Enel X Financial Services and Hubject, a Berlin-based e-Mobility joint venture, are aiming to boost the take-up of electric vehicles by streamlining the payments process when customers fill up. The Hubject eRoaming Platform allows drivers to charge their EVs using a network of more than 250,000 public charging points worldwide. A long-term partnership agreement between Enel X Financial Services and Hubject is the framework behind the new payment procedure. This will allow real-time settlement between charging point operators, who own the charging stations, and the companies that bill drivers when a customer recharges a vehicle.

Range anxiety, as concern about the range of EVs and the availability of charging is known, is holding back development of the market for electric vehicles. Creating charging solutions for the home and office, with its JuicePass app acting as a single point of access, is a key element of Enel X’s wider business strategy. The new system makes it straightforward for EV owners to fill up at charging stations owned by different operators without having to open a contract with a new mobility service provider, or MSP. MSPs are the companies that have a direct relationship with the final customer and thus deal with billing clients for the energy their vehicles use.

As things stand, companies such as Rome-based Enel X own the public charging points and charge each MSP separately when a customer charges a car. This has to be done manually every month or two, using a complex reconciliation process. Under the new settlement procedure, the two sides can settle their credit and debit positions in real time across the Hubject platform. The system will be rolled out in all participating European countries by the end of the year.