Hellonext and ThinkDigital launch X-Connect to protect EV charging networks against cable theft and charger downtime

Cable theft is a growing challenge for electric charging networks, leading to station downtime, repair costs, lost revenue, and damaged user experience. X-Connect combines mechanical protection, autonomous detection, and digital monitoring in an all-in-one system available for new chargers and retrofit installations. Jointly developed by EV mobility specialist Hellonext – part of Petrotec Group, a European benchmark in energy mobility – and technology provider ThinkDigital.

Hellonext, an EV charging solutions and infrastructure specialist within the Petrotec Group – a European benchmark and one of the few global manufacturers covering the entire energy mobility value chain – alongside ThinkDigital, a provider of IoT and digital platforms, announced the international launch of X-Connect. This integrated protection and monitoring solution for EV charging cables is engineered to mitigate cable theft, prevent vandalism, and protect operational continuity for Charge Point Operators (CPOs) worldwide.

Jointly developed by both companies, X-Connect combines Hellonext’s domain expertise in electric mobility infrastructure with ThinkDigital’s capabilities in connected technology, IoT, and digital platforms.

Far beyond the equipment replacement cost, every theft incident leaves a charger out of service, generating lost revenue, emergency repair expenses, and, above all, a driver arriving at a station unable to charge. Cable theft is fundamentally a challenge of infrastructure availability and service continuity.

Three complementary layers: from physical armor to network intelligence

Engineered directly from feedback gathered with network operators, X-Connect operates on three complementary protection layers: mechanical protection, detection and alarm, and digital monitoring.

Mechanical protection: Uses high-resistance materials, including synthetic aramid fiber, to reinforce the cable’s most vulnerable points and hinder cutting attempts, while preserving the flexibility and handling required for daily use.

Autonomous detection and alarm system: In the event of a cut attempt, the autonomous system identifies the interruption of the monitoring circuit associated with the protection and activates a local acoustic alarm to deter the continuation of the attempt.

Digital monitoring platform: The cloud-based X-Connect platform enables operators to centrally monitor installed devices, receive real-time alerts, locate occurrences, consult incident logs, and notify security and maintenance teams. The solution integrates via API with operators' existing management systems.

Universal deployment: designed for legacy fleets and new chargers

With a vast portion of global charging infrastructure already deployed, a core engineering requirement for X-Connect was retrofitting existing chargers in operation, alongside new hardware rollouts.

The solution adapts to chargers from different manufacturers following an evaluation of the model and installation conditions. The engineering team specifically factored in cable weight and handling, compatibility with existing Cable Management Systems (CMS), alarm battery autonomy, and the centralization of information on a single platform.

"What gets stolen at a charging station is not a cable. It is the trust of those who arrive and cannot charge," says Hugo Rigor, General Manager of Hellonext. "The sector has become accustomed to treating this as an inevitability. We have not. We asked operators what they needed, and the answer was simple: a system with a cable that is hard to cut, reacts to any attempt, and immediately emits an alert. That is what we built with ThinkDigital, for tomorrow's chargers and for the thousands already on the ground."

"Protecting an infrastructure does not end with the physical part. It is necessary to detect, communicate, and transform every incident into useful information," says Nuno Ferreira, Board Member at ThinkDigital. "With X-Connect, we combined autonomous alarms, connectivity, and centralized monitoring to give operators complete network visibility and faster incident response times."

Availability

X-Connect is now commercially available for deployment across new and existing charging infrastructure. Operators and infrastructure owners can contact Hellonext or ThinkDigital to evaluate the configuration best suited to their network requirements.

For more information, visit: www.xconnect-ev.com