The two payment companies cooperated to launch encrypted payments at 50,000 electric vehicle charging stations in Europe.

The partnership was established by Irish e-commerce and mobile payment solutions company HIPS Payment Group Ltd and Swedish company Vourity, which specializes in unattended payment facilities such as electric vehicle charging stations.

Starting in November 2021, the integration of encrypted payment and charging stations will be realized in the next three years.

The two companies have not yet revealed which cryptocurrencies will be supported, but Vourity has released a picture of a payment terminal with the ETH logo, which strongly suggests that Ethereum may be one of the first cryptocurrencies to be supported. Ethereum will switch to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus mechanism next year, which may alleviate the resistance of environmentally-conscious electric car drivers.

Vourity CEO Hans Nottehed said: We are currently evaluating which cryptocurrencies we will support. They will be converted into legal tender. “

Encrypted payment will be connected to the blockchain through Hips Merchant Protocol’s native protocol token Merchant Token, thereby integrating with Vourity’s electric vehicle charging station.

As early as May, HIPS Payment Group launched HIPS Merchant Protocol, HIPS Merchant Protocol Gateway and Merchant Token.

The agreement was built on Ethereum and Solana in May 2021, and plans to expand to support Cardano in the future.

HIPS pointed out in May: “In addition, the Hips Merchant blockchain has near real-time transaction speed and is designed for merchant transactions. Whether they are mobile, in-store or e-commerce, it also uses exchanges in the payment card industry. concept.”

As we all know, Tesla has completely changed its attitude on the issue of accepting Bitcoin payments. Elon Musk pointed out that unless at least 50% of the mining sector is powered by clean energy, the company will not change its course. Other companies focusing on electric vehicles are also looking for innovative methods through “clean” cryptocurrency mining and adoption.

Earlier this month, Canadian light electric vehicle manufacturer Daymak announced an electric vehicle to be launched in 2023. It is equipped with a cryptocurrency mining device that can mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies while charging or parking.

In March of this year, Stellattis, the parent company of European automaker Fiat, cooperated with Kiri Technologies to reward Fiat electric car drivers with cryptocurrency through Kiri Technologies’ KiriCoin, in order to promote an “environmental driving style”.

In the same month, Volkswagen’s research department announced a partnership with Energy Web, a non-profit organization focused on open source energy transformation.

They collaborated on the use of blockchain to make electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations part of the power grid.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Energy Web Chief Commercial Officer Jesse Morris emphasized the benefits of using blockchain to track the integration between electric vehicles, charging stations and the grid.

Morris mentioned that during periods of local grid congestion, Volkswagen drivers can obtain cryptocurrency or fiat currency and are thus incentivized not to charge. In addition, utility providers can pay electric vehicle drivers to allow them to store electricity when there is excess power from the grid.