Terms and Conditions -
elvah Geo-spatial Market Data API (Pay per Request)
of elvah GmbH, Brüsseler Platz 1, 45131 Essen, Germany (hereinafter „Provider“ or „elvah“).
Version 1.0 - March 2026
§ 1 Scope of Application and Subject Matter of the Contract
(1) These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter “GTC”) apply to access to and the fee-based use of the elvah Geo-spatial Market Data API (Pay per Request) (hereinafter “GSMD API”) via the internet platform https://www.elvah.de/api/elvah-api (hereinafter the “Website”). The GSMD API is a digital data interface that, inter alia, provides access to various (market) data of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Germany and selected other European countries, subject to the condition that metrics for charging infrastructure within a specific geographical area with a radius to be defined can be retrieved (hereinafter the “GSMD API Data”).
(2) The functional scope of the GSMD API results from these GTC and the respectively valid service and price overview, which can be accessed at www.elvah.de/api/services-and-prices.
(3) The GSMD API constitutes a sub-area of the elvah Market Data API, which enables further data retrieval options (e.g., retrieval of metrics on a country-by-country basis). It is clarified that the user is exclusively entitled to use the GSMD API and is not permitted to access other areas of the MarketData API (e.g., API requests on a country-by-country basis), even if this is technically possible. In the event of a violation, elvah reserves the right to charge customary usage fees; further rights of elvah remain unaffected.
(4) The GSMD API data are provided to the user exclusively by granting access to the GSMD API for independent connection and retrieval by the user. The user shall implement the connection to the GSMD API in accordance with the respective technical specifications of the GSMD API (hereinafter “API Specifications”), which shall be communicated to the user by the Provider in text form together with an individual API key after conclusion of the contract.
(5) The Provider is entitled to modify and update the functional scope of the GSMD API, the scope of the available GSMD API Data, and the API Specifications at its own discretion, insofar as this is reasonable for the user and the essential purpose of the contract is maintained. The Provider does not assume any warranty for a specific inventory or availability of GSMD API data.
(6) Only legal entities or adult natural persons with full legal capacity who are entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB) (hereinafter and above: “User”) are entitled to use the GSMD API. Consumers within the meaning of Section 13 BGB are excluded from use.
§ 2 Amendments to these GTC
(1) The Provider reserves the right to amend these GTC, with the exception of prices, which may only be amended with the consent of the User, in a manner that is reasonable for the User and exclusively with effect for the future.
(2) Amendments to these GTC shall be offered to the User in text form (by email) no later than six weeks prior to the proposed date on which they are to take effect. The user may either consent to or reject the amendments prior to the proposed date on which they are to take effect. The user’s consent shall be deemed to have been granted if the user has not notified the provider of his rejection prior to the proposed effective date of the amendments. The Provider shall expressly draw the User’s attention to this approval effect in its offer.
(3) If the user rejects a proposed amendment, the provider's right to ordinary termination pursuant to Section 10 shall remain unaffected.
§ 3 Registration and Conclusion of Contract
(1) In order to use the GSMD API, the user must register via the internet.
(2) Registration takes place exclusively via the website (https://elvah.de/gsmdapi). The user shall ensure that the information provided there is truthful and complete. As communication with the User takes place primarily by email, the User must in particular have a valid email address and have access to the corresponding email account.
(3) The User may submit his application for registration by clicking the button “Subscribe with obligation to pay” (hereinafter the “Order”). By placing the order, no contract is concluded yet. Rather, the Order constitutes an offer to conclude a contract; for the conclusion of the contract, see paragraph (5) below.
Prior to submitting his contractual declaration, the user may review and correct his entries at any time, for example, by using the usual navigation and correction functions within the ordering process. The conclusion of the contract is possible exclusively in German and English. After clicking the button “Subscribe with obligation to pay," the user shall receive an email at the email address provided by him confirming the registration and setting out the details of the contract and containing these terms of use (“Order Confirmation”).
(4) Registration itself is free of charge. Fees are incurred exclusively on a usage-dependent basis for API requests actually carried out (pay per request). As part of the registration process, the user is required to provide a valid means of payment for the settlement of usage-dependent fees. Chargeable API requests via the GSMD API are only possible after successful registration (and, where applicable, after successful validation of the user's email address). The user authorizes the provider to settle the fees incurred for API requests in the course of using the GSMD API in accordance with the service and price overview via the payment service provider used by the provider and to charge the stored means of payment accordingly.
