Elia ReBeam
Frictionless EV charging using a supplier and charging point of your choice
Building on their previous work, Elia Group and Energy Web partnered to launch the ReBeam solution.
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Introduction
As electric vehicles (EVs) become a mainstream option for consumers, the practicalities of EV ownership, like EV charging, should not be a concern for consumers. ReBeam allows EV drivers and fleet operators to choose an electricity supplier of their choice at public charging points by integrating different technologies and tools, like self-sovereign identities (SSI) and the Open Charging Network (OCN), to improve and simplify EV charging.
Building on their previous work, Elia Group and Energy Web partnered to launch ReBeam. ReBeam leverages LamA’s, bloXmove’s, and Lichtblick’s key capabilities and components, like EV charging points and settlement solutions.
Building on their previous work, Elia Group and Energy Web partnered to launch ReBeam. ReBeam leverages LamA’s, bloXmove’s, and Lichtblick’s key capabilities and components, like EV charging points and settlement solutions.
How does it work?
ReBeam’s consumer-centric approach gives EV owners the option to choose their preferred electricity supplier at any public charging point without having to sign multiple contracts or rely on third-party service providers.
ReBeam pairs the electricity used to charge an EV at a given charging point with the electricity injected into the grid by the chosen supplier (in the demo case Lichtblick) through Elia Group’s matching platform (Virtual Balancing Area) that conciliates the events to settle the transactions among all the participants using bloXmove’s settlement solutions.
ReBeam pairs the electricity used to charge an EV at a given charging point with the electricity injected into the grid by the chosen supplier (in the demo case Lichtblick) through Elia Group’s matching platform (Virtual Balancing Area) that conciliates the events to settle the transactions among all the participants using bloXmove’s settlement solutions.
Who is building the solution project?
ReBeam leverages Elia Group’s grid operations and matching platform, Energy Web’s OCN and identity and access management solutions, LamA’s charging point infrastructure, bloXmove’s settlement solutions, and Lichtblick’s clean electricity.
Elia Group is an electricity transmission system operator (TSO) ensuring that production and consumption are balanced around the clock, supplying 30 million end users with electricity. With subsidiaries in Belgium (Elia) and northeast Germany (50Hertz), Elia Group develops, maintains, and operates 19,271 km of high-voltage network and is one of Europe’s top five TSOs. With a reliability level of 99.99%, we give society a robust power grid, which is important for socio-economic prosperity.
As a response to Germany’s "Clean Air 2017-2020” program, the LamA charging network for electric vehicles project was deployed. The charging point network has over 338 points throughout Germany and is planning to add 142 throughout 2021 and 2022. This project is led by Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
Power & Mobility Ltd. is working on a decentralized network to interconnect electric power and electric mobility to balance renewable energy grids and reduce the carbon footprint. By coupling the energy and mobility sector, Power & Mobility Ltd. provides a solution to the challenge of balancing supply and demand of renewable energy grids. In a second step, the company is also enabling roaming between different power charging operators without the need of any third parties or additional costs. Power & Mobility Ltd. is the parent company of bloXmove. BloXmove is building a decentralized mobility alliance using the Mobility Blockchain Platform to make urban mobility more seamless and efficient.
LichtBlick develops intelligent solutions for a decentralized energy world. LichtBlick is Germany's largest independent green energy provider, and the market leader for green electricity and green gas. Lichtblick supplies 100% of the electricity for our private customers from German eco-power plants. LichtBlick also runs "SchwarmEnergie" (swarm energy), an IT platform designed to connect decentralized and renewable energy sources so that energy is generated whenever it is needed.
Elia Group is an electricity transmission system operator (TSO) ensuring that production and consumption are balanced around the clock, supplying 30 million end users with electricity. With subsidiaries in Belgium (Elia) and northeast Germany (50Hertz), Elia Group develops, maintains, and operates 19,271 km of high-voltage network and is one of Europe’s top five TSOs. With a reliability level of 99.99%, we give society a robust power grid, which is important for socio-economic prosperity.
