As Stroohm, we aim to keep you informed as an independent specialist with the latest news from the market. Currently, there is a letter circulating from BIPT regarding the sale of Easee charging points in Belgium.
BIPT is the federal regulator responsible for the electronic communications market, the postal market, the electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum, as well as audiovisual media services and video platform services in the Brussels Capital Region.
In the BIPT's letter, they refer to the Swedish Elsäkerhetsverket (ESV), the Swedish authority for electrical safety. ESV had expressed concerns about some technical documentation that it deemed insufficient for both Easee products (Home & Charge). As a result, ESV in Sweden imposed a sales ban. Easee ASA provided ESV with extensive risk assessment documents from independent third parties during the investigation to rectify this issue, but the sales ban has not been lifted to date.
Despite the additional safety measures prescribed by Belgian AREI (electrical installation regulations), which include an external differential and circuit breaker in every Stroohm installation, and thus no safety risk with Easee products, BIPT is still asking for the sale of current Easee products to be stopped.
From Stroohm's perspective, it's essential to emphasize that this investigation by BIPT has no impact on the safety of already installed Easee Home and Easee Charge chargers. Users in Belgium who have an Easee Home or Easee Charge installed can continue to use them as usual.
Neither ESV in Sweden nor BIPT has decided on a recall of previously installed Easee chargers. Nkom, the Norwegian regulatory authority, stated, following its investigation, that there is no sales ban in Norway. In their press release, Nkom stated that they had no evidence to suggest that Easee Home and Easee Charge chargers are unsafe. Primarily, Easee needs to provide the correct documentation to better support its technical elements.
Support for Easee products remains unaffected. The app with cloud connectivity will continue to work, and warranties remain valid.
In anticipation of potential legal challenges, Stroohm is already taking immediate action due to the current unavailability of Easee products. Given the situation with Easee, we will soon transition to a new product to ensure that future installations are not compromised. We will strive to offer this new product under similar or better conditions. Our teams are currently preparing for a swift transition as soon as it becomes technically possible. More information will follow as soon as possible.
Easee AS's Response to the Elsäkerhetsverket Case, the Dutch Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI), and the Belgian BIPT:
Q: There is a sales ban on Easee charging points in Sweden and now also in the Netherlands and Belgium. Why?
A: Let's start from the beginning: Sweden.
Sweden:
Elsäkerhetsverket, the Swedish authority for electrical safety, expressed concerns about some technical elements that it deemed insufficiently documented for Easee Charge and Easee Home products. Elsäkerhetsverket was not satisfied with Easee's original technical documentation. Easee AS provided Elsäkerhetsverket with documentation during the investigation to support the safety of the products.
One of the concerns about documented safety evidence relates to the earth leakage protection of Easee. Easee Charge and Easee Home have integrated earth leakage protection against both AC and DC faults in accordance with the essential requirements in the relevant directives. This earth leakage protection is automatically tested between each charging session and at least once a day. This is an allowed option in IEC 62955 (manual or automatic).
Elsäkerhetsverket did not decide on a recall of previously installed Easee chargers.
Easee AS has updated the documentation, including all necessary information, risk assessments, and third-party tests, to support the safety of the innovative technology in our products.
Easee AS believes that Easee chargers comply with safety standards and, on substantive grounds, disagrees with Elsäkerhetsverket's decision. Easee AS has appealed the imposed sales ban in Sweden.
Netherlands:
Easee has received a message from the Dutch Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI) stating that they have adopted Elsäkerhetsverket's decision. If Easee does not voluntarily cease sales, RDI intends to enforce it.
EU/EEA countries must initiate and complete their own procedures. RDI refers to Elsäkerhetsverket's decision in its communication.
RDI has not decided on a recall of previously installed Easee chargers.
We disagree with Elsäkerhetsverket's and RDI's decisions and have thoroughly documented our objections, both technically and legally. Our intention and focus are to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Belgium:
Easee has learned that several partners have received a letter from the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) instructing them to:
- Immediately withdraw the Easee Home and Charge EV chargers from the market and cease commercialization and installation of this equipment.
- Contact the manufacturer to apply corrective measures requested by Elsäkerhetsverket to the equipment already installed at customers.
