Osiris News is grateful for the detailed research provided by Messari on the DeCharge Network. Electric vehicles are popping up everywhere, aren’t they? You see them humming along, quiet as a whisper, but then comes the big question: where do you plug the darn thing in? It’s a bit like buying a fancy new phone and realizing you forgot the charger. Globally, more folks are driving EVs, which is great for the planet, but our charging spots just haven’t kept up. Especially in places where charging stations are as rare as a quiet corner in a bustling market.
- DeCharge is a community-powered EV charging network that allows individuals and small businesses to host chargers and earn income. This decentralized approach aims to expand charging infrastructure more rapidly and cost-effectively than traditional methods.
- The network operates on the Solana blockchain, utilizing microchains for efficient data management of charging sessions. This system supports features like dynamic pricing, smart routing, and token incentives for users and hosts.
- DeCharge offers a range of chargers, from small home units to high-power commercial stations, and is developing partnerships to enhance its ecosystem. The DeCharge token will play a key role in the future, enabling energy credit transfers and community governance.
That’s where DeCharge steps in, offering a rather clever solution. Imagine a charging network that isn’t run by some big company, but by regular people, like you and me, or perhaps a small business down the street. They call it a community-powered network, and it cuts down on the hassle and cost of setting up public charging. Instead of waiting for the big guys, DeCharge lets individuals and small businesses put up EV chargers and earn a bit of money from folks using them. It’s a neat trick, really, turning everyday places into charging hubs.
The whole system runs on Solana, a blockchain (a digital ledger, like a super secure, shared spreadsheet) known for being quick and cheap to use. But even Solana can get bogged down with tons of tiny bits of information, like how much power a charger is using every second. So, DeCharge uses something called microchains (think of them as smaller, specialized blockchains) to handle all that fast-moving data. It’s like having a dedicated express lane for all the little messages, keeping the main highway clear.
DeCharge started back in 2024, founded by Mohan Kuldeep Ponnada, Dr. Prakash Kamaraj, and Rama Krisha. These folks know their stuff, with backgrounds in wireless energy and getting hardware out into the real world. Their journey actually began with trying to figure out how to charge drones autonomously. Can you imagine? Little robots flying in for a quick juice-up. That early work, which even snagged them second place in Solana’s 2023 hackathon, shaped how they thought about mixing real-world gadgets with digital incentives.
By mid-2024, they saw a bigger picture: the massive need for EV infrastructure, especially in places like India, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa. Their blockchain model helps manage charger availability, pays out rewards, and keeps track of data. This means lower setup costs and faster growth than traditional, centralized networks. It’s a bit like building a road network, but instead of one big government doing it all, everyone pitches in to build their own little stretch, and they get paid for it.
The project quickly got a nod from Solana’s developer community, even getting support from Superteam in India. They also saw some real action in their early tests, hitting over a million cumulative charging minutes by December 2024. That’s a lot of electrons moving around! They even won the DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network, a fancy term for blockchain-powered real-world networks) category at India Blockchain Week. Then, in March 2025, they raised a nice chunk of change, $2.5 million, in a seed round led by Lemniscap. That money helps them make more chargers, expand globally, and keep building their software.
So, what kind of chargers are we talking about? DeCharge offers a few types for individuals or businesses to put out there. There’s the Mini, a small 3.3 kW unit, good for homes or a quiet neighborhood spot. Then there’s the Beast, a 7 kW AC charger. This one is pretty standard for homes, apartments, or small shops. It connects to the internet and works with regular EV hardware. They’re even working on a second-generation Beast that will have a built-in 11 kWh battery. Think of it as a backup power source, so you can still charge even if the grid goes down. Pretty handy, right?
For the big guns, there’s the Titan series, ranging from 60 kW all the way up to a whopping 400 kW. These are the fast chargers you see on highways or at busy commercial areas. They’re built for quick turnarounds and can handle lots of cars at once. All these chargers send their data back to DeCharge’s main system, and they all share in the revenue based on how much they’re used, how often they’re available, and where they are located. It’s all about making sure the right chargers are in the right places.
The brains of the operation, the coordination layer, lives on Solana. As we talked about, Solana is fast and cheap, which is perfect for handling all those transactions. For the really high-speed data, like how often a device is online or the exact details of a charging session, DeCharge uses Linera’s microchain protocol. This offloads the heavy lifting, making sure everything stays smooth and responsive. They also use something called H3 spatial indexing (a way to map out geographical areas) to figure out where charging is needed most, focusing on places that don’t have many public charging spots already. It’s like a digital treasure map for finding underserved areas.
Future plans include some smart features, too. Imagine dynamic pricing, where the cost of charging changes based on the time of day or how much electricity the grid is using. And smart routing, which would tell you the best available station nearby, even considering how long the queue might be. It’s all about making your EV charging experience as seamless as possible. You just pull up, plug in, and go. Well, after it charges, of course.
For users, there’s a DeCharge mobile app. You can find stations, reserve a spot, and pay with regular money or USDT (a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to the US dollar) on Solana. And here’s a cool part: you can earn token incentives just for using the network. These rewards can help offset your charging costs. It’s a nice little bonus, isn’t it?
