Electric Vehicle Identity: Protecting driver privacy, while streamlining transactions in public charging stations
EVI is an interoperable wallet service to securely identify and verify electric vehicles and their drivers, using decentralized technologies while also complying with eIDAS2 and ESSIF. The wallet is compatible with plug and charge standards for electric vehicles.
Image taken from: https://github.com/NGI-TRUSTCHAIN/EVI
- Motivation for the project: Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) face significant data privacy risks when charging their vehicles in Public Charging Stations. An underappreciated risk with the dispersion of information across multiple platforms is that vehicle and user data can be used to pinpoint users’ locations and everyday activities. A set of modular components is essential to allow drivers transact in different charge point networks with ease and while controlling the personal data they disseminate.
- Use case description: The main use-case of the EVI project is to seamlessly start a charging session (plug and play), using Verifiable Credentials and ISO15118. Using the EVI API https://evi.evloader.com/v1/ the following steps are executed automatically when a registered user plugs their cable in a supported charging point: The driver plugs their cable in the charging point. A handashake between the Vehicle and the charging point takes place and the charging point requests the Vehicle's contract certificate. This certificate is sent via OCPP to evloader.com to verify against decentralised infrastructure or other PKI services Once the certificate is successfully verified in one of the two ways above, then the associated driver is checked that they have sufficient funds in their balance (either evloader balance or Blockchain wallet balance) If the balance is sufficient a start command is sent from EVI to EVLoader main services and then to the charging point via OCPP, so that the charging session will start. The vehicle gets the start_charging command from the Charging Point, and the Charging session automatically begins
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Essential functionalities: A set of modular components are introduced that enable drivers to create a digital wallet used for EV charging. Charge point operators can also use modular components developed within Trustchain to accept transactions through those digital wallets. Features:
- Issue Verifiable Credentials (VCs) for electric vehicles
- Verify the authenticity and validity of VCs
- Utilizes JWT for secure and tamper-proof credentials JWS proof for additional security
- Compliant with the ISO15118 specification for EV charging
- Verify Driver's presence at specific plug (2-Factor authentication for electric vehicles)
- PKI certificate management and verification via Hashicorp Vault - How these functionalities can be integrated within the software ecosystem: These modular components can be rapidly deployed within existing EV Charging applications.
- Gap being addressed: Components developed within EVI proposal ensure that vehicle owners have control of the type of data transmitted during a transaction in charging station. To achieve this objective, the researchers will design and deploy a dapp that will enable vehicle owners to generate decentralized vehicle identity certificates. These identity certificates will be stored in the drivers‘ digital wallet of preference and electric vehicle. 3rd parties can retrieve these certificates when a vehicle is plugged and request payments for charging sessions in public charging stations via the drivers‘ preferred digital wallet. In that way the drivers limit the information they are required to disperse to third parties (CPO, charging applications) and rely on a decentralized digital identity to perform charging transcactions in diffent charging stations with less friction.
- Expected benefits achieved with the novel technology building blocks: Reduced friction when initiating a new session, minimize personal data dissemination when initiating a new charging session.
- Potential demonstration scenario: EVI wallet components will be used to facilitate transactions in actual charging stations managed by EV Loader.
Repositories:
GitHub: https://github.com/NGI-TRUSTCHAIN/EVI
Currently open to the TrustChain community only. Reach out if you need access.
Team
Christos Stefanatos
Product Manager at EV Loader, Engineering background and professional experience in Renewable Energy Industry
Alexios Karadimos
Lead Developer at EV Loader. Has computer science background and experience in deploying privacy enhanced mobile and web applications
Evanthia Sismanoglou
Msc Electrical and Computer Engineering) has academic experience in modeling electricity grid infrastructure.
Entity
EV Loader
Software Developer of EV Charging station management platform.
Website: www.evloader.com
