Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Project Buffer (Project Buffer ― a new solution to fast charging electrical vehicles “on the road”.)

Teaser

The world is facing a transition to electric transportation. The collective target for Europe is 5.8M Electric Vehicles (EV) on the roads by 2020. This target is part of an ambitious effort to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions, air pollution and heavy dependence on...

Summary

The world is facing a transition to electric transportation. The collective target for Europe is 5.8M Electric Vehicles (EV) on the roads by 2020. This target is part of an ambitious effort to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions, air pollution and heavy dependence on imported oil as well as maintaining a leading position within automobile technology in Europe. Consequently, drivers need an EV-charging infrastructure as convenient as the current network of fuelling stations to overcome range anxiety and massively adopt EV, therefore, the installation of high power charging infrastructure will be crucial for the electrification of the transportation sector.

There is only one problem: The world is lacking cost-effective High Power fast Charging Infrastructure. This will become even more crucial with the imminent introduction of new EV able to charge at 150 kW and 350 kW. Competing high power chargers are expensive to install and create high power peaks, generating further problems for power grids already struggling to absorb the unstable generation from renewable energy sources. By using a battery as a buffer, Project Buffer solves the technical aspects of the high-power-charging issue and simultaneously adds to stabilize the power grid.

Project Buffer will facilitate a cost-efficient rollout of high power charging infrastructure. The battery packs add value to an infrastructure for charging EVs already in high demand. The resulting Buffer High Power Charging (B-HPC) stations combine the battery and the charging station using a patent-pending technology to create a disruptive product that can change the playing field in EV-charging infrastructure.

Based on low-cost hardware components connected with a battery, the B-HPC system offers the most cost-efficient alternative to traditional high power charging and provides a highly scalable solution to infrastructure providers.

Work performed

The market analysis was successfully updated, with emphasis on the 350 kW power-charging capability. The analysis showed a faster-evolving market that also increased with new market segments. The charging connector is fixed to be CCS (Combined Charging System) following the European automobile manufacturer’s trend.

The 350 kW charging capability required a new approach that led to the innovation of a potentially disruptive implementation of an EV-charging station with a battery. The innovation is pending for patent.

Business models based on the 350 kW solution were developed and the added-value compared to a standard 350 kW charging station estimated. The models showed how a B-HPC could make it easier for a charging station owner to acquire and bring down cost of ownership of a high power charging station.

Meeting with leading players in the field, has confirmed that the B-HPC is an attractive solution to facilitate the building of a high power charging network, and thereby supporting the transition to EV.

Final results

By combining the battery with a high power charging station and using the patent-pending proprietary technology, a disruptive product has been developed. This product will support the massive deployment of EVs in Europe by enabling drivers to charge their cars in many more locations, around 7 times faster than using today’s “fast chargers”. Project Buffer can thus help changing the mindset of drivers around Europe to embrace EV.

Project Buffer will also introduce new technologies in grid-balancing services, lowering the costs and technical problems of stabilising power grids. This will, in turn, enable more fluctuating renewable energy to be accepted into the European energy system, further lowering the CO2 emissions and dependence on imported oil in Europe.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.kamiswrang.dk.