Electric cars: Technology

Lecture notes: Lecture 3.3

DC charging

DC Fast Chargers supersede Level 1 and Level 2 charging stations and are designed
to charge electric vehicles quickly with an electric output ranging between 50 kW –
350 kW.

With high power operation, the AC/DC converter, the DC/DC converter and the
power control circuits become larger and more expensive. That is why DC fast
chargers are implemented as an off-board charger rather than as an onboard
charger so that it does not take up space within the vehicle and the fast charger can
be shared by many users.

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DC Charger: Operation

• In the first step, the alternating current or AC power provided by the AC grid
is converted into direct current or DC power using a rectifier inside the DC
charging station.
• Then, the power control unit appropriately adjusts the voltage and current
of the DC/DC converter inside the charging station to control the variable DC
power delivered to charge the battery.
• There are safety interlock and protection circuits used to de-energize the
EV connector and to stop the charging process whenever there is a fault
condition or an improper connection between the EV and the charger.
• The battery management system or BMS plays the key role of communicating
with the charging station to control the voltage and current delivered to the
battery and to operate the protection circuits in case of an unsafe situation.

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DC Charging: types
There are five types of DC charging connectors used globally:

1. The CCS-combo 1, which is mainly used in the US,

2. The CCS-combo 2, which is mainly used in Europe,
3. The Chademo connector, used globally for cars built by Japanese automakers.
4. The Tesla DC connector, which is used for AC charging as well
5. And finally, China has their own DC connector, based on the Chinese GB/T
standard.

CCS/Combo 1 and CCS/Combo 2

Combo 1

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Combo 2

• Brief History and Usage Information:

The Charging Interface Initiative e. V. - abbreviated to CharIN e. V. - is a
registered association founded by Audi, BMW, Daimler, Mennekes, Opel,
Phoenix Contact, Porsche, TÜV SÜD and Volkswagen. CharIN association
is the driving force behind the Combo connector. The key features of the
Combined Charging System are the use of a single connector for both AC and
DC charging by using separate pins within the same connector. The Combo
AC and DC charging connector comply with the IEC 62196-1, IEC 62196-2 and
IEC 62196-3 standards. The signalling and communication for AC charging is
compliant with IEC 61851-1, 61851-22, and for DC charging with IEC 61851-1,
61851-23, ISO/IEC 15118, the German DIN SPEC 70121 and the SAE J2847/2
standards. So the control pilot has both low-level communication using PWM
and high-level communication using power line communication (PLC).
• List of Combo compatible EV manufacturers: http://www.charinev.org/
members/.

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• Pin Configuration:
Here you see the Combo 1 and Combo 2 vehicle connector is on the left
side, and the vehicle inlet is on the right side. The vehicle connector of
Combo1 and Combo 2 is derived from the AC Type 1 and Type 2 connector,
respectively and retains the earth pin and the two signal pins namely, the
control pilot and the proximity pilot. In addition, two DC power pins are
added for fast charging. On the vehicle inlet, the pin configuration in the
upper part is the same as AC Type 1 and Type 2 connector for AC charging
while bottom two pins are used for DC charging.
• Maximum voltage and current ratings:
In general, CCS charger can deliver up to 350 Amps at a voltage of between
200 to 1000V giving a maximum power output of 350 kW. It must be kept in
mind that these values are continuously updated to cater to the voltages and
power requirements of new electric cars.

