Charging Success Rate measures the success of charging sessions from a user-centric perspective

The technology consultancy P3 Group, together with co-authors from the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, today presented the specially developed, user-oriented key figure „Charging Success Rate“ (CSR). This can be used to measure the success of charging processes very precisely and potentially in a standardized way. The CSR is intended to help charging infrastructure operators (CPOs) in particular to better assess the quality of their charging processes in their own network and derive from this which improvement measures are required.

Up to now, the so-called „uptime“ of the charging infrastructure has primarily been used to indicate the technical availability of a charging point. However, uptime alone cannot be used to determine whether a charging process could actually be successfully started or completed for the user. A corresponding meaningful indicator has been lacking until now.

Charging Success Rate considers the entire charging process at the charging station
The Charging Success Rate takes into account the entire charging process at the charging station from authentication to completion when measuring success. The Charging Success Rate defines successful charging as the percentage of charging attempts where a charging transaction is successfully started (i.e. where the charging station starts to supply power to the electric vehicle) and then successfully completed. Data on each step in the charging process is available to operators via the standardized „Open Charge Point Protocol“ (OCPP). The authors of the accompanying publication emphasize that the quality and reliability of charging infrastructure can only be realistically measured by combining technical and user-related key figures. The CSR represents precisely this combination. The aim is for operators to use this standardized definition to create an industry-wide, user-oriented benchmark.

Background: Electromobility on the way to the mass market
There are currently around two million fully electric vehicles registered in Germany. The publicly accessible charging infrastructure comprises around 190,000 charging points, supplemented by charging infrastructure at retail outlets, on company premises or in the private sector, among others. This means that electromobility in Germany is about to enter a decisive phase, the entry into the mass market. During this phase, the requirements for user-friendliness and reliability will increase significantly.

Johannes Pallasch, Head and Spokesperson of the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center under the umbrella of NOW GmbHCharging processes should work as smoothly as possible across the board and be easy to integrate into everyday life. Difficulties when starting the charging process or charging interruptions are not only annoying for users. How well charging works in practice will also be decisive for the continued success of electromobility. Operators should therefore be able to identify and overcome problems in the charging process quickly and easily. With the Charging Success Rate calculation methodology, we are making an important contribution to this together with the P3 Group.„

Markus Hackmann, Managing Director E-Mobility&Energy, P3 Group
„From the customer's point of view, uptime is a necessary but not a sufficient prerequisite for a successful charging process. The analysis of field data shows a significant difference between the purely technical uptime consideration and the actual charging success from the user's point of view. It is therefore crucial to establish a user-centered KPI that validly measures and reflects the actual charging success. With our approach to the Charging Success Rate, we are creating real transparency about the reliability of charging infrastructure for the first time and, together with the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, are providing concrete starting points for improvement.

More about the Charging Success Rate and download: https://www.p3-group.com/p3-updates/charging-success-rate/

About P3
The P3 Group is an independent, international technology and software consulting company headquartered in Stuttgart. One focus of its activities is electromobility. P3 has been active in this field since 1996.
P3 works for the international automotive and energy industry and advises various players along the entire value chain - from the battery cell to the roll-out of the charging infrastructure. With an electromobility team of over 200 technology consultants, P3 also publishes opinion pieces such as the P3 Charging Index for better comparability of the charging performance of different electric vehicles.

About the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center
On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure has been coordinating and managing activities to expand the charging infrastructure in Germany since 2019 under the umbrella of the federally owned NOW GmbH. It provides support in planning, implementing and promoting the charging infrastructure. It collects relevant data in order to better understand the demand for charging points. It networks all key players and passes on its knowledge. It always has the users in mind.