Connecting the Dots: Essential Components of EV Chargers
The Indian electric vehicle market is growing and, in recent years, it has added a large number of new models, albeit slowly. Thus, with the growing popularity of this type of vehicle, there is also an increase in doubts related to the way it works, especially in relation to the electric car charger.
What is an electric car charger?
An electric speed charger is a specific piece of equipment used to charge electric vehicle batteries. Electric cars follow the same idea as other electrical or electronic devices, such as cell phones, which have a battery and are charged using a charger.
Types of chargers for electric cars
AC Chargers
AC or slow charging stations are just "smart" AC switches that feed the available AC (without affecting or converting it in any way) via cable into an electric car to an onboard charger. They control the charging process via special signal wires and implement the following important functions:
Coordination of the charging process with an electric vehicle, only after which the current is turned on, and at the end of charging it is turned off;
Power control - indicates the maximum allowable current to the electric vehicle and controls it so that the electric vehicle does not overload the network and does not "cut down" the machines;
Safety - is responsible for the emergency shutdown of current, in case of detection of its leakage on the charging cable or station body, as well as in the electric vehicle itself. Tracking the quality and performance of grounding.
Advanced AC charging stations often have additional features: kilowatt counters, delay timers, intelligent load management functions (dynamic balancing), connection to cloud management and monitoring systems, and many others.
DC Chargers
DC chargers, which are known in India as fast chargers, as their name implies, are the most powerful electric car chargers currently and can recharge a vehicle's battery in a matter of minutes.
In order to be able to supply so much energy through the integrated inverter that is inside, it needs to be larger than other types. Thus, in addition to offering continuous power (DC), it also has an outlet for charging in alternating current (AC) when necessary or desirable.
This possibility of choice is important since not all cars are capable of operating with direct current. This is because this type of charging requires additional protection and stricter control over the supply of energy to the batteries.
Essential Components of EV Chargers
Lithium-ion battery
The lithium-ion battery is neither more nor less than the cornerstone of the electric car. Indeed, it is thanks to this accumulator technology that the "car 2.0" was able to see the light of day, because lead batteries did not have enough energy density to be viable (too bulky and heavy for the needs that here amount to tens of kWh). Procuring this metal in smaller quantities due to more compact devices, the electronics industry was thus able to better absorb supply costs and create economies of scale, allowing lithium to become times more accessible and less expensive.
The obvious advantage of the lithium-ion battery over older lead acid or nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries is its ability to store more electricity, deploy it for a longer time, and to be able to withstand more charging cycles. The intensive use of nickel for the cathode has made it possible to considerably improve the efficiency and, above all, the energy density of the lithium-ion battery. This is currently between 150 and 325 watt hours (Wh) per kilogram. It has an endurance of 500 to 1,500 recharge cycles.
Nickel however is not perfect and comes with some drawbacks. From the outset, it is expensive, appearing at around $350 per kilowatt hour. Its extraction is also polluting. To remedy these defects, some car manufacturers have decided to replace nickel with iron. This is the composition of the LFP battery (for lithium-iron-phosphate). Although its energy density is lower at 120 watt-hours/kilogram, its costs are significantly lower, coming in at around $260 per kilowatt-hour. In addition, the LFP battery has proven to be more durable than nickel-based lithium-ion batteries, displaying an endurance that can exceed 2,000 recharge cycles.
The lithium-ion battery with a liquid electrolyte remains sensitive to high temperatures. Instabilities within the liquid electrolyte can also lead to a fire. That's why a lot of money is invested in the solid electrolyte principle to make the lithium-ion battery even safer.
EV Charging Softwares
For companies that are new to the market or want to reposition themselves, it is advisable to proceed extremely carefully, especially when selecting EV software. Depending on the business model, a large number of requirements must be taken into account when selecting charging software solutions. For example, the question of “should I use it or not?, i.e. to choose your software solution completely which supports Global Standards, can only be decided in a future-proof manner by carefully analyzing your requirements.
The networking of the charging station operators and the providers of EV CMS is a central topic of e-mobility expansion. The aim should be to be able to locate all your chargers in one place, monitor charge point consumption, and get real-time visibility of transactions, and an API platform for custom mobile applications.
With CMS, increased charging capacities, monitoring all chargers on single dashboards and analytics have improved the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles so much that EVs are now establishing themselves as a fully-fledged mobility alternative, even over long distances. This change in use affects the market in many ways. The necessary increase in charging station density provides a strong growth impetus. After all, it is important to ensure that e-mobility users can rely on a safe and sufficient energy supply everywhere.
