Electric vehicle fast charging networks worldwide can now manage DC charge units made by Australia’s Tritium on-the-fly using the company’s newly released remote access software platform.
Any electric vehicle driver would agree that the success of any public charging network is dependent on the network operator’s ability to provide on-the-spot support.
With a global footprint encompassing more than 4,500 DC charging units in more than 33 countries, Tritium’s newest upgrade promises to give operators best-in-class network management tools to operators, thereby making owning an EV a smoother experience for drivers.
Dubbed Pulse, Tritium’s new software platform gives network operators a minute-by-minute insight of what is happening across any one network, via one single window no matter the size of the network.
In addition to allowing network operators to assess real-time network usage and demands in a single glance, Tritium says its Pulse software will also allow access to 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week and 52-weeks-a-year support from engineers to network operators.
According to David Finn, chief growth officer and co-founder of Tritium, the Pulse software will revolutionise EV charging networks using Tritium’s world-leading high-powered DC fast chargers..
“This platform is more advanced than anything on the market and positions our customers with a single-pane-of-glass view of their network,” said Finn in a statement.
“This common view of a single network will allow customers of all sizes – from those with a few chargers to those with hundreds – to simplify managing their chargers, help them achieve better uptime and give them unique insights in ways that their current backends don’t or can’t.
Finn says that when travel is kept at a minimum due to the Coronavirus pandemic, another advantage of the new Pulse software is the ability to single out problem points with minimum fuss.
“Organisations across the globe have had to rapidly reinvent the way they do business and operate on the fly. Charge point operators are no exception, with networks needing to maintain uptime but all while in lockdown,” says Finn.
“Pulse assists operators to zero in on the performance of single chargers and get a holistic view of their network, all from a remote location and from a browser while our engineer-led support team assists with any issues in the background.”
Able to interoperate with any existing Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) back-end or network management software, once up and running Pulse is able to view any given charger on that network immediately.
The release of the Pulse software follows hot on the heels of another potentially game-changing fast-charging capability from Tritium in the form of a “plug and charge” system that can be integrated into existing chargers and allows drivers to simply drive in, plug in and drive away.
Negating the need to carry an RFID card, Tritium’s Plug and Charge tech allows drivers to pay for power via the plug, a technology that Tritium’s head of market strategy Nathan Dunlop says could offer other payment opportunities such as for groceries at parcel pickup.
Pulse will give operators access to a range of insights of all charge units on any given network from the past 31 days such as number and duration of sessions, and how much energy has been delivered to EV owners.
Access to this kind of granular data enables network operators to
“Operators looking at network management often have to create their own backend to support and visualise their network, which for many is an expensive proposition,” said Finn.
“Pulse takes the burden of heavy lifting when it comes to network visibility, allowing operators to increase their insights into the network’s operations, enabling them to operate their networks more efficiently and effectively, thus improving their ROI.”
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.