As the number of electric vehicles on the roads continues to grow, so too does the infrastructure needed to ensure that finding a charging station or charging point is not a problem.

The costs of installing a charging point are also falling thanks in part to technological developments, but challenges still remain. With little available space and a vehicle electrical system that must fulfil the demanding industrial requirements specified by IEC 61851, IEC 60364, ISO/IEC 15118, ISO 17409 and the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), mode 3 AC charging points are under particular pressure because the installation and charge point costs are simply too high to be economically viable for a provider [1]. Today’s AC charging points are mainly systems with expensive and sensitive RCD protection devices (type B FI circuit breaker). This allows today’s cars to charge at many different charging stations. With its scalable highly integrated CC612 charge controllers, Bender is addressing these issues.

A Bender charge controller is the main component of a charge point and is designed for use in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, wall boxes and street light charging points. A charge controller controls type 1 plugs and type 2 sockets. It enables a setup that is in accordance with current standards, such as IEC 62196, IEC 61851-1 and IEC 61851-22

The charge controller is characterized by its compact design and size (114.5 mm x 22.5 mm x 99 mm) that in turn enables intelligent, small and cost effective charging points. To enable the charge controller to communicate, a backend system together with a well-known and trusted communication protocol is required. Given that most backend providers strictly adhere to the OCPP communication protocol, the charge controller is OCPP 1.5 and 1.6 compliant.