CitrineOS Brings EV Charging Software to Linux Foundation Energy

CitrineOS is now an LF Energy project and offers a community-tested and reliable open source software for EV charger management. This drives forward adoption of the OCPP 2.0.1 protocol, resulting in more reliable charging networks worldwide. When implemented, it will broaden access to and utilization of EV charging networks while making them more secure, intelligent and manageable. The addition of CitrineOS further strengthens LF Energy’s overall tech stack and provides additional open source resources for energy stakeholders looking to transition to renewables.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that CitrineOS has joined Linux Foundation Energy.

Eighty percent of EV owners charge their vehicles at home. But when you look at accessibility across all drivers — not just current EV owners — only 11 percent would be able to consistently plug in where they live. That’s why building a public network of chargers is crucial to EV adoption. But the experience of using public chargers today is inconsistent and unreliable.

After years of frustrating charging experiences, the Open Charge Alliance (OCA) created a framework for standardized and interoperable charger management software: the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). Its latest version, 2.0.1, has critical functionalities including real-time monitoring, uptime management and driver support. If all chargers meet this standard, it will improve performance and make it easier for drivers to charge at public stations worldwide. The problem is, OCPP 2.0.1 was launched in 2019, and four years later, adoption still lags.

In October 2023, S44 created CitrineOS, the only open source EV charger management software that’s compliant with OCPP 2.0.1 to reduce the barrier to adoption for standardized software. The project quickly caught the attention of Linux Foundation Energy (LFE), the open source foundation focused on harnessing the power of collaborative software and hardware technologies to decarbonize energy systems. LFE currently supports 30 projects, including Beep by Toyota Research Institute and Autobidder by Tesla. CitrineOS is proud to join these industry leaders on LFE.

About CitrineOS

CitrineOS delivers the critical back-end software required to quickly stand up EV charger management. It’s based on real-world EV charging use cases seen by S44 and the need to improve reliability and consistency across the industry. The modular software enables widespread interoperability between charging equipment, vehicles and networks, which enables drivers to charge at more stations worldwide.

Unlike proprietary EV charge management software, CitrineOS gives everyone a common platform to accelerate charger management deployments and future-proof EV charging software. With CitrineOS, developers can:

Provision new charging equipment
Complete charging transactions
Remotely control charging equipment
Monitor charger equipment uptime, power levels and degradation
Manage energy consumption and throughput

Join CitrineOS and Linux Foundation Energy

We’re honored to join LFE alongside four other open source projects today. Read more about the program and how we all provide resources for energy stakeholders looking to transition to renewables on lfenergy.org.

To learn more about CitrineOS and get involved in the project, join us on GitHub.