Extreme Fast Charging Technology—Prospects to Enhance Sustainable Electric Transportation
Deepak Ronanki,
Apoorva Kelkar,
Sheldon S. Williamson
Affiliations
Deepak Ronanki
Electric Mobility and Transportation Innovation (E-MOTION) Laboratory, Smart Transportation Electrification and Energy Research (STEER) Group, Department of Electrical, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Computer and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Apoorva Kelkar
Electric Mobility and Transportation Innovation (E-MOTION) Laboratory, Smart Transportation Electrification and Energy Research (STEER) Group, Department of Electrical, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Computer and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Sheldon S. Williamson
Electric Mobility and Transportation Innovation (E-MOTION) Laboratory, Smart Transportation Electrification and Energy Research (STEER) Group, Department of Electrical, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Computer and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
With the growing fleet of a new generation electric vehicles (EVs), it is essential to develop an adequate high power charging infrastructure that can mimic conventional gasoline fuel stations. Therefore, much research attention must be focused on the development of off-board DC fast chargers which can quickly replenish the charge in an EV battery. However, use of the service transformer in the existing fast charging architecture adds to the system cost, size and complicates the installation process while directly connected to medium-voltage (MV) line. With continual improvements in power electronics and magnetics, solid state transformer (SST) technology can be adopted to enhance power density and efficiency of the system. This paper aims to review the current state of the art architectures and challenges of fast charging infrastructure using SST technology while directly connected to the MV line. Finally, this paper discusses technical considerations, challenges and introduces future research possibilities.
