US electric vehicle (EV) charging service provider Car Charging Group has entered into an agreement with GE’s industrial solutions business to introduce interoperability between CarCharging’s Blink Network and GE’s WattStation EV chargers.

Drivers and owners of GE WattStations will be able to use CarCharging’s Blink Network as an alternative payment method, and will be able to utilise both companies’ mobile applications and radio-frequency identification (RFID) cards interchangeably. They will also be able to activate and deactivate charging sessions for both the Blink EV charging stations and GE WattStations through either company’s mobile application or RFID card.

GE EV infrastructure and software lead product manager Seth Cutler said that GE believes that interoperability across EV charging hardware should enable greater choices for equipment owners and greater mobility for EV owners.

"By working with CarCharging and their Blink Network, we are opening new access and payment channels for the entire EV industry," Cutler said.

CarCharging chief executive officer Michael D Farkas said that the company is proud to partner with GE and lead the way to true interoperability between EV charging networks.

"CarCharging is committed to working with all EV charging manufacturers on interoperability, and we are proud to work with GE on a solution that provides drivers with easier access to both Blink and GE EV charging stations," Farkas said.

The companies expect the integration between the systems to be completed and introduced to drivers in the third quarter of 2014.