On the flip side, if you’re hosting a charger, DeCharge checks to make sure your charger is online and actually delivering energy. They have a system where devices regularly send in performance reports to qualify for rewards. Plus, each Beast charger comes with an Open Source Energy Module (OSEM) from the DePHY Network. This means your charger also acts as a node (a connected device in a network) for DePHY’s energy optimization system. So, you can earn rewards from both networks, helping with things like balancing the power grid and managing batteries. It’s like getting paid twice for the same effort.
Now, about the DeCharge token. It hasn’t launched yet, but it’s a big part of their long-term plan. The token is meant to get people involved and support decentralized ownership of the charging infrastructure. Charger hosts will earn these tokens based on how much energy they dispense, how often their charger is available, and if it’s in a high-priority area. Drivers might get token rebates for their charging sessions. These rewards are designed to kickstart the network, giving both charger owners and users a reason to join early.
The token will also be the main way to pay in the future DeCharge Energy Marketplace. Think of it as a digital bazaar where you can do things like transfer energy credits or even resell prepaid charging sessions. The token might also give you perks like discounted charging fees or priority for reservations. Down the road, token holders might even get to vote on important decisions about the network, like how rewards are structured or where the money goes. It’s all about giving the community a say in how things are run.
As of April 2025, the token is still in its pre-launch phase. They haven’t spilled the beans on how many tokens there will be or how they’ll be given out. But they do have these seasonal point systems, like Genesis Points and ZK Points, which reward early contributors. These points might turn into actual tokens later, which is a pretty good way to get people excited before the big launch.
So, can you make money hosting a DeCharge charger? The idea is that individuals and small businesses can tap into a revenue stream that used to be only for big companies. While DeCharge doesn’t make the charger itself cheaper to buy, it spreads out who owns the infrastructure. You get to earn directly from people using your charger. According to their lite paper (a document that explains a project simply), a 7 kW Beast charger, which costs about $599, could bring in around $15.93 in daily net profit if it delivers 100 kWh a day. That means you could break even in about 75 days and make around $2,900 a year. Not too shabby, right?
Here’s how the money gets split: 70% of the fees from each session go to the charger owner. DeCharge gets 30%, and 10% of that 30% goes back to EV drivers as incentives. Charger owners set their own prices, which can change based on location, demand, and how much electricity costs them. Payments are currently accepted in regular money or USDC (another stablecoin) on Solana. The token rewards are a bit more complex, based on things like energy dispensed, uptime, how reliable the charger is, when it was deployed, and its location. Chargers that are always on and in high-need areas get more rewards. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
DeCharge is also looking at other ways to make money down the line. Maybe some chargers could have digital screens for ads. Or hosts could rent out space next to their charger for other services, like battery swaps. And in the future, with vehicle-to-grid (V2G, where EVs can send power back to the grid) or peer-to-peer energy markets, hosts might even be able to sell extra power. They’re also thinking about tokenizing the chargers themselves as real-world assets (RWAs, digital tokens that represent ownership of physical things). This would let people own a piece of a charger, even a small piece, and get a share of the revenue. It’s a way to get more people involved in financing charging infrastructure.
Of course, how much profit a host makes will depend on local things like electricity prices, how many cars pass by, and how easy it is to get to the charger. There are no guarantees, and the future value of those token rewards is still up in the air. But for EV drivers, it means more charging spots, closer to home, and maybe even cheaper charging thanks to those token rebates. It’s a win-win, really, aligning everyone’s interests to grow the network.
DeCharge is building a whole ecosystem, not just charging stations. They’re working with other decentralized networks to make everything better and stronger. They’ve got partnerships for data processing, smart energy management, precise location services, and even making the hardware itself. Linera, for example, helps them handle all that charging data without clogging up Solana. DePHY helps with energy optimization, letting your charger do double duty as an energy node. And GEODNET provides super accurate GPS (Global Positioning System) data, so you know exactly where that charger is. They’re even combining a GEODNET station, a DeCharge Beast, and a DePHY node at a single site, letting hosts earn from all three networks. It’s like a triple play for earning rewards.
The team is also active in the Solana developer community and works with local groups in India and Southeast Asia to get chargers deployed. They’re part of the DePIN Alliance, too, working with other infrastructure networks to set standards and push for adoption. As for hardware, they’re making and distributing the Beast and Titan chargers, working across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. They’re even thinking about specific chargers for two-wheelers and micro-mobility fleets, especially in emerging markets. It’s a big world out there, and they’re trying to cover it.
After their seed funding and early success, DeCharge has a clear plan for 2025. They want to expand their network across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America, with India leading the charge. They’re using that H3 geospatial indexing to pick the best spots, making sure chargers aren’t all clumped together and that underserved areas get priority. They’re also developing that second-generation Beast charger with built-in storage, and getting the high-power Titan DC chargers out there more widely. The token launch and Energy Marketplace are planned once the network has enough users and chargers, starting in places with friendly crypto rules. Plus, more AI features are coming, like dynamic pricing and smart routing, to make everything run smoother. They’re also talking to local regulators and businesses, like fleet operators and real estate developers, to help integrate EV charging into more places. It’s a full-court press, trying to get chargers everywhere you might need one.
