Octopus Energy is taking a swing at one of the most irritating parts of public EV charging: needing a phone full of apps just to plug in.
The company today launched Octopus Charge, a free iOS and Android app that lets drivers find, start, and pay for charging at 211,221 EV chargers across North America.
Its participating networks include some of the biggest names in US and Canadian charging, including ChargePoint, AppleGreen Electric, EVgo, Blink, bp pulse, Shell Recharge, FLO, EV Connect, Circle K, Circuit Électrique, and FPL EVolution. Octopus Charge currently lists 24 partner networks on its website.
Drivers can search by location or ZIP code and filter results by charging speed, connector type, or network. The app also displays live charger availability, compatibility, charging speeds, prices, and nearby amenities, and it includes an EV-specific route planner.
Octopus says joining is free and that it passes through each charging network’s price without marking up the per-kWh cost.
“Driving electric should be simple, wherever the journey leads,” said Nick Chaset, CEO of Octopus Energy US. “Drivers shouldn’t have to juggle multiple apps and accounts just to charge their cars. By bringing public charging into one seamless experience, Octopus Charge gives drivers the confidence to hit the road, making charging one less thing they have to think about while helping remove another barrier to EV adoption.”
Octopus Charge is the North American sibling of Octopus Electroverse, the company’s public charging platform in the UK and Europe. Launched in 2020, Electroverse gives drivers access to more than 1 million public charge points across over 40 countries through one app and account.
Top comment by Alexander Platt
All I want to do is tap a credit card against a machine.
The current system is to plug in the car and wait to see if the auto-pay feature works. It almost never does. After that fails, pull out my phone and see if I can start a session through my car manufacturer's app. That might work, but probably doesn't. Then open or download an app from the charging network. Even if I already have the app I probably need to re-install it after an update, and I'll either sign up for an account or have to log in to an existing one with 2FA waiting for an email with a confirmation code. Then I can start charging.
Octopus sounds like just another step of things to try in case it might work this time.
None of this is necessary or helpful and I wish it would all die. Nobody has to deal with this crap to put gas in a car.
Octopus Charge doesn’t yet have anywhere near the reach of its European counterpart. But support for more than 211,000 chargers, including stations on several major networks, gives it a pretty useful footprint from day one.
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