(5) The Order Confirmation simultaneously constitutes the automatic confirmation of receipt of the User’s Order. Only upon receipt of the Order Confirmation in the User’s email account is the contract for the use of the GSMD API and the fee-based retrieval of GSMD API Data concluded in accordance with these terms of use (“Usage Agreement”). elvah does not store the contract text after the conclusion of the contract.
(6) After conclusion of the contract, the user shall additionally receive an email to the email address provided by him containing the API specifications and the individual API key.
§ 4 Rights of Use
(1) The Provider grants the User a simple, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable right of use to the GSMD API Data retrieved via the GSMD API within the contractually agreed scope.
(2) The right to access and use the GSMD API Data is limited in time to the duration of the contractual relationship. The right of use is granted without territorial limitation.
(3) In terms of content, the right of use is exclusively limited to the retrieval of the contractually agreed data for purely internal business use within the scope of research and analysis in the development of the user's business strategy.
(4) In particular, the following is not permitted: a. the retrieval of data beyond the contractually agreed scope; this includes retrievals via areas of the Market Data API (e.g., API requests on a country-by-country basis); b. the disclosure, distribution, sale, rental or other transfer of the GSMD API Data to third parties, whether for consideration or free of charge, insofar as this does not fall within the types of specified in paragraph (3); c. the establishment, maintenance or operation of an offer comparable to or competing with the GSMD API using, processing or modifying the GSMD API Data and/or by combining aggregating the GSMD API Data with other data sets; d. the feeding of the GSMD API Data, in whole or in part, into databases or comparable systems, insofar as these are accessible to third parties; e. the publication of the GSMD API Data; f. the use of the GSMD API Data for unlawful, abusive, or deliberately misleading purposes.
(5) All rights to the GSMD API Data not expressly granted remain with the Provider.
§ 5 Conditions for the Use of the GSMD API
(1) The User shall establish and maintain a connection to the GSMD API in accordance with the applicable API Specifications in their respective most current version as communicated by the Provider in text form, at the User’s own expense.
(2) Use of the GSMD API requires a fully functional internet-enabled end device with a data connection on which a common, up-to-date internet browser is installed. The establishment of the data connection is not part of the GSMD API and is not the responsibility of the Provider.
(3) The User shall keep any API key provided by the Provider confidential and shall notify the Provider without undue delay if there is any suspicion that the User’s access credentials may have become known to unauthorized persons. It is prohibited to make the access credentials available to third parties (hereinafter “Account Sharing”). The Provider reserves the right to take appropriate technical measures to identify Account Sharing (e.g. whitelisting of the User’s IP address).
(4) Access to the GSMD API is granted exclusively for the purposes expressly stated in this contract.
Any use of the GSMD API for other purposes is impermissible without the prior written consent ofelvah. Particular attention is drawn to the restrictions set out in Section 1 (3).
(5) The User is obliged to treat all data related to the GSMD API (including, but not limited to, access credentials and requests to the GSMD API) as strictly confidential. In particular, API access credentials and requests must not be disclosed in client-side code, mobile applications, browser-based implementations, or by transfer to third-party service providers.
(6) Access to the GSMD API may occur exclusively via the User’s backend services. All requests to the GSMD API must originate from the User’s own server infrastructure using the assigned authentication data. Integration into systems or services of third parties requires the prior written consent of elvah. Unauthorized access to the GSMD API is strictly prohibited.
(7) The User may not submit API requests that are likely to disrupt, impair, or overload the functionality of the GSMD API. Specified rate limits or query thresholds must be strictly observed.
(8) The User undertakes not to reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise manipulate the GSMD API without the prior written consent of elvah in order to analyze, replicate, or reproduce its functionality.
(9) elvah is entitled to monitor the User’s use of the GSMD API and to conduct audits in order to ensure compliance with the contractual provisions.
(10) If the Provider introduces new versions, updates, upgrades, or other new deliveries with respect to the GSMD API during the term of the contract, the above conditions shall also apply to these.
§ 6 Suspension of Access to the GSMD API
In the event of a material and/or repeated breach of these GTC (material breaches shall include, in particular, breaches of Section 4 (Rights of Use) and Section 5 (Conditions for the Use of the GSMD API), as well as payment default exceeding two weeks), the Provider reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend the User’s access to the GSMD API. In the case of temporary or permanent suspension, the Provider shall block the User’s access authorization to the GSMD API and shall notify the User thereof.
