COVER EV CHARGING
INFRASTRUCTURE
are not being met by these mass
produced, off-the-shelf designs,”
said Power.
According to Power, charger
manufacturers would like a
comprehensive networking protocol
between the charger and the car,
but the IEC 61851 and 62196
specifications have led to a plethora
of (crude) PWM, CAN bus and IP
over Power communications along
with incompatible plugs.
ByteSnap has responded with a
new electric vehicle (EV) charging
division – Versinetic – that’s
targeting the UK and EU markets
with an EV charge point design
solution based around versatile
‘Charging Blox’ conceptualised
product and service modules that
can be configured to precisely
match customers’ requirements.
According to Power a growing
number of companies want to
create their own unique chargers, so
ByteSnap helps them develop the
electronics and software necessary
to support EV charger development,
including smart charge point
communications.
ByteSnap uses RAY, which
brings together Open Charge
Point Protocol 2.0 (OCCP) with
multiple communications protocols,
making it possible to take care of
identification, authorisation and
charging cycles – it is also possible
to communicate directly to a back
office or building management
system to allow for local load
balancing of the power.
Increased electricity demand
With the growth in electric vehicles
on our roads electricity demand will
place growing pressure on the UK’s
Grid Network, so the ability to meet
demand and manage load balancing
will become increasingly important.
“ByteSnap is part of an Innovate
UK funded consortium which has
developed a new communication
and control platform for Vehicle-to-
Grid/Building (V2G/V2B) systems
that are able to control how, when
and the rate at which electric
vehicle batteries can be charged/
discharged and take into account
local substation constraints and
EV/building energy requirements,”
explained Power.
“This form of charging will
become an essential part of the
power network in the next few
years,” suggested Power. “It
addresses the issue of renewable
energy becoming the predominant
power source, especially when it
comes to how you store it - electric
vehicles will have an important
role to play here. V2G means that
vehicles and buildings will become
power stations in themselves – a
supermarket could, in effect,
become a mini power station.”
The proliferation of EVs will
certainly add demand to the Grid,
however smart charging could be
used to reduce charging at peak
times and vehicle batteries could
become an asset to the National
Grid and be used for grid balancing.
“The National Grid is a hugely
expensive piece of infrastructure
and while it’s not a sustainable
model going forward, by mixing
smart charging with scheduled
charging it should be possible to
meet peak demand, without having
to redesign the Grid.”
According to the National Grid
smart charging could be used as a
mechanism to help balance supply
and demand, and by using EVs it
could be possible to store up to 20
per cent of solar power generated
in the UK. In effect EVs could help
to accelerate renewable power
generation.
“Chargers need to become
smarter, allowing full monitoring
and control, and support a charging
infrastructure that allows power
to pass both ways by using more
standardised communication
infrastructures,” concluded Power.
Owners of EVs do tend to do
most of their charging at home
so this creates a barrier for an EV
owner that doesn’t own a home with
a garage.
“An individual house in a street
might need to be replaced with a
secure multi-storey car park with
built-in charging facilities. The
infrastructure stays in one place so
it’s much cheaper to implement,
upgrade and maintain; streets
are cleared of EVs; the car park
provides security, V2G facilities and
load balancing,” suggested Power.
Fully automated charging is the
ultimate aim, perhaps in the form of
robots plugging in charging cables,
but more likely through inductive
charging.
EVs are a rapidly accelerating,
disruptive market; and charging
technology and infrastructure will
be as critical to their deployment as
the vehicles themselves.
The challenge for UK government
and industry, and for other countries
around the globe, is to not only
drive the development of EVs but
also the charging infrastructure and
supporting systems to make EV
driving as effortless and attractive
as a petrol or diesel vehicle.
Future adoption rates are going
to be contingent on the evolution of
a charging infrastructure, that’s both
public and private, and while there
are a number of fundamental issues
to address once the infrastructure
is in place it will be possible to pave
the way for a host of new products
and services.
Above: Chargers
need to be
widespread and
smarter
12 26 January 2021 www.newelectronics.co.uk
/www.newelectronics.co.uk