Charin

What Charin does

CharIN (legally Charging Interface Initiative e. V.) is a Berlin-registered, German non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 2015 to develop and promote global interoperability standards for electric vehicle charging. It is the leading cross-industry convener in the EV charging standards ecosystem, with approximately 285-300+ member organizations spanning automotive OEMs, commercial vehicle manufacturers, EVSE hardware makers, component suppliers, energy providers, and grid operators. Its core technology portfolio centers on three charging standards — Combined Charging System (CCS) for passenger vehicles, Megawatt Charging System (MCS) for heavy-duty trucks, buses, marine vessels, and mining equipment, and the North American Charging System (NACS / SAE J3400) — together with the ISO 15118 communication protocol that underpins Plug & Charge and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) functionality. Supporting assets include a CharIN Conformance Testing framework, the IEC TS 63379 specification for MCS (published February 2026), a global CCS Charging Map covering 125,000+ charging points, and a network of Testivals for hands-on interoperability validation across Europe, North America, and Asia.

CharIN's business model is non-profit membership-based, with revenue derived from tiered membership dues (Core, Regular, and Startup categories governed by a published Dues Schedule) and professional services delivered through CharIN Academy GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary providing ISO 15118 training, Testival organization, trade fairs, and conferences. The organization operates with regional offices in Berlin (HQ), Bangkok, Doha, Hong Kong, Sacramento, Detroit, São Paulo, and Australia/New Zealand. Distribution is community-led: members are recruited across the e-mobility value chain, onboarded through a board-reviewed application process, and engaged via working groups, focus groups, task forces (NACI, MCS, Marine), Testival events, CharIN Tuesday webinars, and the CharIN App. The organization holds no external investors, has no parent company, and is governed by a board chaired by Claas Bracklo with operational leadership including CTO Michael Keller and Executive Director North America Erika Myers.

CharIN's strategic positioning sits at the intersection of standards development, regulatory advocacy, and ecosystem coordination. Its standards are embedded in binding frameworks including the EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), IEC specifications, and SAE International outputs, and the organization actively engages in regulatory consultations across the European Commission, U.S. California Energy Commission, Brazil's ABNT, and other national bodies. CharIN's primary defensibility rests on its regulatory moat, network effects from member scale, and institutional lock-in through conformance testing and certification workflows rather than on proprietary technology or capital-intensive assets.

Name

Charin

Legal name

Charging Interface Initiative e. V.

Website

https://charin.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CharIN is a Berlin-based non-profit association, founded in 2015, that develops and promotes global interoperability standards for EV charging — including CCS, MCS, and NACS — serving approximately 285-300+ members across the e-mobility value chain worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CharIN operates as a non-profit association funded primarily through membership dues. The organization has grown from 11 founding members in 2015 to over 285 members across three categories: Core Members, Regular Members, and Startups. Dues are structured according to a published Dues Schedule document.
2. Training and Event Services: CharIN Academy GmbH provides training programs on EV charging communication standards including ISO 15118, organizes Testivals, trade fairs, and conferences. These services are offered through the contracted organizing party of the CharIN association.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CharIN (Charging Interface Initiative e.V.) is a global non-profit association that develops and promotes EV charging interoperability standards including the Combined Charging System (CCS), Megawatt Charging System (MCS), North American Charging System (NACS/SAE J3400), ISO 15118, and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) communication protocols. It operates a membership program with over 285 member companies, runs conformance testing and Testival interoperability events, and delivers training through CharIN Academy GmbH.

Product overview

CharIN operates as a global standards association (not a traditional product company) with a portfolio of EV charging standards and services. Its core offerings include the Combined Charging System (CCS) for universal passenger vehicle charging, the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and support for the North American Charging System (NACS/SAE J3400). Supporting services include Plug & Charge and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) features, the CharIN Conformance Testing framework for interoperability validation, Testivals for hands-on testing events, and the CharIN Academy for training on ISO 15118 standards. Additional offerings include the CharIN App for news and community engagement, and a CCS Charging Map displaying global infrastructure data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CharIN Academy: Training, testivals, trade fairs and events organizing body for CharIN e.V.
• CharIN Inc.

Products and services

• CharIN Membership Program A tiered membership program (Core, Regular, Startup) for companies in the e-mobility value chain, providing participation in standards development working groups, focus groups, task forces, voting rights on Steering Committee matters, and access to industry coordination activities.
• CharIN Conformance Testing A standardized testing framework for validating interoperability between EVs, charging stations, and communication controllers against CharIN specifications and international standards.
• CharIN Testivals Hands-on interoperability testing events held in Europe, North America, and Asia where companies test vehicles, charging stations, and communication controllers in real-world settings.
• CharIN Academy Training programs operated through CharIN Academy GmbH providing basic and expert-level education on EV charging communication standards including ISO 15118, Plug & Charge, and charging infrastructure for engineers, managers, and technology consultants.
• CharIN App Mobile application available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store providing latest developments on e-mobility, charging standards, CCS, MCS, news, events, and interactive polls.
• CCS Charging Map A global data dashboard displaying CCS charging points worldwide with statistics on charging infrastructure deployment across regions, tracking over 125,000 charging points.

