TopazEV Grows Charging Networks by Putting CPOs in the Driver’s Seat

As federal EV subsidies decline and the market shifts toward sustainable, demand-driven growth, charge point operators (CPOs) need tools that put them in control. TopazEV is a new charge station management platform built for the free market — offering flat-rate pricing, open-source flexibility, and full protocol support so CPOs can scale on their terms. Whether you're launching your first chargers or managing a growing network, TopazEV helps you maximize revenue, uptime, and independence —without vendor lock-in.

The trillion-dollar wave of federal subsidies that once supercharged the EV industry is receding, leaving behind a market suddenly expected to stand on its own. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program has slowed, EV adoption is cooling, and oil and gas have surged back into the American economy with a momentum reminiscent of the shale boom of the 2010s.

For many in the EV industry, these developments elicit panic.

They see delayed infrastructure targets, headlines questioning EV viability and America’s largest automakers — led by executives I deeply respect — cutting back EV manufacturing. But at S44 Energy, we see something else. We see the true beginning of the EV era — one that isn’t imposed by government mandates, but fueled by demand, innovation and the most American force of all: capitalism.

And S44 Energy is doing something about it. Today, we’re proud to introduce TopazEV, the charge station management software (CSMS) built to help charge point operators (CPOs) thrive in a post-subsidy economy.

The EV industry is ready for the free market

What we’re witnessing isn’t the death of electric vehicles. It’s their true entrance into the American market.

Subsidies and tax breaks got EV adoption — and the rollout of a public charging network — from zero to one. Now, manufacturers, CPOs and retailers are ready to scale by delivering real value. They’re selling reliability, performance, profitability and freedom of choice. That’s how personal computers found their way into 95% of American homes. It’s how cloud software transformed business. It’s how mobile became the default. The same market forces will define the next era of transportation — if we let them.

TopazEV was built for real, sustainable industry growth.

So, what does that take?

Financial incentive

CPOs are businesses. While most charging platforms treat them like tenants, siphoning off revenue through transaction fees, roaming charges or bloated enterprise pricing, TopazEV flips that model. With flat-rate pricing, CPOs keep 100% of their session revenue. This enables them to grow their networks without increasing overhead, improving margins as they expand.

Independence

Freedom to operate means freedom to win. Closed SaaS platforms restrict CPOs to someone else’s roadmap, with limited integrations and no code access. TopazEV provides complete control through open-source foundations, full protocol support (OCPP 1.6, 2.0.1, OCPI, ISO15118) and deployment options that range from fully hosted to self-owned. Now, CPOs can build the stacks that fit their businesses, not someone else’s licensing model.

Demand-driven growth

Currently, one in five charging attempts in the U.S.fails. That’s unacceptable and a major deterrent to EV purchases. TopazEV solves this with a real-time operator dashboard, fault detection, session insights, and plug-and-charge and roaming support. Better uptime means happier drivers, and happier drivers create more demand, more repeat sessions and more revenue. It’s the virtuous cycle CPOs have been waiting for.

TopazEV gives CPOs the tools to compete in, profit from and lead the EV transition on their terms. That’s the foundation of the American Dream — and it’s the only way EV adoption will scale.

The future of EV charging won’t be mandated. It will be built.

China isn’t just leading the world in energy production (it produced 2.3 times as many terawatt hours of energy as the U.S. in 2024); it’s also leading in EV adoption. China is deploying vehicles, chargers and infrastructure at a scale the rest of the world is struggling to match.

The U.S. can’t lead in EVs if we don’t also lead in the systems that power and support them. That requires more energy, more innovative infrastructure and more reliable charging, all of which depend on operators’ abilities to build profitable businesses.

The economic opportunity is enormous. If we can meet the energy demand required for mass EV adoption, we’ll unlock a new era of industrial and commercial growth. That includes EV manufacturing, charging infrastructure, grid intelligence and entirely new business models that create wealth, resilience and long-term ownership. We won’t get there with closed systems and locked-down software. We’ll get there by empowering the people on the front lines of deployment — CPOs, retailers, fleets and utilities— with tools that scale, evolve and integrate without friction.

That’s why we made TopazEV open at the core. Open-source software is the foundation that allows us to ensure interoperability, avoid vendor lock-in and create room for real businesses to innovate on top of stable, future-ready infrastructure. TopazEV is Open-as-a-Service(OaaS), meaning it’s a fully managed platform built on open-source software, so operators get the transparency and flexibility of open standards, with none of the burden of maintaining the codebase themselves.

At S44 Energy, we’ve never believed in waiting for permission. We built CitrineOS, the industry’s leading open-source OCPP2.0.1 stack, which was adopted by Linux Foundation Energy. We’ve powered some of the largest networks in the world, and now we’re handing that power to you.