In the event of an unjustified suspension or a suspension due to a breach for which the user is not responsible, the user shall be entitled to a pro rata refund of the fees paid for the duration of the suspension. If, however, despite a corresponding reminder from the provider, the user continues to breach or repeatedly breaches the above provisions and is responsible for such breach, the provider may terminate the contract extraordinarily without observing a notice period.
Any further claims of the provider shall remain unaffected.
§ 7 Availability of the GSMD API and Force Majeure
(1) elvah undertakes to ensure availability of the GSMD API of at least 98.5% per calendar month.
(2) Performance metrics and access limitations of the GSMD API: a. Maximum response time of the GSMD API: 3 seconds per request under normal operating conditions. b. Access limitations: Up to 250 API requests per minute, unless otherwise agreed.
(3) User support and response times a. Support requests shall be submitted exclusively by email to hub-support@elvah.de b. Regular operating hours of user support: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 (CET). Statutory public holidays are excluded. c. Response time of user support: Within 8 hours during regular operating hours. d. Reply time: Within 48 hours.
(4) Security: All API requests must be carried out using the agreed authentication procedures (API keys, IP whitelist). Data in transit and at rest shall be secured using industry-standard encryption protocols.
(5) Changes and versioning: elvah undertakes to version the API and shall provide at least 90 days’ notice prior to the decommissioning of a version. Material changes that impair compatibility shall be communicated at least months in advance.
(6) Monitoringelvah performs logging and monitoring of all API activities.
(7) Escalation and communication Escalation levels shall be defined for unresolved issues, including designated contact persons depending on severity level. elvah shall inform the user within 24 hours of serious incidents, security breaches, or service changes.
(8) Incident management:
a. The user may escalate so-called “incidents” (i.e., serious issues) to elvah's incident management.
b. Notifications shall be submitted exclusively by email to incidents@elvah.de
c. Regular operating hours of incident management: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 (CET).
Statutory public holidays are excluded.
d. Response time: Within 2 hours during regular operating hours. e. Resolution time: Within 48 hours.
(9) Unplanned outages of the GSMD API exceeding 30 minutes shall be communicated to the user without undue delay.
(10) The Provider is entitled to implement planned unavailability of the GSMD API for maintenance, servicing, data backup, and due to other work on the GSMD API. Such planned unavailability shall be announced to the user with at least 48 hours’ notice, shall not exceed eight hours per month, and should generally take place during periods of low usage (where possible, Monday to Friday between 20:00 and 06:00). Prior notice by the Provider is not required for urgently necessary work, e.g., to close security gaps in the GSMD API or to maintain the functionality of the GSMD API. During planned unavailability, the user has no legal entitlement to use the GSMD API. If the user nevertheless uses the GSMD API during planned unavailability, the user shall have no claim for defect liability or damages for any reduction or suspension of performance resulting from the unavailability. In addition, intensive simultaneous use by many participants may lead to an impairment of the performance (speed) of the GSMD API.
(11) The Provider is not obliged to perform its contractual obligations in the event of and for the duration of force majeure. Force majeure is an unforeseeable event originating from outside, which cannot be averted even with the utmost care and is not attributable to the provider. In particular, the following circumstances shall be deemed force majeure within this meaning: natural events for which the provider is not responsible (fire/explosion/flooding); epidemics and pandemics; wars, mutinies, blockades, and embargos; labor disputes lasting more than six weeks and not culpably caused by the provider; and technical problems of the internet or other technical infrastructure beyond the provider's control and not within the provider's sphere of influence. The Provider shall notify the User without undue delay in text form of the occurrence of a force majeure event.
§ 8 Liability of the Provider
(1) The Provider shall be liable without limitation for all damage caused by it, its legal representatives, or its vicarious agents in cases of intent or gross negligence. In cases of slight negligence, the Provider shall be liable without limitation in the event of injury to life, body, or health.
(2) In all other cases, the Provider shall only be liable insofar as it has breached a material contractual obligation. Material contractual obligations are those obligations that are of particular importance for achieving the purpose of the contract, as well as those obligations the culpable breach of which may jeopardize the achievement of the contractual purpose. In such cases, liability shall be limited to compensation for the foreseeable damage typically occurring. The strict liability of the provider for damages pursuant to Section 536a of the German Civil Code (BGB) for defects existing at the time of conclusion of the contract is excluded; paragraphs (1) and (2) shall remain unaffected.
