ChargePoint Essential cloud plan enables revenue-sharing for EV stations

ChargePoint, a company specializing in networked charging solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), has introduced a new approach for offering EV charging. The ChargePoint Essential cloud plan is designed as an alternative to the company’s traditional subscription-based cloud plans. Through this plan, station owners incur no direct software subscription fees; instead, the software fee is covered by driver payments. Any revenue generated beyond the cost of this fee is then returned to the station owner each month. Additionally, station activation fees are waived for participants in the Essential cloud plan.

The ChargePoint Essential cloud plan, currently paired with ChargePoint’s CPF50 charger, enables users to avoid subscription renewals and fees, creating an easier financial model for station owners. This structure is well-suited to locations where chargers serve the public under limited access, such as multifamily housing, hotels, and other businesses within the hospitality sector. Under this plan, the software costs are fully financed through driver payments, which makes offering EV charging more financially accessible for businesses. After software costs are met, any remaining funds go to the station owner, establishing a consistent revenue stream without ongoing fees.

Rick Wilmer, ChargePoint’s CEO, highlighted that the Essential cloud plan aims to simplify EV charging for small businesses by reducing costs and deploying the CPF50, ChargePoint’s affordable level 2 charging solution, for a low initial investment. This setup is designed to maintain the same software benefits ChargePoint users expect, while minimizing costs for station owners.

The ChargePoint Essential cloud plan is particularly beneficial for multifamily housing complexes, where there has often been difficulty in providing EV charging for residents. With this plan, ChargePoint allows site hosts to set usage rates that cover costs and lets multiple users pay for individual charging sessions on a shared charger. The CPF50 also offers dual-port configurations and power sharing, enabling hosts to install additional chargers without exceeding the location’s electrical capacity, which keeps installation costs manageable and minimizes upfront expenses.