Your charge controller. Custom where it counts, proven everywhere else.
Pionix, AST-X and Solectrix build custom-off-the-shelf charge controllers for EV charger manufacturers: pre-validated hardware, the open-source EVerest stack, and cloud services for OTA updates and security. Proof of concept in days, a functional prototype in 10 weeks, and a defined path to series production.
Custom hardware usually means starting over. It doesn't have to.
Most charger manufacturers face the same choice: buy a generic controller that never quite fits, or fund a full custom development with all its schedule risk. The custom-off-the-shelf model takes a third route. You start from building blocks that already work, ChargeBridge, the Pionix reference design and EVerest, and change only what your product actually requires.
A proven baseline
Every project starts from hardware and software that have already been validated: the ChargeBridge controller, the Pionix reference design, and EVerest, the open-source charging stack hosted by LF Energy. You can run a proof of concept on development kits and your existing hardware within days, and judge the platform against your requirements before committing budget.
Adapt only what matters
Your charger is not generic, so the controller shouldn't be either. Form factor, interfaces, power metering, connectivity: the parts that differentiate your product get engineered to spec. The parts that don't (protocol stacks, Linux bring-up, OCPP and ISO 15118 support in EVerest) stay on the validated baseline. Single-PCB integration replaces internal wiring and assembly steps, which lowers manufacturing cost and cuts a common source of field failures.
A defined path to series
The route from first workshop to production release is mapped in phases with fixed durations, so you know what happens in week 2 and what ships in week 28. After start of production, new features and new standards arrive over the air instead of through board redesigns. That also keeps you current with AFIR and the Cyber Resilience Act, with security maintenance handled through Pionix cloud services. White Paper: The Cyber Resilience Act →
Product Architecture
LF Energy EVerest
The open-source software bedrock, with native compliance for ISO 15118-20, OCPP 2.0.1, and the upcoming cyber-resilience laws. Learn more about the EVerest open source stack →
Linux Compute Module
A powerful Linux-based System on Module that runs high-level applications, grid integration, and future-proof software updates.
Pionix ChargeBridge
A dedicated real-time microcontroller module handling low-level safety, strict real-time control, the PLC communication layer, and the physical hardware interface.
From proof of concept to series production
The standard path runs from a two-week definition phase to production release in 28 weeks. An additional prototype loop, if your project needs one, extends the schedule accordingly.
Phase 0 · Explore
Start
Before the clock starts
Proof of concept on development kits and your existing hardware. Try EVerest hands-on, assess against your requirements.
Phase 1 · Define
2 weeks
Requirements workshop, concept design, detailed design from the pre-validated reference designs.
Phase 2 · Prototype
8 weeks
Schematic and PCB design, Linux BSP and bring-up, EVerest and application integration. 10 prototype units.
Functional prototype · week 10
Phase 3 · Integrate and test
8 weeks
Prototypes in your charger: app and backend integration, pre-compliance testing, field validation.
Phase 4 · Industrialize
10 weeks
Design clean-up, production hardware and pilot build, EMC/EMI compliance, production release. Pre-series of 20 to 50 units.
Phase 5 · Production and lifecycle
Start of production · week 28
Ongoing
Series production, OTA updates and security maintenance, lifecycle management.
Who does what
One project, three specialists, clear responsibilities. AST-X and Solectrix are both part of the AXSELION Group and work as one engineering team.
Pionix
Pionix contributes the software and platform core: EVerest, the open-source charging stack; ChargeBridge and the controller reference design as the hardware baseline; and cloud services for OTA updates and security maintenance across the product's life.
AST-X
AST-X, based in Forchheim, Germany, carries the project from definition to production: hardware and PCB engineering, mechanics, qualification, and manufacturing. They are the team that turns the reference design into your controller and gets it built.
Solectrix
Solectrix brings embedded software and Linux depth: BSP development and system integration, the layer that makes EVerest and your application run reliably on the adapted hardware.
FAQs
Answers to common questions about custom-off-the-shelf charge controllers.
Start with a proof of concept, not a purchase order
The Explore phase costs you days, not months. Run EVerest on a development kit, test it against your requirements, and decide with evidence in hand. If it fits, a functional prototype is 10 weeks away.