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From Startup Experiment to Charging Backbone
When Plugsurfing launched in Berlin in 2012, the idea was disarmingly simple: give EV drivers a single app to access fragmented charging networks across Europe. Thirteen years later, the company has transformed into something far more important — the invisible infrastructure layer that powers charging services for major automakers, fuel card providers, and fleet operators.
"At its core, we provide the underlying infrastructure — the plumbing of EV charging," Wilhelm Henriksson told electrive.com. "We connect networks, manage complexity, and ensure everything runs smoothly."
The journey has been anything but linear. Acquired by Finnish energy company Fortum in 2018 and then by corporate payments giant Corpay (formerly Fleetcor) in 2022, Plugsurfing has undergone two strategic resets. Today, the company has deliberately narrowed its focus to the demand side — serving OEMs, fleet providers, and fuel card companies — while keeping its consumer app alive as a real-world testing ground.
The Quiet Death of Roaming Hubs
Perhaps the most striking shift revealed in the interview is the collapse of dependence on roaming hubs. When Plugsurfing started, platforms like Hubject were essential intermediaries — without them, cross-network charging was impossible. That era is ending.
"Over 90% of our charging sessions now run through direct connections with CPOs," Henriksson explained. "This gives us more control, lower latency, and better economics."
The company still maintains relationships with Hubject and three other roaming hubs, primarily for smaller operators where direct integration doesn't make economic sense. But the trend is unmistakable: the industry is moving toward direct, API-based connections, with OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface) emerging as the leading standard. Before OCPI existed, Plugsurfing even built its own direct-connection API, called OIOI.
Subscription Models That Actually Make Sense
For European EV drivers, the most consequential revelation concerns pricing. Today's charging subscription landscape is deeply frustrating — Tesla drivers get good rates at Superchargers, Ionity subscribers get discounts at Ionity, and everyone else pays full price everywhere else. It's the opposite of simple.
Plugsurfing is working to change that. "We're working on subscription models across multiple CPOs, not just one," Henriksson confirmed. The vision: pay one monthly fee and get discounted charging at thousands of stations regardless of which company operates the hardware.
This is particularly relevant for fleet operators, who manage vehicles charging across many different networks daily. But private drivers stand to benefit too. A single subscription covering Fastned, Ionity, Allego, and hundreds of regional operators would be a genuine breakthrough for charging simplicity in Europe.
Why Fuel Card Companies Are Winning at EV Charging
One of the interview's most counterintuitive insights: traditional fuel card companies are emerging as key players in the EV charging ecosystem. Corpay's acquisition of Plugsurfing wasn't random — it was strategic.
"Corpay's background in fuel cards has been very relevant," Henriksson noted. "Like them, we operate a network without owning physical assets. That model — aggregating and managing access to infrastructure — is central to our success."
In the Netherlands, fuel card provider Travelcard integrates Plugsurfing's services. In the UK, Allstar does the same. For these companies, the logic is compelling: they already have relationships with businesses that operate vehicle fleets. Adding EV charging to an existing fuel card is far easier than building an entirely new customer base.
White-Label Apps Are Out, APIs Are In
Plugsurfing's business model has fundamentally shifted in another way. When the company first began serving automakers, the default product was a white-label app — an OEM-branded version of Plugsurfing's own consumer application. Renault and Polestar both started this way.
Today, most new business is API-based. Automakers increasingly want charging services embedded directly into their own digital ecosystems — their existing apps, their vehicle infotainment screens. White-label apps can launch in weeks, but APIs offer deeper integration.
"Customers increasingly want seamless integration into their own platforms," Henriksson said. The company also provides charger location and availability data that feeds into infotainment systems, with white-label apps available through Apple CarPlay as a bridge option.
The Invisible Complexity Problem
If there is one theme running through Plugsurfing's current strategy, it is managing complexity that customers never see. "Handling contracts, invoices, and validation across hundreds of CPOs is complex but essential in a high-volume, low-margin business," Henriksson explained.
The company is increasingly turning to machine learning to automate these back-office processes — for example, classifying and reconciling invoices from hundreds of different charge point operators, each with their own formats and billing cycles. It's unglamorous work, but it's what makes the simple user experience possible.
What Comes Next
Plugsurfing's roadmap points toward a future where EV charging pricing becomes as frictionless as buying fuel — one account, one price structure, one bill, regardless of where you plug in. The cross-CPO subscription model is the centerpiece of that vision.
For the millions of Europeans who have already switched to electric — and the millions more considering it — the news that a major charging platform is actively building such a product should be genuinely encouraging. The era of juggling six apps, four RFID cards, and three different pricing plans to keep an electric car charged may finally be coming to an end.
What is a charge point operator (CPO)?
A charge point operator is the company that owns and operates the physical charging hardware — installing stations, maintaining them, and setting prices. Well-known European CPOs include Ionity, Fastned, Allego, and Tesla. In contrast, e-mobility service providers (EMSPs) like Plugsurfing aggregate access to multiple CPOs through a single app or card.
How does a multi-CPO charging subscription actually work?
Instead of paying a monthly fee that only gives you discounted rates at one operator's stations (e.g., an Ionity Passport), a multi-CPO subscription would cover chargers from many different operators under one flat monthly fee or discounted rate. Plugsurfing handles the complex billing relationships behind the scenes, so the driver sees only one consistent price.
Is Plugsurfing available across all of Europe?
Plugsurfing provides access to a pan-European network of charge points, concentrated in Western, Northern, and Central Europe. Coverage varies by country, but the company's direct connections with major CPOs and remaining roaming hub partnerships mean most public fast-charging stations in EU markets are accessible through the platform.