OCPI vs OCPP: Understanding the Difference

If you’ve spent any time researching EV charging technology, you’ve likely come across two similar-looking acronyms; OCPP and OCPI; often mentioned in the same breath. They are related, but they solve different problems. Put simply, OCPP governs how a charger talks to its own back-end system, while OCPI governs how different charging networks talk to each other.

What is OCPP?

The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is a communication standard used between a physical EV charger and the charging management system (sometimes called a back-end or CMS) that operates it. It allows the management system to start and stop charging sessions, receive status updates, monitor faults, and push firmware or configuration changes to the charger. Because OCPP is an open, vendor-neutral standard, it allows charging hardware from different manufacturers to work with different back-end software, instead of locking an operator into a single vendor’s proprietary system.

What is OCPI?

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