Blockchain-Based Payment Systems for Electric Vehicle Charging Networks

Abstract

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is rapidly growing, but existing charging and payment infrastructures still face challenges such as centralization, lack of transparency, and security vulnerabilities. To address these issues, this work presents a decentralized solution based on blockchain technology to manage payment systems for EV charging networks. The proposed system uses smart contracts to automate key processes, including driver and station registration, charging session initiation, energy consumption tracking, and secure payment settlement. A prosumer module is also integrated, allowing EV users with surplus energy to exchange energy with other users or stations through a blockchain-secured offer and reservation mechanism. The implementation leverages tools such as Remix IDE for smart contract development, MetaMask for blockchain interaction, Hyperledger Besu as the execution platform, and Hyperledger Caliper for performance evaluation. The system was tested and analyzed based on key performance metrics such as throughput, latency, CPU usage, and gas consumption. The results demonstrate significant improvements compared to existing solutions: throughput increased by up to 97.37%, latency decreased by up to 55.61%, CPU usage improved by up to 20%, and gas consumption was reduced by up to 14.47%. Results confirm the system’s effectiveness in enabling secure, transparent, and efficient EV charging and payment processes in a decentralized environment.