For more info, visit https://www.charinev.org

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Chademo:

• Brief History and Usage Information:

In March 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi
Motors Corporation, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., and Tokyo Electric Power
Company, Inc. had formally established “CHAdeMO Association”. In 2011,
the first DC charger in Europe deployed. CHAdeMO has been published as
IEC standard (IEC 61851-23, -24, as well as 62196-3) and IEEE standard (IEEE
Standard 2030.1.1TM-2015). CHAdeMO is currently used as the DC charging
part by all Japanese EV manufacturers. It has the largest global installation
base of chargers as of 2017 with 16500 charging points. Further, CHAdeMO
was the first DC standard to facilitate V2X via the 1.1 version of the protocol.
List of Chademo compatible EVs: https://www.chademo.com/products/evs/
List of Chademo charger manufacturers: https://www.chademo.com/
products/chargers/
List of Chademo V2X chargers: https://www.chademo.com/products/v2x-
product/
• Pin Configuration:
It is a Type 4 EV connector and has 3 Power pins and 6 signal pins as shown in

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the figure. Chademo uses the Controller Area Network or CAN protocol in the
communication pins for signalling.
• Maximum voltage and current ratings:
As of now, the voltage, current and power levels of chademo are 50-500V, up
to 400A, thus providing a peak power of 200kW. In the future, it is expected
that EV charging up to 1000V and 400kW will be facilitated.

For more info, visit www.chademo.com.

Tesla DC chargers:

DC charging in Europe: Type 2 connector DC charging in USA: Proprietary connector

• Brief History and Usage Information:

Tesla superchargers in the US use their own proprietary charging connector,
while the European variant uses the Type 2 connector, but with DC charging
built in. The unique aspect of the Tesla connector is that same connector and
pins are used for both AC and DC charging. Tesla offers an adapter than help
the connector to be used with Chademo DC charging stations.

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• Pin Configuration:
The Tesla DC chargers like the AC chargers have two signal pins and three
power pins - two pins for DC power and one for the earth.
• Maximum voltage and current ratings:
Tesla now offers DC charging up to 120 kW and this is expected to increase in
the future.
• Update: Tesla has announced in the end of 2018 that it will move to CCS
DC fast charging for their cars in Europe beginning with the Tesla Model 3.
An adapter will help Type 2 DC fast charging Tesla cars to charge from CCS
chargers in the future.

China GB/T standard:

• Brief History and Usage Information:

China has their own DC charging connector based on the 20234.3-2015
standard and connector that uses a CAN bus for communication. The unique

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aspect of this DC charger is its ability to charge both the low voltage auxiliary
battery and the high voltage traction battery within the electric vehicle.
• Pin Configuration:
It has 5 power pins, 2 for DC power, 2 for low voltage auxiliary power, and
one for earth. This charger has 4 signal pins, two for proximity pilot and two
for CAN communication.
• Maximum voltage and current ratings:
As of now, the nominal voltages are 750V or 1000V, and the current up to
250A is supported by this charger.

Limitations of fast charging

Fast charging is quite attractive in the sense of high power charging with short
charging times. But the fast charging power cannot be increased infinitely. That is
due to five technical limitations:

1. Higher charging current leads to higher overall losses both in the charger
and in the battery. As the charging currents increases, the effective
capacity of the battery decreases as well (for example, as given by
Peukert’s law).
2. The battery C-rate increases with fast charging and this reduces the
battery lifetime due to the heat produced and increased degradation due
to the higher temperature.
3. When fast charging a battery, the SOC of the battery can only be reached
till 70-80%. This is because fast-charging creates a lag between the voltage
and state-of-charge and this phenomenon increases as the battery is

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being charged faster. Hence, fast charging is typically done in the constant
current or CC region of the battery charging and after that, the charging
power is reduced in the constant voltage or CV charging.
4. For any EV charger, it is important that the cable is flexible and lightweight
for people to use and connect it to the car. With higher charging power,
thicker cables are needed to allow more charging current, else it will heat
up due to the losses. In the future with currents above 250A, the charging
cables would become heavy and less flexible to use. The solution would
be to use thinner cables with cooling and thermal management to ensure
that cables don’t heat up. This is, of course, more complex and costly than
using a cable without cooling.

