Electric vehicle and charging station communications

A vehicle charging station, comprising:

• a connector adapted to connect a vehicle to the charging station;
• the charging station adapted to:
• exchange information related to identification and charging requirements and capabilities;
• send a challenge to the vehicle;
• receive a response to the challenge from the vehicle;
• verify the response from the vehicle and store the response and identification information within a database;
• and
• wherein, the exchanging of information between the vehicle and the charging station is performed within allowed duty cycle durations and voltage levels such that the exchange of information between the vehicle and the charging station does not interfere with charging of the vehicle.

A method of communication between a vehicle and a charging station, comprising:

• connecting the vehicle to the charging station with a connector adapted to facilitate analog communication between the vehicle and the charging station and to carry charging current from the charging station to the vehicle;
• exchanging, between the vehicle and the charging station, information related to identification and charging requirements and capabilities;
• initiating a challenge/response protocol between the charging station and the vehicle only once each time the charging station is connected to the vehicle;
• verifying the response to the challenge/response protocol and storing the response, the vehicle identification information and the charging station identification information within a database;
• sending, from at least one of the charging station and the vehicle, to a remote back office, information collected during charging of the vehicle;
• and
• corroborating information collected during charging of the vehicle;
• and
• wherein, the exchanging, between the vehicle and the charging station, information related to identification and charging requirements and capabilities, the challenge/response protocol including supporting communication from the charging station to the vehicle within a variable duration duty cycle and supporting communications from the vehicle to the charging station within a multi-level voltage within allowed duty cycle and voltage intervals such that the exchanging, between the vehicle and the charging station, information related to identification and charging requirements and capabilities, the sending, from the charging station, a challenge to the vehicle, and the sending, from the vehicle to the charging station, a response to the challenge do not interfere with charging of the vehicle.