BP Pulse has connected its North American charging network to ChargeHub's Passport Hub, bringing more than 850 charging points at over 95 locations into the roaming platform. Drivers will be able to find, access and pay for charging at BP Pulse sites through the ChargeHub app instead of registering separately with the operator.
The access reaches beyond ChargeHub's own app. Chargers added to Passport Hub also become available to other e-mobility service providers and vehicle manufacturers connected to the platform, so their customers can use BP Pulse sites through the apps and in-car services they already have.
A hub instead of one-to-one deals
Passport Hub is ChargeHub's roaming platform, which links charging networks with mobility service providers and carmakers. It is built to simplify public charging by letting a driver's existing app or service work across several networks rather than requiring a separate account with each charge point operator.
For BP Pulse, the agreement widens the reach of its North American infrastructure by opening it to a broader set of third-party platforms. For ChargeHub, it adds another network to the roaming ecosystem offered to its partners.
What the two companies say
Sujay Sharma, BP Pulse's vice president of EV charging in the US, described the partnership as expanding access to the BP Pulse network through trusted roaming partners. Charging networks working better together, he said, benefits the entire EV ecosystem and is an important step toward accelerating EV adoption.
ChargeHub chief executive Simon Ouellette said that a network of BP Pulse's size choosing Passport Hub is a strong signal that the hub model has become the way roaming is done in North America. Because the arrangement runs through a hub, he added, the effect goes beyond the ChargeHub app to the eMSPs and automakers already connected, which can now offer their drivers access to BP Pulse fast chargers.
Questions the announcement leaves open
The companies did not say how many of the 850-plus points are rapid or ultra-rapid chargers, or whether every one of them can be reached through each Passport Hub partner. The figures given cover charging points and locations in North America, with the US and Canada named in the announcement.
Because Passport Hub operates through the apps and services of partner providers and automakers, what an individual driver can see and pay for depends on which of those partners is connected to the platform and how each has been integrated — a breakdown the announcement does not provide.
BP Pulse presents the deal as a step in extending its network's reach rather than as an expansion of hardware. No targets were given for the share of charging sessions expected to arrive through roaming, and the announcement did not set out how the arrangement is priced for drivers or for partner providers.