Imagine designing an electric vehicle (EV) charger as easily as updating an app. No more tangled wiring, no more reinventing the wheel. Just plug-and-play flexibility.

Sounds too good to be true? 

This vision has become reality as the EV charging industry undergoes a transformative shift. With increasing focus on efficiency, flexibility, and long-term scalability, software-defined charging is radically changing how chargers are developed, deployed, and maintained.

At the core of this revolution: ChargeBridge – Pionix’ innovative solution designed to make charging station development faster, smarter, and safer than ever before.

Understanding Software-Defined Systems

Across industries, the move towards software-defined architectures has allowed businesses to decouple hardware from software, providing the agility to adapt quickly and improve user experiences. From smartphones to automobiles, this approach has unlocked new levels of flexibility and faster innovation cycles.

While the automotive sector has made significant progress with software-defined vehicles (SDVs), the EV charging ecosystem hasn't yet fully realized this potential – until now.

The Challenge: Complexity in EV Charging

Traditional EV chargers are typically designed with tightly coupled hardware and software, creating significant challenges:

• Ensuring compliance with rapidly evolving industry standards
• Integrating robust safety protocols
• Supporting multiple vehicle types and charging standards (CCS, MCS, CHAdeMO, ChaoJi)
• Optimizing for both AC and DC charging 

This complexity creates a technical bottleneck that slows down innovation and increases costs. The solution lies in shifting the responsibility of managing complex charging logic from hardware to software, enabling a flexible, modular approach to charging station development.

Introducing ChargeBridge: Bridging Hardware and Software

ChargeBridge is a pre-certified, plug-and-play System-on-Module (SoM) that simplifies the integration of charging systems by decoupling hardware and software. While the high-level communication and system integration are handled by the BaseCamp system running on the Linux-based CPU board, the core charging logic, all low-level communication and safety-critical functions are managed by the microcontroller within the ChargeBridge module, ensuring both flexibility and security.

At its core, ChargeBridge solves a fundamental challenge: the need for high-performance, safety-compliant hardware that integrates seamlessly with modern software systems. Traditional designs require a complex array of hardware interfaces and safety-critical circuits. ChargeBridge reduces this complexity by integrating essential components into a single module that connects directly to the BaseCamp operating system via USB or Ethernet interfaces.

The "smart encapsulation" method ensures that critical safety functions are pre-configured and pre-certified, and that low-level communication is fully handled within ChargeBridge – to the extent that it can safely perform an AC charging session without additional control logic. The high-level charging logic, meanwhile, is managed by the Linux-based BaseCamp software. This not only dramatically reduces wiring requirements and simplifies hardware integration – it also eliminates the need for manufacturers to certify these functions themselves, significantly accelerating the development process.

The ChargeBridge Advantage: Flexibility and Speed

ChargeBridge delivers three key benefits that transform the charging station development process:

1. Unparalleled Flexibility: ChargeBridge makes it possible to build highly customizable systems that adapt to various charge port standards and market demands. Need to switch between charging standards like CCS, CHAdeMO, MCS, or ChaoJi? Simply swap the ChargeBridge module and connect a different cable – the controller and software remain unchanged. ChargeBridge supports both single-connector chargers and advanced satellite charging systems. While the module handles all low-level charging logic, BaseCamp orchestrates the overall charging process, handles communication with backend systems and vehicles, and delegates safety-critical execution to the ChargeBridge module – enabling manufacturers to scale efficiently without duplicating control hardware.
2. Accelerated Development: With pre-loaded firmware, open reference designs, comprehensive documentation – and above all: pre-certification of the safety-critical charging logic – , ChargeBridge eliminates months of development and drastically simplifies compliance processes. This allows manufacturers to focus on value-added aspects of their products rather than starting from scratch with each new project.
3. Full BaseCamp Included: Every ChargeBridge module comes with a full BaseCamp license, including lifelong updates. BaseCamp is a robust, future-ready operating system for EV chargers, built on a maintained version of the open-source EVerest project. It provides a powerful foundation for managing communication, system configuration, and high-level charging operations – while delegating safety-critical charging logic to the ChargeBridge module.

This integration ensures hardware and software work harmoniously together, providing manufacturers with complete control over their charging stations without wrestling with legacy hardware interfaces.

The Bigger Picture: Transforming an Industry

Software-defined charging represents a paradigm shift for the EV charging sector. By empowering manufacturers to innovate faster, reduce costs, and enhance user experiences, solutions like ChargeBridge are helping build the infrastructure needed for widespread EV adoption.

Pionix has been a pioneer in open-source EV charging software, and ChargeBridge represents the next evolution of this vision. By simplifying integration and reducing certification time, it enables companies to bring products to market more efficiently – a critical advantage in a rapidly growing market.

Embracing the Software-Defined Future

As software-defined systems continue reshaping industries, the EV charging space is poised for transformation. ChargeBridge provides the essential tools to build the next generation of charging stations – stations that are more adaptable, easier to develop, and ready for future innovations.

For charger manufacturers the time to embrace software-defined charging is now. With ChargeBridge, the future of EV charging is already here.

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Ready to experience the future of EV charging design?

Click here to learn more about the ChargeBridge, explore technical resources, and get a head start on your next project.

Want a deeper dive?

Join our live webinar on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 15:30–16:30 CEST to learn how ChargeBridge empowers you to build faster, smarter, and safer EV chargers.

👉 Register now to reserve your spot and ask your questions directly to the ChargeBridge development team.

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