Feature: Automotive
Successfully navigating the EV charging
standards’ landscape in 2026 Dunstan Power, Managing Director, Smart Charging Consultancy, Versinetic
T
he rules of the smart charging game are changing – and quickly. ISO 15118 and OCPP 2.0.1 have moved from being goals to essential requirements. Tey now sit
alongside strict measures like the UK’s Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 and Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021. For anyone designing charging infrastructure, whether it’s domestic wall boxes or 350kW rapid chargers, “compliant” means something very different from a couple of years ago. UK charging standards are evolving
faster than most automotive electronics cycles can keep up with. With multiple regulations and quickly changing protocol versions, manufacturers face a compliance landscape more complicated than any previous generation of charging hardware. Te risks of falling behind are significant. Wasted R&D investment, products that can’t reach the market, costly retrofit programs and reduced market access are all issues as charge point operators and fleet managers make compliance a key factor in purchasing decisions. Te emerging standards are not just
changing certification checklists. Tey are deciding which products make it to market and which get stalled in development or fail in the field.
The convergence of standards Te UK market has become a testing ground for the latest EV charging standards. A shiſting mix of technical and regulatory
36 February 2026
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
requirements is increasingly shaping product development cycles. Central to this is ISO 15118, which significantly changes vehicle- to-charger communication through secure cryptographic handshakes, certificate-based authentication and two-way data exchange. At the same time, the Open Charge Point
Protocol, long dominated by version 1.6, is seeing increased industry uptake of version 2.0.1, with the newer OCPP 2.1 specification now published as the latest release, bolstering distributed energy resource control and improving vehicle-to-grid support. Tis change means charge point controllers need to act as advanced grid edge devices instead of just basic power delivery tools. Te existing regulatory framework also
plays a crucial role. Since June 2022, the Smart Charge Points Regulations have required all new domestic and workplace chargers to include default off-peak scheduling, random start-up delays of up to 30 minutes, and strong cybersecurity measures.
Beyond simple communication From an automotive electronics’ viewpoint, implementing ISO 15118 poses one of the biggest technical challenges in modern charging infrastructure development. Te protocol enables “plug & charge” functionality, which allows for automatic authentication and payment authorisation without user intervention. However, meeting the technical requirements is demanding. At the physical layer, ISO 15118 requires powerline communication capability. Tis
is usually achieved through dedicated powerline communication (PLC) modem chipsets like the Qualcomm QCA7005 or Lumissil CG5317. Tose components bring with them new Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) considerations and power management issues. Te PLC modem needs to maintain reliable communication across different power quality conditions, electrical noise environments and cable lengths, all while working alongside high- power switching electronics. Te cryptographic requirements are just
as strict. ISO 15118 requires TLS 1.3 for secure communication channels. It uses X.509 certificate-based authentication managed via public key infrastructure systems. For charge point manufacturers, this means integrating either secure elements or hardware security modules that can perform elliptic curve cryptography operations without overloading the main processor. Managing the certificate lifecycle, which includes secure storage, regular renewal and revocation checking, is crucial since failures could make functional chargers inoperable. Te protocol’s state machine
implementation needs careful firmware design. ISO 15118 outlines several charging modes, ranging from basic energy transfer to advanced grid services and bidirectional power flow. A solid implementation must manage transitions between these states smoothly, with effective error handling and seamless fallback mechanisms to the older IEC 61851 charging modes.
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