April 2025, Oslo, Norway - The Nordic EV Summit is widely recognized as one of the most influential EV conferences in the world, bringing together global industry leaders, policymakers, tech innovators, and CPOs to shape the future of e-mobility. Held in Oslo, Norway, this year’s summit focused heavily on charging innovation, EV adoption trends, and the tech that’s redefining infrastructure readiness.
I attended the summit to remain in touch with global themes and priorities, and got to engage with charge point operators (CPOs), fleet owners, and energy leaders on scaling profitably and intelligently.
Here are a few points that I found myself mulling over, long after the event concluded:
The Decline of ICE Vehicle Sales: A Clear Trend
Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle sales globally peaked in 2017 and have been on a decline since then. To match the peak sales of 2017, the world would need to sell an additional volume equivalent to the entire U.S. market, a scenario that is less likely than me running the four-minute mile. This trend signifies a clear and indisputable shift towards electric mobility, reinforcing the importance of investing in EV infrastructure and technology.
The New Priority: Charging Speed is the new Range
Range is so 2023! Fast, frictionless charging is becoming critical in the market as noted in a presentation by BloombergNEF. A clear sign of the industry maturing across the value chain, in terms of batteries / BMS / hardware / software:
EV manufacturers like BYD Super E and CATL Shenxing are now enabling hundreds of kilometers of charge in under 10 minutes. As these vehicles enter European markets, CPOs will need software systems that support ultra-fast charging and peak-load management.
Solutions like Iris Network already offer scalable energy management tools for fast-charging environments- ensuring minimal downtime, optimal load balancing, and smart session control.
Software as the new differentiator in EV Charging
As hardware in the EV sector continues to mature, it’s clear that software is now the critical differentiator. While hardware like batteries, charging stations, and vehicles, become increasingly commoditized, it’s the software solutions that enable seamless user experiences, optimized performance, and scalable infrastructure.
At the summit, it was evident that Europe is embracing a diverse range of software solutions to meet the complex needs of EV users. I found it particularly interesting to note the contrast between Europe’s focused, vertical approach to EV software solutions and the more monolithic strategies seen in markets like India. As the global EV market matures, the demand for customizable software solutions- solutions that integrate seamlessly with corporate/ ERP systems- will grow rapidly.
Europe’s eMSP Evolution: More Flexibility, More Choice
Another trend emerging from the summit was the evolution of the Electric Mobility Service Provider (eMSP) market in Europe. These platforms are now offering a range of features that cater to a more demanding and tech-savvy user base:
Roaming hubs with 700k-900k chargers onboarded
Independent payment systems that remove the need for user accounts (pay-charge-leave)
Parking-integrated charging solutions
Trip planners to help users optimize their journeys
As the European market matures, these flexible solutions are setting a new standard for the global EV landscape.
The Rise of OCPP Brokers: The Next Industry Standard?
The concept of OCPP brokers came up in multiple conversations throughout the summit. While still in its early stages, it’s gaining serious traction, especially among large-scale CPOs looking to diversify their vendor ecosystem and manage multiple protocols / generations of devices. Multiple viewpoints on this. Level playing field and ease of managing a complex network for mature CPOs on the one side. Latency and additional points-of-failure on the other side.
Autocharge: A Step Ahead in Customer Experience
At the Nordic EV Summit, one of the largest CMS vendors in Europe shared insights from over 10,000+ autocharge sessions run in a year. It was a fulfilling moment of mental celebration - the Autocharge count on the Iris suite is many times that, achieved over a shorter duration! Thanks largely to Zeon Charging’s focus on customer experience.
While Plug-n-Charge remains an imminent priority, Autocharge already enables fast, app-free charging today, making it a powerful differentiator in delivering frictionless EV journeys.
High-Power Charging: Europe’s New Focus
Europe has begun sub-classifying fast DC chargers into further categories, with many organizations managing their high-power chargers (over 150 kW) separately. The number of high-power chargers, including those with up to 480 kW connectors, on display at the summit was notably higher than in previous events. Additionally, there were several MCS (Megawatt Charging System) chargers showcased, indicating a significant shift towards accommodating heavy-duty electric vehicles and reducing charging times substantially.
Asset Management: Lessons from the U.S.
Insights from the U.S. revealed that the mean time to repair (MTTR) for chargers integrated into public charging networks can be as long as 60 days, primarily due to the distributed nature of the asset base. This underscores the necessity for intelligent asset management systems to monitor, diagnose, and expedite maintenance processes, ensuring higher uptime and reliability for EV users.
Tools like Iris r-one already help predict charger failures in advance, automate maintenance tasks, and keep networks running smoothly.
Tesla Is No Longer THE Tesla
In a live poll conducted of the audience with attendees from 40 countries, a majority of respondents indicated their next vehicle would be an EV but not a Tesla.
And 1% would buy an ICE car – I feel that’s one too many at an EV summit 😄
This reflects a growing European preference for alternative EV brands, meaning independent CPOs and fleet operators will play a bigger role in ensuring brand-agnostic charging access.
This increases the pressure on CPOs to offer consistent charging experiences, no matter the EV model and highlights the importance of flexible, OCPP-compliant software like the Iris Suite.
The Quiet Roads of Oslo: A Symbol of EV Adoption
Beyond the technical discussions, an unexpected but profound takeaway from the summit was the quietness of Oslo’s streets. Despite the usual traffic with trams, buses, and cars, the roads felt eerily silent in the late evenings. This stark contrast between the busy streets and the quiet hum of electric vehicles (EVs) served as a powerful reminder of the rapid shift happening globally. My eyes and ears continued to fight for domination of my cognition, during the entirety of my stay in the city.
As cities transition to EVs, we’re not just talking about cleaner air or quieter streets; we’re witnessing a fundamental change to the quality of our lives.
A Clear Path Forward for the EV Industry
The Nordic EV Summit made it clear: the real race in Europe is not just about putting more chargers in the ground, it’s about who can keep them running intelligently.
With Iris, Steam-A is delivering the kind of insight-driven reliability that the next wave of European charging networks demand. Here's how Iris by Steam-A is powering the shift:
Iris Network: Scale your EV charging business effortlessly, connect and manage your chargers with one powerful, OCPP-compliant platform.
Iris r.one: Spot and fix charger issues before they happen- maximize uptime, utilization and CPO revenue.
Iris Sense: Unlock insights from your charger data to drive smarter decisions and higher profitability.
Iris Fleet: Slash fleet charging costs and ensure operational efficiency with intelligent fleet energy management.
Iris Echo: Validate and optimize your CMS performance with robust, real-world OCPP testing tools.
