Swiss primarily based Designwerk Applied sciences has introduced a brand new Megawatt Charging System for heavy obligation vehicles that may present as much as a megawatt of energy. The brand new charging system will enable these heavy automobiles to recharge their batteries as much as 6 instances quicker than is feasible with a 350 kW charger — the present quick charging normal for vehicles. On its web site, the corporate says “decreasing emissions from heavy vehicles is of central significance for the power transition and the achievement of local weather targets. The intention is to extend the proportion of low-emission or zero-emission technique of transport. For this, we want superior charging infrastructure for heavy obligation automobiles.”
Volvo Group, which manufactures electrical vehicles, buses, building gear, and marine propulsion programs, acquired a majority curiosity in Designwerk in April of 2021. Volvo Group is not Volvo Vehicles, which is owned by Geely, however Geely is a minority shareholder in Volvo Group. It’s simple to get confused about who owns what.
Throughout the EU, 6.6 million vehicles transfer greater than 76% of all land-based freight and are liable for a couple of quarter of all emissions from highway transport. If the local weather targets are to be met by 2030, emissions from heavy items visitors have to be considerably diminished. The easiest way to do this is by electrifying all automobiles, which is effectively underway within the passenger automotive sector however is tougher for lengthy distance and heavy obligation visitors.
At the moment, electrical vehicles have restricted vary and excessive energy charging infrastructure is missing in lots of areas. With a charging system within the megawatt vary, charging instances may be considerably diminished, which in flip will improve the competitiveness of battery electrical industrial automobiles. These excessive energy chargers would additionally open up new alternatives to make use of electrical vehicles in steady driving and shift operations.
Charging heavy obligation automobiles can result in vital peak demand on utility grids. The most recent megawatt scale charging expertise can scale back or remove such demand peaks. “A brand new form of charging infrastructure is required for lengthy distance vehicles specifically, in addition to for ships and plane, says Vivien Dettwiler, a member of the Designwerk administration. “It’s completely different from the infrastructure for electrical automobiles and makes it potential to cost heavy industrial automobiles in a short while. This helps to make sure that zero emission freight transport reaches each area of software.”
Designwerk Megawatt Charging System
Picture courtesy of Designwerk
Designwerk Applied sciences is at the moment constructing one of many world’s first megawatt charging stations. The container-sized system is scheduled to start charging heavy obligation electrical vehicles within the spring of 2023. It’s primarily based on the brand new charging normal known as the Megawatt Charging System, or MCS for brief, which was launched globally in June of this 12 months. Battery buffers are designed to deal with peak demand and to function in a approach that’s useful to the power grid. Scientific assist for these technical improvements is supplied by the Swiss Federal Workplace of Vitality and outstanding industrial companions. The analysis aspect of the mission includes the Bern College of Utilized Sciences and the College of Utilized Sciences of Japanese Switzerland.
With its Pilot and Demonstration Program, the Swiss Federal Workplace of Vitality promotes the event and testing of recent applied sciences, options, and approaches within the area of economical and environment friendly power use, power transmission and storage, and the usage of renewable energies. The P+D program positions itself on the interface between analysis and market and goals to extend the maturity of recent applied sciences in an effort to in the end convey them to market.
The demonstration facility is meant to spotlight methods through which a excessive capability charging community and safety of provide can go hand in hand. “We set up Second Life e-truck batteries in our charging containers as a buffer to deal with peak demand. This not solely eliminates the necessity to develop the grid, it additionally signifies that the battery system ought to have the ability to feed renewable electrical energy again into the grid,” Dettwiler says. Just like bidirectional charging, electromobility can subsequently be included into provide options. Demonstration programs at Galliker Transport AG, Käppeli Logistik and Murg Flums Energie will show that this works.
The Designwerk Megawatt Charging system matches inside a traditional transport container, which permits it to be simply transported to the place it’s wanted. Its principal traits are:
- Quick charging of heavy e-trucks in 45 minutes
- Transportable and versatile utilization idea
- Conformity with the worldwide normal MCS
- Vitality buffering reduces grid connection prices
- Additional use of decommissioned traction batteries
Every Megawatt Charging System has 1,800 kWh of recent or used NMC batteries able to supplying a most of 3000 amps at 500 to 900 volts. Most energy is 2100 kW. The system makes use of liquid cooled charging cables that conform to the CCS Kind 2 and Megawatt Charging System normal. Every system weighs 25 tons and might both be exhausting wired into an obtainable energy supply or linked utilizing a CEE 125 system.
Designwerk makes use of current modules from the automotive trade, that are then built-in into an general system. The container gives thermal insulation and protects the battery modules from contact with the skin world. Cooling plates preserve the modules of their regular temperature vary and a battery administration system completely screens all the system, making certain all protecting features and communications are intact always.
Designwerk, along with its companions, insures the recycling of batteries after they attain the tip of their helpful service life. Battery take-back is secured by a complicated recycling charge and clear recycling processes. The recovered supplies meet the qualitative standards to be used within the secondary uncooked supplies market, which can embody use within the manufacturing of recent batteries.
The Takeaway
It’s fairly well-known that heavy obligation vehicles are liable for a disproportionate quantity of emissions. Changing one diesel-powered truck with a battery-electric mannequin has a a lot bigger influence on emissions that changing one standard automotive with an EV. Personal automobiles are in use, on common, for under about 5% of every day whereas vehicles are in operation from daybreak to nightfall — or longer.
Planning for the programs to maintain these electrical vehicles charged to allow them to do their job reliably with out placing undue pressure on utility grids is necessary work. Designwerk manufactures a full vary of electrical vehicles, so it’s absolutely conscious what the charging programs for them should be. Efficient charging programs can probably decrease the price of some electrical vehicles as a result of they might not require monumental battery packs of their very own if dependable charging amenities are available. The success of the EV revolution is dependent upon such proactive measures that may make the transition to electrical automobiles go extra easily.
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