of today’s cell phone users won’t remember a time when these phones were about the size of a pound of butter, and their owners proudly displayed them everywhere they went – because the phones didn’t fit in their pockets. Those clunky precursors to today’s razor-thin wonders also lacked another feature we now take for granted. They didn’t roam, which meant conversations came to an abrupt end as soon as callers left the invisible perimeter of their service provider’s network.

Thirty years later and we’re expecting the launch of another transformative technology: the Electric Vehicle. Imagine proudly heading down to your local dealership and buying your first EV. Intrigued by the convenience of having all of your charge activity billed to you in a monthly statement, like your cell phone bill, you sign up for a charging program with your local energy provider that lets you take advantage of EV charging stations they operate throughout the city.

But what happens if you are running low on power and you find yourself nowhere near one of the charging stations in your utility’s network? This could happen not only if you leave the area covered by your utility company, but even within your home town, where different charge post networks may exist.

Despite the growing popularity of EVs, there are some complex infrastructure issues that still need sorting out. If charge-post networks lack interoperability, the ability for an electric vehicle owner to charge their vehicle on any charge post, anytime, anywhere would be impossible. This means more than just ensuring that any charge device you use can connect to your car—the standards for physical connection are in place—it means ensuring that the appropriate data can be exchanged with the appropriate parties. To make sure that you can have the freedom to use any charge post to refuel your vehicle and be appropriately charged at the end of the month requires a sophisticated system to manage the transactions—all occurring behind the scenes.

Think of an ATM machine. Your card fits in any machine around the world because the size and shape has been standardized—these are the physical standards—and in the world of EVs these have been decided upon. The difference is that anyone with an ATM card can use any machine anywhere in the world—regardless of which bank owns the ATM machine—receive local currency and the bank account is updated to reflect the withdrawal in your home currency. This can occur because there is a system in place that spans across ATM networks and banks to manage withdrawal requests. This is the critical piece that is lacking in the electric vehicle market — a cross charge network management system that will allow you to use any charge post, anywhere, regardless of who owns it.

There is a lot at stake in solving this. As U.S. showrooms ramp up for the arrival of full-size electric vehicles over the coming months, IBM and our partners are developing the systems that will make possible a seamless experience for the end consumer. If electric vehicles are going to become the “next killer app” for the smart grid, we need a world where EVs can roam freely without fear of running out of juice. And until a system is in place that allows national and even international roaming, don’t expect to see the EV market reach its full potential.

Authors: Clay Luthy, Global Distributed Energy Resource Manager, IBM Energy & Utilities

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