Sector deep dive
Public and workplace EV charging
Charge-point networks know a vehicle is plugged in. What they struggle to know is who is standing at the charger, which account should pay, and whether the person and the vehicle actually belong together. Trust App's patented method could close that gap.
How EV charging works today
Starting a public or workplace charge usually means identifying yourself to the charger: an operator app, an RFID card, a membership scheme, a roaming agreement between networks, or contactless payment at the unit. Plug-and-charge standards aim to let the vehicle identify itself over the cable, and some sites add camera recognition of the number plate.
Every one of these identifies a token, a vehicle or a card. None of them identifies the person at the charger, and that is where the familiar problems begin.
Where the plate-only model hurts
Starting a charge is still hard work
Drivers juggle apps, RFID cards and memberships, and none of them is connected to the specific vehicle at the specific charger. The result is friction at the start of every session and support calls when the handshake fails.
The account pays for whoever plugs in
With a shared or fleet vehicle, whichever credential is to hand gets billed, whether or not it belongs to the person charging. Home-to-work mileage, personal use of pool cars and shared household accounts all blur into one bill.
The charger cannot verify who is at it
A charge point can validate a card or a vehicle certificate, but it cannot verify the person standing in front of it. Tariffs, employer subsidies and eligibility rules that are really about people have to be attached to tokens instead.
Failed recognition means a failed session
When plate recognition, a card reader or a plug-and-charge handshake fails, the session either does not start or runs unbilled. Both outcomes cost the operator: one in lost custom and support time, the other in unrecovered energy.
Disputes and billing queries are slow
Membership disputes, roaming mismatches and queried sessions are resolved on token logs and charger data that show what was presented, not who was present. Investigations are slow and goodwill refunds become the default.
What matters in this sector
For a charge-point operator or e-mobility service provider, the question is not the technology itself. It is what the network has to achieve, what gets in the way, and what could improve.
What you need to achieve
Start sessions reliably, bill the right account for every kilowatt-hour, keep utilisation high, honour memberships and roaming agreements, and give drivers a reason to stay on the network.
What gets in the way
Failed session starts and the support burden behind them, unbilled energy when recognition fails, shared and fleet vehicles billed to the wrong account, and disputes resolved on weak token evidence.
What could improve
Sessions that start automatically for verified customers, billing that follows the individual rather than the credential, fewer failed and unbilled sessions, and firmer evidence when a session is queried.
How the patented method could apply
- Automatic authorisation at the charger. When a registered user's vehicle and device are verified together at the charger, the session could start and bill automatically, with no app, card or membership fob to present.
- Accounts matched to the person present. Memberships, tariffs and employer subsidies could apply to the verified individual at the charger, rather than to whichever token happened to be used.
- Payment that follows the individual. In shared and fleet vehicles, the charge could go to the account of the person verified as present, so pool cars, household cars and hire vehicles each bill the right person.
- A second signal when recognition is uncertain. Where plate recognition or a plug-and-charge handshake alone is uncertain, the presence of a registered customer's device could confirm the match, turning failed or unbilled sessions into completed ones.
Each of these would be built by or with a partner into the network's existing charging and billing systems. None of them exists as a Trust product today, and the precise design would depend on the operator, its hardware and its roaming arrangements.
Who we would like to speak to
Conversations in this sector are likely to be most productive with:
- charge-point operators running public or workplace networks;
- e-mobility service providers and roaming platforms;
- charging-network software providers;
- fleet operators electrifying their vehicles.
This page describes potential applications of a patented method. It does not describe an existing product or a live deployment, and commercial arrangements would be subject to discussion and legal agreement.