Portugal’s electric mobility reform, driven by Decree-Law 93/2025, correctly recognized the critical importance of universal access. The previous centralized Mobi.E system, despite its limitations on competition, offered a key advantage: any user could access any charging point. The new legislation aims to preserve this ease of use by promoting and requiring e-roaming capabilities.

E-roaming is the necessary system that allows an EV driver, using a single subscription or application (from their e-Mobility Service Provider, or eMSP), to charge seamlessly across multiple independent networks (operated by various Charge Point Operators, or CPOs).

However, there is a fundamental disconnect: regulatory permission does not guarantee technical feasibility. While the law opens the door to competition, the market structure is already threatening to close it again. The greatest obstacle to achieving truly widespread and simplified e-roaming is the reliance on proprietary communication protocols.

The Problem of Scaling Bilateral Integrations

In a fragmented market, the default path to interoperability is through bilateral, one-to-one agreements.

  • Escalating Complexity: If a CPO and an eMSP use proprietary, closed systems, they must negotiate separate technical integrations with every single partner. This includes adapting to different communication protocols, data formats, and transaction processes.
  • The Scaling Trap: This approach is not scalable. As the number of CPOs and eMSPs grows in a deregulated market, the number of required individual integrations becomes exponentially complex. This places a massive, limiting burden on smaller, innovative eMSPs who cannot afford the time and resources to integrate with dozens of different back-office systems.
  • Impact on the User: For EV drivers, this failure to scale means roaming remains patchy, confusing, and frustrating, limiting where they can reliably travel and charge. This directly undermines the new law’s core objective of supporting mass EV adoption.

OCPI: The Essential Language of Interoperability

To overcome this fragmentation, the industry requires a universal communication protocol for roaming agreements. That role is filled by the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI).

OCPI is the independent, open standard that acts as the “technical handshake” between a CPO’s network management system and an eMSP’s customer platform. Its adoption delivers several core capabilities essential for market openness:

  • Efficient Partnerships: OCPI allows two networks to connect through a standardized peer-to-peer relationship, or via a central hub, using a common, well-documented language. This eliminates the need for expensive, bespoke integrations for every new partner.
  • Seamless Data Exchange: Effective roaming requires the reliable, real-time transfer of critical data: charger availability, current tariffs, charging session commands (start/stop), and Charge Detail Records (CDRs) for billing. OCPI defines exactly how this information is exchanged, ensuring data consistency and transparency.
  • Enabling Competition: With OCPI, eMSPs are free to focus on competition based on service quality, pricing, and user experience, rather than fighting technical incompatibility. This preserves the universal access of the old system while maximizing the benefits of a truly competitive marketplace.

The Time-Sensitive Mandate

The path chosen now—during the transition period—will determine the structural dynamics of Portugal’s market for years to come. Infrastructure installed using proprietary protocols will create lasting compatibility islands that complicate the roaming ecosystem and hinder cross-border charging.

Operators who adopt standards like OCPI position themselves for immediate and simplified access to international roaming networks, aligning their operations with the technical norms of successful, standards-based European markets like the Netherlands.

To fully realize the potential of a deregulated market, the industry needs to leverage domain experts who specialize in translating regulatory mandates into robust, interoperable software solutions. The focus must be on building scalable CPMS and eMSP platforms that treat open standards as the foundational requirement, ensuring that the technology itself does not become a bottleneck to the promise of competition. The adoption of OCPI ensures that the reform’s ambition for seamless e-roaming becomes a market reality.