Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The salient barrier to large-scale EV adoption is ""range anxiety"", i.e., i) long charging time, ii) relatively small*range of distance coverage per charge iii) and lack of necessary or readily-accessible charging infrastructure,*particularly in rural areas. The most common used EV chargers are levels-1 and level-2 charges which take up*to 8 hours to fully charge the EV's batteries and are not suited for use during long-distance travel. Level-3 (fast)*chargers that take 20-25 minutes for charging are the next step in the evolution of EV chargers and enable*long-distance/rural EV travel. This collaborative industry-university proposal by eCAMION and the University*of Toronto is to research, develop, test and install prototypes of EV fast-charging (level-3) stations that utilize*grid-level Li-ion battery as the main source to supply multiple DC fast-chargers. The envisioned charging*station, within the next three-years, is primarily intended for installation in rural area, e.g., along Tans-Canada*Highway and other main transportation corridors, to address ""range anxiety"" for EV's long-range and/or rural*travel. In contrast to the existing EV fast-chargers, the proposed technology neither requires high-capacity*utility-feed nor results in power quality issues in the utility grid. These two features enable installation of the*charging station based on demand and market requirements and eliminates the need for i) access to*high-capacity utility feeder or ii) feeder up-grade which can impose excessive cost. The battery module of the*charging station is charged i) gradually from the grid and/or ii) local renewable resources, i.e., solar-PV units,*and thus further reduces GHG emission and cost of operation. This program focuses on:*1- RD&D of i) control, protection and Power/Energy management software/hardware of the battery-enabled*fast charging station and ii) charging station infrastructure using Si-based power electronic converter modules*for charging unit and station battery operation, for applications within 2nd-3rd year of the project. 2- RD&D of*next-generation fast-charging station based on i) enhanced version of the developed control system and ii)*SiC-based power electronic converter modules for applications beyond the 3rd-year of this project.