Rohan Smith | Chargefox: Inside the Software Powering Australia’s Public EV Charging

Head of Partner Success at Chargefox on driver-first design, data-led expansion, and what’s next for roaming, idle fees, and V2G.

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Summary

Rohan Smith (Chargefox) explains how Australia’s largest public EV charging platform turns a fragmented hardware landscape into a dependable driver experience. This article covers OCPP‑based interoperability, session orchestration, pricing logic, payments, roaming, observability and security — focusing on the practical engineering decisions that move uptime, first‑attempt starts and customer trust.

From developer to platform leader

Rohan Smith has built products where real‑world constraints collide with software decisions. That background shapes his work at Chargefox, where the driver experience looks simple — arrive, plug in, start charging — but the underlying platform juggles hardware diversity, roaming standards, payments, tariffs and nation‑scale support.

Key takeaways

Interoperability is non‑negotiable. Supporting mixed OEM fleets and multiple charger generations demands deep OCPP expertise, certification, and continuous regression testing.
Reliability is as much software as hardware. Intelligent fallbacks, watchdogs and remote recoveries reduce site visits and cut downtime.
Pricing clarity reduces disputes. Clear communication of kWh vs time fees, idle rules and peak windows lowers support burden and builds trust.
Roaming lifts utilisation but multiplies edge cases. Network handshakes, token lifecycles and tariff mapping must be robust to avoid failed starts.
Observability drives uptime. High‑cardinality telemetry, per‑connector health scoring and alert deduplication surface true incidents fast.
Security and privacy are table stakes. PCI‑compliant payments, tokenisation and least‑privilege operator access protect users and partners.

The Chargefox platform at a glance

Device integration. Chargers connect via OCPP with vendor extensions mapped and validated. Firmware is tracked per connector to enable staged rollouts and targeted rollbacks.

Session orchestration. Start/stop commands, metering, error codes and state transitions are coordinated between charger, app and operator tools. Failed commands retry with jitter and transport switching; outcomes are logged for rapid support.

Tariffs and pricing. Sites support kWh, time‑based and hybrid pricing, plus idle fees and peak windows. Tariffs are versioned so invoices reconcile to the exact rate in effect.

Payments. Vaulted cards and modern gateways reduce declines and accelerate settlement. Authorisations, captures and reversals are reconciled to minimise orphaned charges.

Roaming. Partners exchange charge detail records and tokens using standard schemas. External products map to local tariffs so analytics and customer care remain consistent.

Operations. A live console tracks connector status, error streaks and SLA risk. Automated runbooks attempt safe remote remedies before dispatching field support.

What actually improves reliability

Edge‑aware heartbeats. Adaptive heartbeat windows prevent false offline alerts on marginal links without masking real faults.

Predictive incident grouping. Simultaneous connector errors are correlated into a single incident to avoid alert floods and speed triage.

Versioned firmware rings. Updates roll out canary → cohort → fleet with automatic pause on regression signals.

Driver‑centric metrics. Beyond nominal uptime, the team tracks first‑attempt start success, median time‑to‑charge and abandonment rate — the outcomes drivers feel.

Driver experience and accessibility

Start reliability. Clear error states and actionable in‑app guidance reduce abandoned sessions.

Pricing clarity. The app emphasises kWh pricing, idle rules and site notes (parking limits, opening hours, amenities).

Accessibility. Support for maps, large text and screen readers improves inclusivity; site hosts receive guidance on bay markings and reach heights.

Site hosts and partners

Simple onboarding. Templates for tariffs, hours and connector metadata speed deployment and reduce configuration drift.

Analytics that matter. Host dashboards focus on utilisation, first‑attempt starts, median session length, revenue per kWh and incident history.

APIs and webhooks. Partners can ingest near‑real‑time events for their own dashboards or customer communications.

Roaming and standards

Standards first. Multiple OCPP versions are supported with strict conformance tests; roaming uses established schemas to avoid one‑off integrations.

Token lifecycle hygiene. Robust issuance, expiry and revocation reduce phantom failures between networks.

Data security and privacy

Payment security. PCI‑compliant processing with tokenisation; no raw card storage within Chargefox systems.

Data minimisation. Only essential personal data is collected; role‑based access and audit trails are enforced.

Roadmap themes

Faster recovery. More on‑device self‑healing and smarter retries to cut mean time to repair.

Richer telemetry. Higher‑frequency power‑quality sampling to spot failing hardware earlier.

Smarter pricing. Support for dynamic tariffs and demand response where permitted.

Why it matters

Public charging reliability is a system outcome: device quality, installation standards and platform design. Software is the connective tissue that turns physical assets into dependable driver experiences. Improving first‑attempt starts and reducing incident MTTR has an outsized impact on utilisation and confidence in the EV transition.

Frequently asked questions

How does OCPP improve reliability?
By standardising messages between chargers and the platform, OCPP allows consistent monitoring, remote commands and error handling across mixed OEM fleets. That improves first‑attempt start rates and reduces on‑site interventions.

Why do public charger prices differ by site?
Hosts set tariffs based on energy costs, demand charges, site rent and desired utilisation. Platforms support kWh, time‑based and hybrid models, plus idle fees during busy periods.

What is roaming and why does it matter?
Roaming lets drivers use multiple networks with a single app. Behind the scenes, networks exchange tokens and charge‑detail records and map foreign products to local tariffs.

Which metrics actually reflect driver experience?
Prioritise first‑attempt start success, median time‑to‑charge and abandonment rate. Fleet‑wide “uptime” can hide poor experiences at the connector level.

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James Shand

Marketing Manager at Solar Choice

With half a decade experience in the solar energy industry, specialising in business strategy and marketing for solar companies. He has worked with top solar distributors in Canada and now collaborates with solar manufacturers and installers across Australia via Solar Choice, Australia's leading solar comparison platform. With degrees in business technology, science, and marketing, James combines in-depth market insights with technical knowledge, positioning him as a trusted authority in renewable energy.