- Within 10 days, share in writing or by email the actions taken, as well as the identity and capacity of the person representing the company for questioning by BIPT.
Easee ASA has submitted a rectification plan to ESV in Sweden. This plan has also been shared with BIPT in Belgium. Once we receive approval from BIPT, we will proceed with the process.
EU/EEA countries must initiate and complete their own procedures. Each authority decides how to handle ESV's decision. In Belgium's case, BIPT has actively indicated that Easee Home and Easee Charge should be removed from the market. BIPT refers to ESV's decision.
BIPT has not decided on a recall of previously installed Easee chargers. If you have an Easee Home or Easee Charge installed, you can continue to use them as usual. The products will continue to be updated. The app, cloud solution, and connectivity will function as before.
Important to note:
- The withdrawal from the market applies only to the two products, Easee Home and Easee Charge, not to other Easee products, such as accessories or upcoming products.
- Documentation has been significantly improved, and the safety of Easee Home and Easee Charge has been reconfirmed by accredited testing institutes.
- Easee ASA has appealed the sales ban imposed by ESV. It is now up to the Swedish court to determine whether the sales ban by the Swedish Market Surveillance Authority is justified.
Q: Nkom, the Norwegian authority, indicated that they have no objections to ESV's sales ban on Easee Home and Easee Charge chargers. What does this mean for Norway and the Benelux?
A: Nkom announced in June 2023 that they do not object to ESV's conclusion. However, this does not mean an immediate sales ban in Norway. Nkom is awaiting the conclusion of the lawsuit in Sweden, which is expected to be completed at the earliest in the fall. There is no sales ban in Norway until then, and there are no other obstacles to our activities. Additionally, in its own risk assessment, Nkom concluded that there is no evidence that the chargers are unsafe. The entire Nkom press release can be found here.
The conclusion has no impact on already installed Easee Home and Easee Charge chargers. This applies to chargers in the Benelux as well. Like in the Netherlands, users in Belgium who have an Easee Home or Easee Charge installed can continue to charge as usual. The app with cloud connectivity will remain functional. Furthermore, our chargers are configured to continue charging via offline fallback mode, regardless of cloud connectivity. As an additional measure, we are initially working on making the app available via Bluetooth without cloud connectivity and later through other local controls.
Q: What about installing Easee Home and Easee Charge?
A: In a letter, BIPT instructs recipients not to market and install Easee Home and Easee Charge. According to BIPT, these chargers may not be installed. Looking at Sweden and ESV, currently, stock chargers may not be installed there either. The same applies to installing Chargeberry's in Easee Ready devices. End-users do not need to return their installed chargers, but installers are currently not allowed to install what they have of these products in Sweden, regardless of signed offers.
We will keep you updated on the situation in Belgium and the follow-up process.
Q: Which products are covered by the sales ban?
A: The sales ban applies to Easee Home and Easee Charge. It does not affect other Easee products.
Q: What does this mean for end-users in the Netherlands and Belgium who already have an Easee charger installed?
A: At this moment, the sales ban has no implications for already installed Easee chargers. In our opinion, end-users should not be concerned – all our users can safely charge their vehicles. We firmly believe that our chargers are among the safest in the market. Safety has been our top priority from the beginning.
For users of our products, nothing changes at the moment. The products will continue to be updated, and the app, cloud solution, and connectivity will keep working as usual.
We want to emphasize that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that users can continue to use our chargers, regardless of the outcome of this situation. You can continue to use the app with cloud connectivity. Our chargers are also set up to continue charging via offline fallback mode, regardless of cloud connectivity.
As an additional measure, we are initially working on making the app available via Bluetooth without cloud connectivity and later through other local controls.
Q: What is the current status, and what are Easee's next steps?
A: Easee disagrees with Elsäkerhetsverket and RDI's decisions and has strong arguments to support this. Easee AS has appealed the imposed sales ban in Sweden and has prepared the technical documentation aimed at demonstrating that our chargers are among the safest on the market. In the Netherlands, Easee's priority is to engage in dialogue with RDI to gain more clarity about the process.
Easee is working with an experienced team of legal experts, both in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia, to prepare for various scenarios and how best to address this situation. We are considering all scenarios, both in the short and long term.
Our intention and focus are to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
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