EV Charger NFC Authentication for Secure Offline Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing electric vehicle charging infrastructure faces challenges with secure and efficient charging, particularly in environments without a network connection, leading to latency, data loss, and increased installation costs due to reliance on unreliable networks and limited access to internet connections.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an EV charging system that uses a low power short range point-to-point communication system, such as NFC, for secure authentication and data transfer between EV chargers and mobile devices, enabling charging sessions without a network connection by storing data locally and transmitting it when a connection is available, and utilizing pre-authorized digital tokens for session management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network connection is used for authentication and data transfer, then charging session management can be performed, but latency and data loss occur in environments without reliable network access
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary authentication by storing encrypted credentials and digital certificates in the EV charger's memory before network connection is needed. The mobile device obtains access credentials in advance through NFC communication, enabling immediate authentication without waiting for network-based verification, thus eliminating authentication latency while maintaining security.
2Reliability
If network connection is required for EV charging authentication, then centralized security management can be implemented, but installation costs increase and charging availability decreases in areas without network access
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the authentication functionality from the network-dependent centralized system and implements it locally in the EV charger through embedded memory containing digital certificates and encrypted credentials. This allows the charger to independently verify mobile devices using NFC communication without requiring network infrastructure, reducing installation costs and expanding availability to areas without reliable network access while maintaining security through local cryptographic verification.
3Loss of information
If network connection is used for data transfer, then charging session data can be collected and transmitted, but data loss occurs in environments with unreliable network connection
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service data transfer by enabling the EV charger to autonomously collect charging session data and store it locally in its memory. The charger can independently manage data without requiring network connection for each transaction, and data can be transmitted later when network availability permits, eliminating data loss from network failures and ensuring continuous charging operations without interruption.
Data Source
AI summary
A secure electric vehicle (EV) charger and system incorporating thereof is provided. One embodiment includes an EV charger. The EV charger includes a processor, a low power short range point-to-point communication system, and a memory containing an authentication software application. The processor is configured by the authentication software application to receive an authentication request from a mobile device via the low power short range point-to-point communication system, send encrypted EV charger access credentials to the mobile device, receive a digital token from the mobile device, verify the digital token, and initiate a charging session based upon a command contained within the digital token. The digital token may be encrypted using a public key and may be self-authenticating without use of an internet connection thus enabling secure charging without the presence of an internet connection.