Quantifiable outcome

• MCS enables trucks to charge from 20% to 80% state of charge in 30-40 minutes
• +4 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• BMW Group, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis JVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Joint venture of seven major automakers to build a new North American fast-charging network with at least 30,000 chargers compatible with both CCS1 and NACS standards.
• NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN MCS Task Force collaborated with NREL to conduct testing and evaluation of proprietary prototype MCS designs from multiple manufacturers from May 2023 through January 2024.
• HubjectcoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic Partner for Plug&Charge End to End Testing. Hubject operates the Intercharge Network providing access to 1,000,000+ charge points across 70+ countries and provides Plug & Charge ecosystem solutions.
• American Center for MobilitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of CharIN Testival North America events at the 500+ acre Willow Run facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Collaborative testing center for connected, autonomous, and electric vehicles.
• MACBETH Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN leads Work Package 4.1 in the MACBETH project focusing on specification and architectural design of multipoint MCS hubs. Partners include Fraunhofer, Milence, VTT, Power Electronics, Kempower, and sennder.
• ABNT (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN is initiating collaboration with ABNT, Brazil's national standards body, to become a sustaining member and contribute global technical expertise to Brazil's e-mobility standardization processes through CB-005 Automotive Committee.
• Green NCAPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN and Green NCAP signed Memorandum of Understanding in March 2026 to strengthen EV interoperability testing and certification alignment.
• California Energy Commission / Cal EPICcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN is core project partner in $4M Capital Charge Yard project, leading interoperability testing activities and deploying its global conformance testing framework at California's first EV charger testing lab.
• KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital Charge Yard project contributing advanced testing expertise informed by operation of the Global Interoperability Testing Center (GiOTEC).
• IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN members contributed to development of IEC TS 63379 specification for MCS standardization. Regular joint events like IEC x CharIN Marine Meet Up advance maritime electrification standards.
• BEHALAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of IEC x CharIN Marine Meet Up Berlin event bringing together over 50 experts to advance interoperable charging for maritime applications.
• MilencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner in MACBETH project deploying 284 MCS charging stations across 71 locations in 10 EU countries by 2027 for electric trucks.
• SAE InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN supports standardization of Tesla's NACS into SAE J3400 through the NACI Task Force, working on industry-standard system-level charging specifications.
• Terawatt and WattEVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN members planning to incorporate MCS into charging hubs for heavy-duty electric vehicles.
• ABVE (Brazilian EV Association)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharIN partnership with Brazilian EV association as part of its engagement in Brazilian decision-making bodies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ABB E-mobility: ABB E-mobility is one of the world's largest manufacturers of DC fast chargers and a CharIN Core member implementing CCS and MCS products. As a major hardware incumbent, ABB E-mobility is both a CharIN member whose success depends on CharIN's standards and a broader competitor-shaped participant in the EV charging infrastructure market.
• Tesla: Tesla developed the NACS connector that CharIN's NACI Task Force absorbed and helped re-standardize into SAE J3400, and Tesla operates the largest proprietary DC fast-charging network in North America. Tesla is both a forcing function that pushed CharIN to broaden scope and an ecosystem participant whose charging network and connector choice materially shape CharIN's roadmap.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO publishes ISO 15118, the underlying vehicle-to-charger communication standard on which CharIN's Plug & Charge and V2G work is built. As a far larger and more general SDO spanning every industry, ISO sits above CharIN's charging-specific scope and is a critical upstream dependency for CharIN's product.
• SAE International: SAE International is a large, established standards development organization focused on mobility engineering (aerospace, automotive, commercial vehicle). SAE officially standardized NACS into SAE J3400 in June 2023 — work in which CharIN members directly participated via the NACI Task Force — making SAE both a publishing partner and a broader standards umbrella that competes for mindshare in EV charging specs.
• ChargePoint: ChargePoint is one of the largest North American EVSE network operators and a CharIN member. As a major deployer of CCS/NACS hardware, ChargePoint is both a downstream customer whose products must implement CharIN's standards and a broader EV charging incumbent with overlapping ecosystem influence.
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): IEC is the global standards body that published IEC TS 63379 in February 2026, the technical specification for Megawatt Charging System (MCS) connectors and cable assemblies — work directly driven by CharIN's MCS Task Force. IEC sits one layer above CharIN in the formal international standards hierarchy and is a publishing partner and broader SDO umbrella.

Emerging players

• Hubject: Hubject is a Berlin-based e-mobility platform operator (spun out from major German utilities) that runs the Intercharge Network with access to 1,000,000+ charge points across 70+ countries and provides Plug & Charge ecosystem solutions. It is a CharIN Strategic Partner for Plug&Charge End-to-End Testing, occupying an adjacent interoperability niche (e-roaming and identity) that complements CharIN's physical-layer standards.
• Kempower: Kempower is a Finnish DC fast-charger manufacturer and an active participant in the MACBETH MCS project alongside CharIN, deploying MCS-compatible hardware for electric truck depots. As a fast-growing MCS charger specialist, Kempower sits at the leading edge of the heavy-duty standard CharIN is commercializing.

Direct peers

• Open Charge Alliance: Open Charge Alliance is the non-profit industry consortium that develops and maintains the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), the dominant back-end communication standard between EV charging stations and network management systems. Like CharIN, it is a member-driven standards organization serving the EV charging ecosystem; the two complement each other (OCPP handles network communication, CharIN handles physical/communication between vehicle and station) and represent the two principal interoperability frameworks in EV charging.
• CHAdeMO Association: The CHAdeMO Association is the Japanese-led global industry association that developed and maintains the CHAdeMO DC fast-charging standard, the principal global rival to CharIN's Combined Charging System (CCS). It shares CharIN's exact business model — non-profit, membership-funded, focused on DC fast-charging interoperability — and competes for the same automaker and EVSE manufacturer mindshare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charin-ev

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charin