Versinetic launches UK EV charging standards audit tool for manufacturers

Versinetic, an EV charge point solutions provider, has launched an interactive audit tool and technical guide designed to help makers of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) self-assess their products against the UK’s charging standards.

The tool is aimed at EVSE manufacturers, firmware engineers and hardware developers, and covers hardware architecture, cybersecurity and data compliance. Versinetic says teams can use it to validate areas including default off-peak charging schedules, randomized start delays, hardware cryptography modules and roaming payment options.

The UK’s Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021 and Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 already set requirements for connected chargers, and Versinetic says manufacturers have to work across a mix of protocols. The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 2.1 was released in January 2025, and full compliance with ISO 15118-20 is set to become mandatory for all new public and private installations by 2027.

ISO 15118 is the communication standard behind Plug & Charge, which enables a vehicle and charger to authenticate and start a session automatically without a separate card or app. Implementing it o calls for hardware changes. Versinetic notes that it requires a PowerLine Communications (PLC) modem and dedicated crypto co-processors to manage Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates without loading the main processor.

Versinetic’s technical guide recommends dual-stack configurations: running OCPP 2.1 firmware with a backwards-compatibility shim to OCPP 1.6 via feature flags to keep interoperability with legacy back offices. It also advises adopting ISO 15118 and modular software architectures early to move from basic AC charging to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional energy transfer, along with cyber-hardening measures such as secure boot, signed firmware updates with rollback safeguards, and alignment with the ETSI EN 303 645 consumer IoT cybersecurity baseline.

“Features like ISO 15118 for automated Plug & Charge and OCPP 2.1 for smart grid interaction are transitioning from future tech to baseline commercial expectations,” said Dunstan Power, Managing Director of Versinetic. “We engineered this interactive audit tool to serve as a pragmatic roadmap, allowing engineering and product teams to map out their compliance gaps so they don’t face costly hardware redesigns.”

Source: Versinetic