As a response to Germany’s "Clean Air 2017-2020” program, the LamA charging network for electric vehicles project was deployed. The charging point network has over 338 points throughout Germany and is planning to add 142 throughout 2021 and 2022. This project is led by Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
Power & Mobility Ltd. is working on a decentralized network to interconnect electric power and electric mobility to balance renewable energy grids and reduce the carbon footprint. By coupling the energy and mobility sector, Power & Mobility Ltd. provides a solution to the challenge of balancing supply and demand of renewable energy grids. In a second step, the company is also enabling roaming between different power charging operators without the need of any third parties or additional costs. Power & Mobility Ltd. is the parent company of bloXmove. BloXmove is building a decentralized mobility alliance using the Mobility Blockchain Platform to make urban mobility more seamless and efficient.
LichtBlick develops intelligent solutions for a decentralized energy world. LichtBlick is Germany's largest independent green energy provider, and the market leader for green electricity and green gas. Lichtblick supplies 100% of the electricity for our private customers from German eco-power plants. LichtBlick also runs "SchwarmEnergie" (swarm energy), an IT platform designed to connect decentralized and renewable energy sources so that energy is generated whenever it is needed.
ReBeam’s main components and technologies include:
Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) technology
Charging an EV is not as simple as connecting an EV to a charging point, it involves several parties (i.e., TSOs, DSOs, CPOs, OEMs, eMSPs, etc.) with different interests who need common frameworks to enable interoperability and ease-of-use. A key aspect of this multi-stakeholder setting is identity. ReBeam leverages SSI technology, allowing the issuance of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials (VCs). These DIDs are used to authenticate actors, validate claims, and sign messages between parties, who can verify these events and stay in control over their data and identity.
The Open Charging Network (OCN)
By leveraging SSI technology and digital wallets, users increase the control and security over their data. Its tamper-proof VCs that record the details associated with the charging sessions avoid fraudulent or imprecise transactions.
Verifiable time-series
ReBeam uses verifiable time series to capture and verify all the transactions and the transactions’ details. Every time a user plugs an EV into a charging point using ReBeam a verifiable time-series records the start and end time of the charging session, which is linked to all the intermediate updates that have been collected at every minute.
The verifiable time-series links the DID of the charging point, the EV, and the chosen electricity supplier with the electricity (kWh) used to charge the EV. Then, the verifiable time series are used to settle the transactions among CPOs, electricity suppliers, and EV owners. By using verifiable time series, ReBeam ensures that the charging session data is flawless and incorruptible.
The verifiable time-series links the DID of the charging point, the EV, and the chosen electricity supplier with the electricity (kWh) used to charge the EV. Then, the verifiable time series are used to settle the transactions among CPOs, electricity suppliers, and EV owners. By using verifiable time series, ReBeam ensures that the charging session data is flawless and incorruptible.
SSI wallet for different stakeholders
SSI wallets are digital wallets leveraging encryption technology used to securely store keys, credentials, DIDs, and other types of data. The credentials stored in SSI wallets are entirely controlled by the wallet owner, who can freely choose to disclose information, sign transactions, or send messages. ReBeam’s participants (e.g., the EV owner, the network operator, etc.) use SSI wallets to substantiate their identity, credentials, and claims, facilitating trustless transactions among themselves.
Benefits
1
ReBeam increases EV portability by simplifying the EV charging process and providing a common framework, the OCN, where all the market actors participate and communicate.
2
By leveraging SSI technology and digital wallets, users increase the control and security over their data. Its tamper-proof VCs that record the details associated with the charging sessions avoid fraudulent or imprecise transactions.
3
Today EV drivers have to rely on third-party service providers to connect to charging points, increasing friction and costs. ReBeam avoids this step by directly connecting EV owners to charge point operators and giving them the tools to trust and verify each other.
What’s next
ReBeam’s development is near completion, its first demonstration has been executed in June 2022 to showcase the solution and its potential benefits.ReBeam’s development is near completion, its first demonstration has been executed in June 2022 to showcase the solution and its potential benefits.
Once it's fully developed, ReBeam will provide EV owners with an EV charging process that streamlines interactions and reduces frictions between charging points, EVs, and electricity suppliers.
Once it's fully developed, ReBeam will provide EV owners with an EV charging process that streamlines interactions and reduces frictions between charging points, EVs, and electricity suppliers.
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Introduction
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How does it work?
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Who is building?
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Components & Technologies
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Benefits
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What's next?
