DCDC converter well suited for ultra-fast charging station & megawatt application

Chargers availability are the bottleneck of fastest development of EV cars.

The entire automotive industry is investing several million euros in the development and production of electric vehicles. The electric vehicle market is growing very rapidly in terms of vehicle sales and the deployment plan for chargers is not keeping pace with market needs. Especially for vehicles that require fast charging.

While China will be the country with the fastest growing electric vehicle fleet in the world by 2021, Europe is in pole position in terms of market share. Some 6.5 million electric vehicles (100% electric and hybrid) were sold worldwide last year. This figure is 109% higher than the 2020 figure, according to the Canalys Institute. This is also reinforced by the announcement of new environmental criteria for 2025 and by the European Commission's Order of March 13, 2020 on the conditions for the conversion of vehicles with combustion engines to battery or fuel cell electric engines by 2035. 

Buffer battery chargers allows charge from the grid at a slow rate to release power quickly to the vehicle.

The deployment of networks and charging stations is therefore a necessity in the face of this strong growth in end-user demand and the increase in vehicle sales, which continue to break new records. This should limit the impact on the existing infrastructure, especially with regard to possible power peaks with the current limited power network. The batteries serve as an energy buffer. This prevents voltage drops and power outages that could occur when thousands of vehicles are connected to the charging station at the same time. 

One answer to this growing demand will be high-power chargers that carry batteries. They offer a fast implementation solution that avoids chagrin spikes on the grid and fast charging for end users. One answer to this growing demand will be high-power chargers that carry batteries. They offer a fast implementation solution that avoids peak loads on the grid and fast charging for end users. The integration of batteries and power converters essential to transform energy from AC to DC and vice versa and to modify the DC voltage, addresses these different installation and adaptability issues to the existing grid as well as to the different battery voltages of the client vehicles of these charging stations.

Figure 1. Individual charger

Figure 2. Multi-points charger

Fast chargers need therefore some innovation on any and all bricks. 

As explained by FreeWire Technologies, more than ever, the market needs a global solution that would ensure a fast charge - 80% of charge assured in 20 minutes. To achieve this, the different players in the market need to collaborate, share their knowledge, challenge each other and merge their expertise in order to develop new technologies applicable to batteries.

Many suppliers such as Skeleton Technologies and, Maxwell Technologies, to name a few, offer electronics manufacturers their state-of-the-art supercapacitors and ultracapacitors for energy storage to meet the needs of end-users. 

In addition, given the high demand for the battery market, innovation is more than desired in manufacturing capabilities as well. In light of this, Northvolt has announced plans to develop a 60 GWh lithium-ion battery plant in Germany with production scheduled for 2025. Similarly, Verkor, in partnership with Renault, Schneider Electric and Arkema, has announced the construction of its first factory dedicated to the production of low-carbon battery cells. Another example that illustrates this need is the partnership between Total Energies, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz. The latter have created the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) and are investing in several battery factory projects in order to have a production capacity of at least 120 GWh by 2030. 

Last but not least, innovation is essential on the DCDC brick as it becomes a key player in the overall fast charging station architecture. Therefore, making improvements on components (SiC, MOSFETs, Diodes, Power modules, GAN...), on the global architecture as well as on the integration of the product would undoubtedly allow to optimize the cooling, and to increase the power density above 25Kw/KG while reducing the cost. 

The collaborators of Tame-Power part of the Tronico company also play an important role in this continuous search to satisfy the needs of users.

Tame-Power offers intelligent bridges between energy sources and energy consumers in line with market developments.

While Tame-Power has been an expert in power conversion and distribution modules for very demanding markets for several years, the brand has recently developed a DCDC converter dedicated to the fast charger application. This essential smart solution to power the end user's vehicle from the battery voltage is based on : 

• An expertise and know-how proven in several developments for automotive (onroad and offroad) and aeronautical applications, to name only the main ones; 
• The integration of innovative features on existing products. The peak power is automatically adjustable according to the operating point and voltages, allowing the products and electronic components to be fully exploited. In other words, with the Tame-Power solution you always have the maximum power output; 
• The ability to reach up to 120 kW and, with a possible parallel connection, up to 240 kW or 360 kW as required. 

With its ability to customize at all stages of product development, Tame-Power will be pleased to study and consider any other specific request for adaptation to the particular constraints of fast chargers: packaging and size, coupling of several units, mechanical and battery characteristics... 

Tame-Power’s sales and field application teams remain at clients disposal for any questions : [email protected]