Next Generation of Ultra-Fast Chargers for Electrified Transportation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Transportation is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada. One of the promising solutions to overcome these challenges is zero-emission vehicles such as Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). The main barriers regarding wide electric vehicle (EV) adoption by society are charging time, range anxiety, and lack of charging infrastructures. The charging infrastructure is one of the main barriers since it significantly affects the other barriers. Without low-cost EV charging stations across the country, range anxiety and charging time cannot be addressed. The low-power EV chargers are mounted inside the vehicle and require to be connected to the power outlets. However, the charging time can take up to several hours. Ultra-fast EV chargers are the high-power chargers in which energy is fed directly to the batteries and can reduce the charging time as low as few minutes. Due to the negative affect of high-power chargers on distribution networks, they cannot be installed at home and specially for the individuals living in apartments/homes without designated parking spaces. Therefore, having a large number of ultra-fast EV charging stations is a necessity to be installed across the cities and highways, and address the charging time and range anxiety especially for long-distance trips. State of the art ultra-fast chargers require to convert medium-voltage (MV) ac to low-voltage (LV) ac through line-frequency transformers. The main challenges of this structure are high cost and size, and low efficiency due to the bulky and expensive line-frequency transformer. To overcome these challenges, an MV-connected ultra-fast charger is a solution that leads to significant improvements in terms of cost, efficiency, and size in comparison to LV-connected charging solution. The long-term research aims to develop high-power ultra-fast charging systems for electrified transportation including electric cars, light/heavy commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, electric ships, and more/all electric aircrafts. This enables to overcome barriers to electric transportation adoption and promote clean transportation. The short-term objective of this research program is to develop and prototype ultra-fast charging station, as a replacement of present gasoline station, while improving overall efficiency, cost, power density, and power quality of the overall system. This research program will create innovation in several technical areas including power architectures and topologies, semiconductor devices, advanced magnetics, and high performance control. It is expected that the theoretical results and the successful implementation of this research program introduce new technologies and products and skilled HQP for the next generation of electrified transportation. These technologies will help to facilitate the growth of EV adoption in Canada and provide a significant reduction in GHG emissions.