(3) The GSMD API data are compiled with due care and are regularly updated. They are based on sources that the provider considers to be reliable. Nevertheless, the provider cannot assume any warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the GSMD API data.
(4) The Provider shall not be liable for damages caused by a culpable use of the GSMD API that is contrary to these GTC.
(5) The statutory warranty provisions shall apply.
§ 9 Prices and Billing
(1) The prices and billing modalities for the use of the GSMD API are governed by the respective valid service and price overview, which can be accessed at www.elvah.de/api/services-and-prices.
(2) Invoicing shall take place monthly in arrears for the API requests incurred in the respective preceding billing month.
(3) Payments shall become due immediately upon invoicing and shall be charged to the means of payment stored by the user.
(4) All prices, fees, and price components are exclusive of the statutory value-added tax due.
(5) If the user is in default with one or more payments, elvah shall be entitled to immediately suspend the use of the GSMD API after notifying the user of the payment default and issuing a request for payment. If the user does not comply with such a payment request within two weeks thereafter, elvah shall be entitled to terminate the contractual relationship extraordinarily. Any further claims of elvah shall remain unaffected.
§ 10 Term and Termination
(1) The contractual relationship shall have a term of one month. It shall automatically renew for successive periods of one month each unless terminated ordinarily by either party with four weeks’ notice to the end of the respective contractual term.
(2) Both parties shall have the right to extraordinary termination for good cause. Good cause for an elvah shall include, in particular: a) repeated and/or material breaches of these GTC, and b) payment default exceeding two weeks. In particular, breaches of Section 4 and Section 5 shall be deemed material.
(3) Any termination must be effected in text form (e.g., by email).
§ 11 Confidentiality
(1) The user is obliged to maintain confidentiality. All information expressly designated as confidential by elvah shall be deemed confidential, as well as any information whose confidential nature is evident from the circumstances of its disclosure or provision for use.
(2) Information shall not be deemed confidential insofar as the User can prove that such information was already known to the User prior to the time of disclosure by elvah or was generally accessible, that it was already publicly known or accessible to the User prior to such time, or that it became publicly known or accessible after such time without any fault on the part of the User.
(3) The User undertakes to maintain secrecy with respect to all confidential information becoming known to the User within the scope of this contractual relationship and not to disclose such information to third parties or use it for its own purposes or for the purposes of third parties of any kind without the prior written consent of elvah.
(4) The User is prohibited from obtaining confidential information of elvah by observing, examining, disassembling, or testing elvah's services and products (reverse engineering). Section 3 (1) no. 2 of the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (GeschGehG) shall not apply in this respect.
(5) The user undertakes to protect all confidential information becoming known to the user within the scope of the contractual relationship against unauthorized access, disclosure, or use by means of appropriate confidentiality measures.
§ 12 Data Protection
The parties shall comply with the applicable data protection laws. Information on data processing in connection with the GSMD API can be found in the privacy notices available at https://www.elvah.de/legal/privacy.
§ 13 Final Provisions
(1) There are no oral side agreements outside this contract and its annexes. Any prior agreements relating to the subject matter of the contract are hereby rendered ineffective. Amendments or supplements to this contract and its annexes shall require written form to be effective. This shall also apply to any waiver of the written form requirement. Excluded from the foregoing clause are amendment notices by the provider pursuant to Section 2, which may be made in text form.
(2) The potential invalidity of individual provisions of this contract shall not affect the validity of the remaining contractual content. Should gaps arise in the practical interpretation of this contract that the parties did not foresee, or should the invalidity of a provision be legally established or jointly acknowledged by both parties, the parties undertake to fill such a gap or replace such an invalid provision in an appropriate manner oriented towards the economic purpose of the contract.
(3) German law shall apply to the exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Place of jurisdiction shall be Berlin.
(4) These GTC are available in several language versions. In the event of deviations or inconsistencies, the German language version shall be solely legally binding.
§ 14 Code of Conduct
The codes of conduct to which elvah has committed itself can be found in the information on the codes of conduct of elvah’s parent company, E.ON SE, Brüsseler Platz 1, 45131 Essen, which also apply to elvah.
These are available via the imprint of the elvah website or directly at https://www.eon.com/de/ueber-uns/corporate-governance/verhaltenskodex.html