Key:ref:EU:EVSE

ref:EU:EVSE
Description
A globally unique identifier used for electric vehicles charge point EVSEs (compulsory in the EU and participating countries).
Group: references
Used on these elements
Useful combination
amenity=charging station man_made=charge_point
Status: in use
ref:EU:EVSE=* More details at taginfo
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Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) refers to the part of a man_made=charge_point that controls the supply of electricity to a single electric vehicle (EV). The EVSE handles the charging process of one EV at a time. An EVSE may have one or several connectors (sockets/plugs) but only one connector can be used at the same time. You can record the identifier (ID) assigned to the EVSE in the ref:EU:EVSE=* tag. Adding the tag in OpenStreetMap helps link objects between OpenStreetMap and other external databases which also include the EVSE ID.

If a man_made=charge_point can control the supply of electricity to more than one EV at a time, then it will have more than one EVSE associated with it: The EVSE IDs can be added to the ref:EU:EVSE=* tag as a comma separated list.

Confusingly, an almost identical syntax to the EVSE ID can also be (optionally) assigned the charge pools and stations even though those are not EVSEs. Some users are adding these Pool IDs and Charging Station IDs to OpenStreetMap using the same ref:EU:EVSE=* tag.

EVSE ID

Syntax

The EVSE ID follows a fixed structure:  <Country Code>  <S>  <Operator ID>  <S>  E  <Power Outlet ID / Charge Point ID> 

Where:

•  <Country Code>  = two character country code according to ISO-3166-1 (Alpha-2-Code)
•  <S>  = an optional separator in the form of an asterisk character ("*"); recommended to include in OpenStreetMap
•  <Operator ID>  = three alphanumeric characters, referring to the Operator (Charge Point Operator under IDACS documentation)
•  E  = The letter “E” to indicate that the ID relates to an EVSE
•  <Power Outlet ID / Charge Point ID>  = 1-31 (ALPHA / DIGIT /  <S> ); between 1 and 31 sequence of alphanumeric characters or the separator character ("*"; cannot be used as the first character in the sequence), allowing the operator to identify one specific EVSE. Under the IDACS documentation this is renamed from Power Output ID to Charge Point ID, shortened to 1 to 30 alphanumeric sequence (1-30 (ALPHA / DIGIT)) and the Operator is now referred to as a Charge Point Operator (CPO). It is unclear if reducing the max length by 1 character was intentional or accidental as IDACS also does not recommend the use of the separator asterisk character ("*") anywhere in the EVSE ID and they may have incorrectly thought that the original ISO/eMI³ defined max length of 31 was only when an asterisk was included.

EVSE IDs are case insensitive. The format is based on ISO 15118 Part 2 (Annex H, page 324) and the eMi³ standard (v1.0 part 2 §1.3). The full standards include more than what is applicable to OpenStreetMap; we will only use the part that a relevant to features we can map.

The separator (*) exists to improve human readability of EVSE IDs. Although it is optional in the format specification, it is recommended to include in in OpenStreetMap. This helps indicate to other mappers that you have entered a proper EVSE ID rather than an eMA ID which uses "-" as it's separator.

Examples

• ref:EU:EVSE=SK*IOY*E222901 - A charge point EVSE ("E") operated by Ionity ("IOY") in Slovakia ("SK"). Note that Ionity have only used 6 of the potential 30 alphanumeric characters available to them when setting the Charge Point ID. They have however applied their own meaning to the digits as 2229 refers to the location (station) and 01 the first EVSE at this location.
• ref:EU:EVSE=DE*GCE*EACCC00161571 - A charge point EVSE ("E") operated by Elli ("GCE") in Germany ("DE").

History

Global introduction

The syntax for the EVSE ID was first introduced by the International Organization for Standardization in 2014. It was then extended in 2015 by the eMobility ICT Interoperability Innovation (eMI³) Group, which was a open industry forum of global EV market participants. eMI³ introduced an almost identical syntax to the EVSE ID that can be used for charge pools.

