(May 22, 2019) RESTON, Va. — Electrify America’s Center of Excellence technology laboratory provided the setting on May 16-17 for the 11th International Testing Symposium for the Combined Charging System, bringing together more than 200 engineers and technical experts from global automakers, charging equipment manufacturers, charging networks and related companies to test the next-generation technologies for electric vehicle charging.

Several global automakers tested vehicles at the symposium including: Audi; BMW of North America (tested Mini Electric and iX3 pre-production cars); Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; and Karma Automotive.

The symposium, hosted by Electrify America, co-hosted by Hubject and supported by CharIN, brought together international technical experts to test conformance and interoperability for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The goal for the 11th International Testing Symposium was to facilitate cooperation between international automakers implementing the non-proprietary Combined Charging System (CCS), which is the most widely used standard for EV charging globally.

“As a leader in the development of EV infrastructure, Electrify America was excited to host industry game-changers as we work to set an international standard for EV charging technology,” said Cliff Fietzek, director of technology of Electrify America. “Electrify America recognizes the impact of this technology on the future of electric vehicle charging, specifically in creating customer convenience and encouraging EV adoption.”

Over the course of the two-day event, attendees shared information, research, best practices and data to advance the implementation of ISO 15118, a protocol that enables the most prevalent functionality for the CCS standard.

Attendees also tested the “Plug & Charge” feature of ISO 15118 which enables a vehicle to automatically authenticate payment and authorize a charging session using secure digital communication, thereby eliminating the need for membership RFID cards, credit cards or mobile apps.