QualityLogic Unveils A Groundbreaking CCS Analyzer to Accelerate Diagnosing EV Charging Interoperability Issues
Feb 7, 2024, Boise, Idaho, USA. Today, QualityLogic is announcing version 1.0 of its new CCS (Combined Charging System) Charging Session Interoperability Analyzer. This is a major addition to the industry’s tool set for analyzing interoperability issues in EV CCS charging. JD Power’s most recent Public Charging Satisfaction Survey found that 1 in 5 attempted charging sessions fail.
President Biden, after an April 6, 2022, call with CEOs of Tesla, GM, Ford, Stellantis, Lucid, Nissan, and others, issued a statement that “there was broad consensus that charging stations and vehicles need to be interoperable and provide a seamless user experience, no matter what car you drive or where you charge your EV.”[2] QualityLogic’s new CCS Analyzer is designed to help the industry improve interoperability at a faster pace than it is currently doing.
The product is based on a formal QualityLogic Anomaly Specification which, unlike other industry test specifications, identifies potential anomalies that may cause interoperability issues – e.g. non-conformant behaviors, differing specification interpretations, mismatched expectations between a charging station and EV, etc. – in the captured message traffic. The Anomaly Specification is a combination of QualityLogic’s years of experience identifying interoperability issues and CCS industry “tribal knowledge” that is captured from the hundreds of charging sessions already analyzed by the tool.
The QualityLogic CCS Analyzer fills a gap in the available test tools for interoperability analysis. Current test systems are geared to helping OEMs conform to the CCS standard, while sniffers enable testers to view the actual message traffic between the EVSE and EV. Most tools and logging systems are able to export a standard PCAP file with session traffic. The CCS Analyzer complements existing tools by using PCAP files from anywhere and adding automated analysis to identify interoperability anomalies, a capability not available elsewhere.
The QualityLogic CCS Analyzer V1.0 analyzes charging session traffic for DIN 70121, ISO 15118-2, ISO 15118-20, SLAC, and PWM state transitions. A robust Windows-based report viewer enables users to drill into anomalies found. The report assists vendors in sorting out what anomalies each side in the charging session generates that may cause interop issues. OEMs can also quickly analyze successful charging sessions to identify anomalies that may cause future interop issues.
The product runs on a Windows laptop and is hardware-independent. It can process any standard PCAP files generated by test equipment or EV/EVSE logging systems. If there is an embedded encryption key, the Analyzer can automatically extract it to decrypt message traffic for analysis. The product reports timing statistics such as charge loop response times and SLAC soundings and allows users to modify limits that determine if an anomaly is present. A graph of key variables – e.g., voltages over the charge session – can be created easily and a jump to the Wireshark frame with the anomaly can be done with a single mouse click.
QualityLogic is already working on future enhancements to CCS Analyzer to run independent of the GUI and to be invoked from the command line in a Windows or Linux environment, as well as an integration API for real-time analysis of streamed traffic. These features will allow integration into the overall software development workflow and observe the anomaly analysis in real-time during interoperability test sessions or in the field.
A summary of the kinds of Interop issues QualityLogic has seen in the more than 280 charging session PCAPs analyzed to date can be viewed on the company’s website. As part of the development process, the company is offering a free analysis service of PCAP files. QualityLogic will provide a confidential anomaly report as well.
“Our goal with this product is to accelerate interoperability in the CCS Charging Infrastructure by making it faster and easier to identify interoperability issues,” stated James Mater, QualityLogic’s director of smart grid strategy. “As long as the primary method of achieving CCS interoperability is through physical interoperability tests, tools like the QualityLogic CCS Analyzer will be a necessity.”
About QualityLogic
QualityLogic’s interoperability experts help clients understand, create, validate, and certify interoperable smart energy products. The company leads the industry in providing test tools for both V2G-DC and V2G-AC standards testing and certification for electric system interconnection. These tools derive from QualityLogic’s leading position as the supplier of the de facto standard test and certification test tools for IEEE 1547-2018 conformance and UL 1741 certifications. QualityLogic contributes to the development of the standards and certification programs for these interconnection standards, including through memberships in CharIN, IEEE, SunSpec, OpenADR, and other standards bodies and Alliances.