EV sector, check out this article in The Innovation Platform Magazine.