Commercial eRoaming Hubs (e.g. Hubject, Gireve and e-clearing) provide their business customers (e.g. Charge Point Operators or eMobility Service Providers) with two combined services: They connect parties technically via their platform and link this technical connection to a commercial marketplace where business customers can make eRoaming agreements with another. This brings certain advantages (e.g. convenience) but also creates a commercial (and technical) lock-in effect. Typically, the platform owner can also sets set restrictions for additional use-cases (e.g. billing, settlement) being implemented on top of the network.
The Open Charging Network on contrast focuses on making the technical connection to any other party as simple as possible, without creating a technical and commercial lock-in. The open source character of the technology allows anyone to join and use the network for free. The commercial relationships are outside the scope of the Open Charging Network allowing businesses to create bilateral agreements with another (learn more about setting up the legal relationship for using the Open Charging Network here). Additionally, any third-party service can be offered via the network allowing anyone to innovate freely on top it. Read more about this opportunity in the section below. |