The Untapped Revenue Potential of Roaming for Charge Point Operators

Introduction

Business flexibility enables Charge Point Operators to capture new revenue opportunities, adapt pricing strategies, and expand network reach without the capital intensity of physical infrastructure deployment. Yet, despite 51% of respondents in Driivz’s 2025 State of EV Charging Network Operators Report recognizing the value of roaming for achieving this flexibility, 61% rated their charging management platforms as inadequate for scaling roaming partnerships.

The AFIR mandates interoperability in Europe, while NEVI emphasizes this requirement in North America. As electric vehicle adoption accelerates and regulatory frameworks become more stringent, operators must address how the industry’s most valuable flexibility factor has evolved into a significant operational challenge.

The Economics of Roaming

Roaming multiplies network value without requiring additional infrastructure investment. Integrating with a major roaming hub or using protocols like OCPI for network-to-network communication connects operators to extensive charging networks across multiple countries. For operators contending with the capital-intensive nature of EV charging infrastructure, roaming provides a pathway to revenue growth that circumvents the traditional limitations of physical expansion.

The economics become particularly compelling when utilization challenges are taken into account. According to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, the public charging experience is evolving rapidly alongside infrastructure expansion. Roaming partnerships monetize capacity by attracting drivers from partner networks to underutilized stations, thereby converting idle assets into revenue-generating resources.

Accurate settlement processes are fundamental to the profitability of roaming. The Driivz 2025 survey found that 40% of operators consider accurate settlements critical for business flexibility. Inaccurate billing across networks can multiply errors across multiple partners, erode profit margins, and damage partner relationships.

How can roaming partnerships improve charging station utilization without new infrastructure investment?

Roaming partnerships enable CPOs to attract drivers from partner networks who would otherwise not have access to their stations. For example, when a driver subscribed to Network A uses a station operated by Network B under a roaming agreement, Network B captures revenue that would have otherwise been unattainable. This strategy converts geographic coverage gaps into revenue opportunities, allowing each partner network to generate income from drivers outside their direct subscriber base. It also creates smoother charging experiences by expanding driver access to more stations beyond their subscribed network, which improves overall satisfaction and supports long-term customer retention.

The Platform Scalability Crisis

The Driivz 2025 survey indicates that 80% of operators believe their networks are only minimally or moderately scalable overall. When evaluating specific platform capabilities, roaming emerges as the weakest dimension: 61% of operators rate their platforms as only minimally or moderately scalable for managing roaming partnerships, compared to 45% for charger volume, 52% for driver management, and 59% for transaction processing.

Roaming presents unique operational challenges because it combines multiple stresses simultaneously:

• Driver management across multiple systems: Roaming requires authentication and authorization for drivers from partner networks
• Complex multi-party settlement: Each roaming session involves calculations across at least two parties, with currency conversions, fee structures, and reconciliation processes that lack industry standardization
• Charging equipment coordination: Real-time status updates, session management, and error handling must function across infrastructure operators do not directly control
• Data synchronization requirements: AFIR mandates that dynamic data (station status, occupancy) be updated within one minute, requiring robust real-time integration capabilities

Each partnership introduces additional technical integration requirements, bilateral settlement calculations, and quality monitoring obligations. Operators who postpone addressing platform scalability risk disruptive system migrations when network demands surpass existing capacity.

Regional Imperatives: Europe and North America

Europe: AFIR Mandates Interoperability

The AFIR, effective since April 2024, mandates interoperability, price transparency, and real-time data sharing for public charging infrastructure across the EU. According to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2025, public charging points in Europe grew more than 35% in 2024 to reach just over 1 million.

Beginning in April 2025, operators of publicly accessible charging points must provide both static and dynamic data, with dynamic data updated within one minute. While AFIR does not mandate specific integration approaches, the regulation’s interoperability requirements make roaming implementations (whether through hub platforms or bilateral peer-to-peer agreements using open protocols like OCPI) increasingly necessary, especially for operators serving cross-border drivers.

North America: NEVI Emphasizes Interoperability

The NEVI program emphasizes interoperability and network connectivity while requiring 97% uptime and open-access payment options. The IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 reports that the U.S. expanded its public charging infrastructure by approximately 20% in 2024, bringing the total to just under 200,000 public charging points.

Although NEVI does not mandate roaming to the same extent as AFIR, its focus on interoperability and network-to-network communication provides strong incentives for forming roaming partnerships. The expansion of infrastructure along key corridors creates opportunities for cross-network driver access.

Strategic Requirements for Roaming Success

Operators pursuing roaming must evaluate integration approaches based on their scale, resources, and strategic priorities. Roaming integrations rely on the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI), an open protocol that standardizes communication between charging networks. OCPI enables networks to exchange data on station locations, real-time availability, charging sessions, and billing, eliminating the need for custom integrations between each partner pair.

Leading operators are increasingly adopting hybrid strategies, utilizing hub integrations for broad network access while establishing direct peer-to-peer relationships with strategic partners when customized terms or deeper integration offer a competitive advantage.

Quality Management Across Partner Networks

Each roaming partner presents both opportunities and risks. When a subscriber from one network charges at a partner station that malfunctions, the negative experience impacts the originating network’s brand, regardless of infrastructure ownership. J.D. Power’s 2025 study found that 60% of charging failures result from chargers being out of service or not functioning properly, highlighting the importance of partner network reliability.

AFIR requires mobility service providers to present pricing information clearly before sessions begin, including transparent roaming costs. This regulatory requirement creates both compliance obligations and opportunities for differentiation for operators that execute pricing transparency effectively.

Which platform capabilities are essential for effectively scaling roaming partnerships?

Effective large-scale roaming requires several interconnected capabilities: robust OCPI implementation for standardized peer-to-peer or hub communications, flexible billing engines that support complex multi-party settlement calculations, real-time data synchronization that meets AFIR’s one-minute update requirements, and comprehensive reporting to provide visibility into partner network performance. Platforms must scale across all operational dimensions simultaneously, as deficiencies in any single area limit overall roaming capacity.

Conclusion

Roaming presents significant economic benefits, yet many charging management platforms lack sufficient scalability. As AFIR mandates and NEVI encourages interoperability in Europe and North America, respectively, roaming is transitioning from a competitive advantage to an operational necessity as regulations become more stringent and markets mature.

Success requires:

1. Platform scalability across all operational dimensions, with particular attention to roaming partnership management
2. Automated settlement systems supporting multi-party transactions with accuracy that maintains partner relationships
3. Strategic approach balancing hub breadth with peer-to-peer relationships for key partnerships

Operators that proactively develop scalable roaming capacity will secure a strong competitive position as interoperability requirements intensify. Delaying these investments increases the risk of disruptive system overhauls when capacity limits are reached. Early investment in roaming infrastructure enables growth, while postponement may necessitate inefficient and pressured upgrades.

Learn more about building scalable roaming capabilities at Driivz’s EV charging platform.