Daimler Benz and technology companies Hubject and ebee have piloted a new system called Plug & Charge that allows users to access charging stations using a ‘digital certificate’ instead of a charging card or smartphone app.

Electric vehicle drivers have to have a sheaf of cards in their wallets to charge their vehicles wherever they may be. Daimler Benz and its partner companies have worked out a way to simplify this through the international standard ISO 15118 and their system Plug & Charge in a Berlin based pilot scheme.

According to Daimler: “ISO 15118 governs the automated, secure exchange of information between the vehicle and the charging infrastructure based on digital certificates. Once the connection between the vehicle and the charging station is established, the authorization data from the driver is transmitted and compared in encrypted form. After the check has been completed, the charging process starts automatically and the payment process is then carried out without any further action.”

The automaker added: “With the new smart EQ fortwo/forfour, Daimler now has the first electric vehicle in series production that supports Plug&Charge.”

Following the successful conclusion of the pilot, Daimler said that Plug&Charge is now “ready for series application as an innovative solution for the automated authorization and payment of the charging process”.