Munich. How fast will we be able to charge at the charging station of
the future? FastCharge will provide the answer to one of the most
urgent questions about electro-mobility. Back in July 2016, the
industrial companies involved in the research project began to study
electric vehicles with significantly shortened charging times and the
associated infrastructure and to build the respective prototypes.
Participants of the three-year project are Allego GmbH, the BMW Group
as the consortium leader, Phoenix Contact E-Mobility GmbH, as well as
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG and Siemens AG. The German Federal
Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure supports the
FastCharge research project with € 7.8 million. The National Hydrogen
and Fuel Cell Technology Organization (NOW) supervises and coordinates
the compliance with the grant requirements.
The charging time of electric vehicles depends primarily on current
and voltage: the higher the voltage and amperage, the faster the
battery can be filled. However, in real life application, these
factors cannot be increased at will. This is why the FastCharge
project focuses on the study of the technical and physical limits of
all components and systems involved in charging, both in the vehicle
and the infrastructure.
The anticipated charging capacity is up to 450 kilowatts, three times
the maximum charging capacity available at stations today. A voltage
of 900 volts and an amplitude of 500 amperes for a projected charging
time of under 15 minutes pose major challenges on all components
involved. Consequently, it is planned to cool down charging cables,
plugs and vehicle power sockets during the charging process, allowing
for the use of more flexible cables with smaller diameters that can be
handled like today’s fuel hoses. For this solution, FastCharge applies
the plugs and standards of the Combined Charging System (CCS), which
has already stood the test of everyday operations in today’s
series-production e-cars. This would mean that vehicles with lower
current and voltage demands can easily be serviced at the
fast-charging stations too.
The collaborative project studies all aspects of fast charging in
practical application, aiming to introduce and manufacture the
required technologies on an industrial scale. This is why, alongside
analyzing potential capacity increases in the charging process, the
project also investigates the prerequisites and processes for the
operation of ultrafast charging systems, including an automated
registration and billing process for customers. The combined expertise
of the individual project partners ensures that the entire value chain
is covered. It is planned that, as early as next year, the complete
system will be ready to reach the prototyping stage and be presented
to the public. This way, FastCharge will play an important part in
increasing long-distance viability and consequently the market
acceptance of battery electric vehicles.