Use within the EU and participating countries

In 2019 the ID and Data collection for Sustainable Fuels in Europe (IDACS) project was established by the European Commission to support EU member states in setting up data collecting for alternative fuels infrastructure. It was coordinated under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program and involved multiple EU member states working together to harmonize data collection and improve access to information on electric vehicle charging and alternative fuel stations. It resulted in the establishment of national ID registration organisation (IDROs). The IDROs are responsible for assigning the three alphanumeric characters for the Charge Point Operators, as required for in the EVSE ID syntax.

You can find links to each IDRO along with their list of the three alphanumeric CPO IDs (and e-Mobility Service Provider codes) they have assigned here.

The work of the IDACS Project was incorporated in to Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1804) which requires the EU member states to make the data concerning alternative fuels infrastructure available as open data through their national access point (data interface). The detail of this data requirement is set out in Article 20 of the regulation and in paragraph 67 of the preamble. There it states:

Requirements on data types [...] should be laid down, building on the outcomes of the Programme Support Action on ‘Data collection related to recharging/refuelling points for alternative fuels and the unique identification codes related to e-mobility actors’ (‘IDACS’), that was concluded in 2022.

If we look at the IDACS deliverables, then we see that:

• Deliverable 1.1.1 & 1.1.2 states that "at least an EVSE ID is needed for all charge points with 'E' as 'type character". It makes IDs using type characters 'S' and 'P' optional, that is to say that the extended use of the syntax described below is optional and not an EU wide requirement.
• Deliverable 2.2.2 further confirms that "charge point ID" (meaning the EVSE ID with type character 'E') is the only compulsory ID required.

The combination of IDACS and the EU regulation, therefore means that in the EU it is compulsory to assign globally unique identifiers (IDs) to public EVSEs conformant with ISO/eMI³ syntax set out above (the one with the letter "E" in it). The extended format described below (those IDs with the letter "S" and "P") is not compulsory. Individual member states may however have gone further than the requirement of this EU regulation. An example is France where their IDRO (the Association Française pour l’Itinérance de la Recharge Électrique des Véhicules) requires the use of the eMI³ extended use syntax for Pool IDs (those with the letter "P" in the ID) however it is not well enforced with many entries in the register failing to conform to it. On the other had, Greece is an example of a country that has stipulated syntax that does not conform to the eMI³ extended use syntax for Pool IDs.

Extended use of the syntax

Use of this syntax for Pool and Station ID is not compulsory in the EU. While some countries do require it (e.g. France, albeit poorly enforced), other countries require an ID that does not conform to this syntax (e.g. Greece) or simply do not specify a required syntax when referring to Pools/Stations. Many European countries now use the OCPI standard to collate their "National Access Point" registers. See Open Charge Point Interface.

Terminology

The eMI³ standard set out a four level/hierarchy data structure for charging infrastructure:

• Level 1: “Pool” — This is defined as a grouping of charging stations that share close location. In OpenStreetMap this maps to amenity=charging_station.
• Level 2: “Charging Station” — Defined as a physical grouping of one or more EVSEs, sharing a common user identification interface. It maps to man_made=charge_point assuming each of these have their own user interface for initiating charging and/or payment.
• Level 3: “EVSE” — This is the part that handles the charging process of one EV at a time and may have one or several connectors (sockets/plugs) but only one connector can be used at the same time. As it relates to a system rather than a physical object we do not have a tag for it, but the EVSE ID(s) can be added to the man_made=charge_point that the associated socket is on.
• Level 4: “Connector” — The connector is the physical interface connecting to the car. We use the socket:*=* tag for this regardless of whether the connector is a socket/plug or tethered cable.

eMI³ set out the syntax for IDs for the Pool but not the Charging Station. This was documented later, for example by the IDACS project.

Syntax for the Pool ID and Charging Station ID

This follows a very similar format to the EVSE ID, but uses a “P” to indicate that it refers to a Pool ( <Country Code>  <S>  <CPO or Loc owner ID>  <S>  P  <Pool Instance> ) or an "S" to indicate that it refers to a Charging Station ( <Country Code>  <S>  <CPO or Loc owner ID>  <S>  S  <Station Instance> ).

Use in EU

As noted in the history section above, EU regulation 2023/1804 only requires that the EVSE (level 3) be given an ID following the eMI³ standard. The Pool (level 1) and Charging Station (Level 2) is optional. Some charge point operators follow the syntax when referring to their locations, others do not.