As impressive as the advances in consumer electric vehicles (EVs) have been, even more exciting advances in EV charging technology will unlock new opportunities for electric shipping vehicles, transport vessels and aircraft.
Component manufacturers are researching new approaches to many parts involved in charging, from thin-film capacitors and supercapacitors to connectors, relays and more.
Superchargers and fast-charging systems
Delivering some 500 amps per terminal into a vehicle’s battery pack means overcoming many challenges. First, you have to create components that can withstand the heat generated by passing that much power through a single source. Off-the-shelf cables, connectors and PCBs can overheat easily under those conditions, spurring development of ways to get more power out of boards and interconnects with the same footprint.
Manufacturers are also exploring new heat management solutions, such as liquid-cooling on the power inverter PCB that manages the flow of energy in and out of a vehicle’s battery pack – trying to prevent components from being damaged or even melting under high operating temperatures.
As the amount of power needed to charge industrial-grade EVs increases, we’re now seeing cables manufactured from different mixes of raw materials, some with liquid-cooling capability built around the cable itself. This allows you to pump 500 amps into the charging system and charge the battery pack in three to four hours instead of 10 or more.
Interconnect products and standards
Engineers are struggling to find connectors that meet the power requirements they want to achieve, such as the ability to pass 800 volts through a connector and 500 amps continuously through a terminal. Existing interconnects that can do so are costly and require special tooling.
There’s also no single global standard. In North America, most industrial EV installations rely on a combination of AC and DC power and a standard known as CCS Type 1. However, in China the CHAdeMO connector is standard, utilizing a different configuration and more DC power than AC – and sometimes only DC. Yet another standard, CCS Type 2, is prevalent in Europe. It isn’t clear which standard will become the norm worldwide.
Industry groups such as SAE International are developing new charging standards for short-haul delivery trucks and other working vehicles with different power requirements and use cases than consumer EVs. These standards are still brand-new and will continue to be developed over time.
Ongoing challenges
The common thread among components in EV charging applications is continuous improvement for more efficiency, smaller footprint and reduced weight. For example, think of adding solar charging on a truck or car and the need to maintain existing vehicle weight or reduce it.
Engineers and scientists are working on longer-lasting electrodes designed to improve efficiency for supercapacitors, looking for new materials to improve capacitance while retaining existing packaging and power draw. Also, capacitors, relays and contacts all must evolve to meet the high power needs of industrial and large-scale EVs.
Customers will need reliable energy storage and improved battery efficiency to increase travel distances. Components will be integral to this process as they will do everything from improving vehicle battery management systems to in-vehicle power distribution and battery charging.
There’s the additional challenge of complexity. Some specialized connectors take as much as 30 weeks to manufacture. Unlike the plastic assemblies used in conventional automotive connectors, EV charging components often require specialized aluminum fabrication and unique assemblies.
The chicken-and-egg problem
As we move forward, each of these products will catch up in terms of availability and supply as engineers create new solutions and deliver them to component manufacturers. Customers and engineers alike are also giving valuable feedback to suppliers.
For now, we’re seeing a chicken-and-egg situation: component suppliers have dedicated high-voltage engineering groups developing the technology to progress EV charging in the right direction. However, when each supplier spends money to develop a different solution to the same problem, they compete with one another. In the meantime, engineers continue to develop new solutions.
New products and updates to existing products are continuously being released. TTI is a great source for the latest product releases and innovations, as are the increasing number of EV trade shows across the country (HEV and Battery Show, ACT Expo, TE Expo and more).