AC and DC charging: Overview

AC Charging plugs

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DC charging plugs

EV chargers: Power Levels

Plug Pin configuration (Communication) Voltage, Current, Power

Type 1 (SAE J1772) 3 power pins - L,N,E 1Φ 120V, ≤ 16A, 1.9 kW

1Φ 240V, ≤ 80A, 19.2kW

4 power pins – L1,L2,L3,N,E

Type 2 1Φ 230V, ≤ 32A, 7.4kW
2 control pins – CP, PP (PWM over CP)

3Φ 400V, 63A,43kW
3 power – DC+,DC-,E
Chademo 200-500V, ≤ 400A, 200kW
7 control pins (CAN communication)
CCS/ Combo 2 control pins – CP, PP (PLC over CP, PE) 200-1000V DC, ≤ 350A, 350kW

3 power pins – DC+,DC-,E (or) L1,N,E

Tesla US Model S, 400V, ≤ 300A, 120kW
2 control pins – CP, PP

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• USA and Japan have Type 1 AC, Type 4 Chademo DC, Combo 1 AC-DC and
Tesla’s proprietary AC connector.
• Europe has Type 2 AC, Type 3 AC, Type 4 Chademo DC and Combo 2 AC-DC
China has Type 2 based AC and its own DC GB/T connector.
• With respect to car manufacturers, American, European, Korean car
manufacturers have adopted CCS/Combo and Japanese car manufacturers
have adopted Chademo.
• We have to bear in mind that as EVs are becoming popular across the globe,
different countries are coming with their own choice of EV connectors or
adopting one of the above connectors types. Further, the power levels are
indicated in the tables are being updated by standardisation organization.
Hence, this list is indicative and will get changed with time.

List of EV Charging standards

IEC 62196-1/IEC 62196-2/IEC 62196-3: Plugs, socket outlets, Vehicle Connectors,
Vehicle-Inlets — conductive charging of electric vehicles
Part 1: General requirements
Part 2: Dimensional compatibility and interchangeability requirements for AC pin
and contact-tube accessories
Part 3: Dimensional interchangeability requirements for

IEC61851-1/-21/-22/-23/-24: Electric vehicle conductive charging system

Part 1: General requirements
Part 21-1: Electric vehicle onboard charger EMC requirements for conductive
connection to an AC/DC

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Part 21-2: EMC requirements for OFF board electric vehicle charging systems (under
preparation) supply
Part 22: AC electric vehicle charging station (in future merged with 61851-1)
Part 23: DC Electric vehicle charging station
Part 24: Control communication protocol between off-board DC charger and
electric vehicle

ISO/IEC 15118-1/-2/-3: ISO/IEC 15118 – Road vehicles – Vehicle to grid

communication interface
Part 1: General information and use-case definition
Part 2 Technical protocol description and Open Systems Interconnections (OSI)
layer requirements
Part 3: Physical layer and Data Link layer requirements

Chinese GB/T 20234.1/.2/.3: Connection set of conductive charging for electric

vehicles
Part 1: General requirements
Part 2: AC charging coupler
Part 3: DC charging coupler

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Fast charging networks

Charging an electric car will be a mix of home charging, destination charging (at
work, a supermarket, hotels, etc.), public slow charging and public fast charging.
In case of fast charging, fast charging networks on a nationwide scale along
highways similar to gasoline stations are the next step. This will ensure seamless
travel for long distance travel offering charging in less than 30 min. Estonia, for
example, was the first country in the world to build a nationwide EV fast charging
network. Several initiatives for statewide and nationwide charging networks have
been announced and are in partial/full operation already. A few examples of fast
charging networks are:

• Fastned EV charging network, Netherlands, https://fastned.nl/en/

• Tesla supercharging network, https://www.tesla.com/supercharger
• Estonia nationwide charging network, http://elmo.ee/
• Ionity Europe fast charging network, http://www.ionity.eu/ionity-en.html
• Electrify America, https://www.electrifyamerica.com/our-plan
• New Zealand ChargeNet NZ network, https://charge.net.nz/
• Austrian Smatrics network, https://smatrics.com/en/charging-network

While the above list is not exhaustive, learners can get an idea of the what these
networks are, how they stations are spread out and located, what type of chargers
they facilitate and what are the charging power levels.

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