CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 28 NOV/DEC 2016

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 28 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

2017 PRIUS

p. 56

Toyota launches an all new plug-in hybrid that some call

PRIME

“the best Prius ever”

UQM’S TURNKEY DRIVETRAIN

CHROMA’S NEXT-GEN EV TESTING EQUIPMENT

LECLANCHÉ DESIGNS SEAWORTHY EVS

LIQUID-COOLED CHARGING CONNECTORS

p. 20

p. 32

p. 46

p. 72

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THE TECH CONTENTS

20 | Turnkey drivetrains

20

UQM, Eaton and Pi Innovo collaborate to help customers build better heavy-duty EVs

26 | An airbag for battery packs

PyroPhobic Systems’ thermoplastics can stop thermal runaway before it happens

32 | Simulating signals

32

Chroma Systems Solutions’ next generation of testing products

current events 10 XALT receives China’s new GB/T certification for Lithium Titanium Oxide cells

11

24M delivers first production-size semisolid battery cells

11 12

Dana’s new Spicer Electrified e-axles for hybrids and EVs Wireless BMS improves reliability, enables new features Researchers increase energy density by eliminating first-cycle capacity loss

13 Wolfspeed’s new 1,000 V silicon carbide MOSFET reduces cost and size 14 Continental 48-volt hybrid drive goes into production in new Renault 15 Ideal Power’s double-sided B-TRAN power semiconductor 16 Maxwell Technologies unveils 51-volt ultracapacitor module for hybrid buses

16

NASA inaugurates new Electric Aircraft Testbed

17 ON Semiconductor’s new compact power module for auxiliary motors 18 Li-ion anode with silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon 19 Infineon’s Power PROFET switches are designed to replace relays and fuses

THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

46 | Seaworthy EVs

Leclanché designs and manufactures battery packs and drive systems for marine vessels and other booming new markets

46

56 | 2017 Prius Prime

Toyota launches an all new plug-in hybrid that some call “the best Prius ever”

86 | Will America maintain its EV lead?

56

current events 38 Jaguar I-Pace concept previews E-SUV to be produced in 2018

Wrightspeed plug-in garbage trucks take to the road

39 All Teslas now being produced with full self-driving hardware 41 BMW has sold 100,000 EVs and PHEVs, new models are on the way 42 Atieva renames itself Lucid Motors, teases new EV

38

Proterra to deliver 10 e-buses to shuttle service in downtown Chicago

43 Quebec adopts zero-emission vehicle mandate 45 UK government extends Plug-In Van grants to larger trucks

Report highlights five years of growth in Oregon’s EV industry

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) November/December 2016, Issue # 28 is published bi-monthly by Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC, 4121 52nd Ave S, Saint Petersburg, FL 33711-4735. Periodicals Postage Paid at Saint Petersburg, FL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine, Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC at 4121 52nd Ave S, Saint Petersburg, FL 33711-4735.

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72

72 | Faster charging

hardware

ITT Cannon introduces new charging hardware to the next generation of EVs

78

78 | Settling up

A federal judge has approved an agreement committing Volkswagen to provide $2 billion for ZEV infrastructure

66 EVgo opens 800th DC fast charging station in the US

67

Study: Intelligent charging can minimize scale of stationary storage required

67 Tesla will end free Supercharging for vehicles ordered in 2017 69 ChargePoint’s new Waitlist feature lets drivers line up for public chargers

Mercedes to offer wireless charging using Qualcomm Halo technology

70 EV Connect to install and manage 300 charging stations in New York State

MAN selects ABB fast chargers for e-bus R&D facilities

71 Tritium launches three new Veefil fast charger models

SAE working to finalize Wireless Power Transfer standard

70

Publisher’s Note Time to remind your congressperson: EVs are a great idea If you’re a long-time Charged subscriber, you’ve read our articles encouraging bipartisan support for EVs. We think supporting the development of this technology is clearly a good idea for the US, or any country. As our federal government prepares for a reshuffling, please allow us to reiterate two key benefits of supporting EVs (feel free to copy and paste in a letter to your reps in Washington).

Manufactured and powered in America Encouraging growth in the EV industry is a great investment in economic stability and national security.

Every single president since Richard Nixon has publicly trumpeted the importance of an energy-independent future, with “big plans” to reduce our use of foreign oil. That includes Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. It is a universally accepted good idea.

Christian Ruoff Publisher Laurel Zimmer Associate Publisher Charles Morris Senior Editor Markkus Rovito Associate Editor Jeremy Ewald Account Executive Jeffrey Jenkins Technology Editor Erik Fries Contributing Editor

Switching our cars and trucks from petroleum power to electricity means using domestically produced fuel. All types of American-made electrons will work in these things. If you’re into renewable energy, EVs are for you. If you like coal, natural gas and nuclear energy, EVs are for you too. So, while any type of vehicle can be made in the USA, EVs offer a real possibility of energy independence - increasing economic stability, national security, and of course, new jobs.

Nick Sirotich Illustrator & Designer

Drivers love them It’s very likely that EVs will continue to rise in popularity. The best example is Tesla, the electric standard-bearer. In May, the company last reported the number of Model 3 reservations (which require a $1,000 deposit) at over 373,000. That is about 3 times the number of plug-in vehicles sold in the US in 2015. Auto industry analysts have called it “unprecedented,” and “a watershed moment.”

Contributing Writers Michael Kent Charles Morris Christian Ruoff

This is only the beginning. We predict that, as the price premium for EVs continues to drop and more options become available, popularity will rise sharply. To understand why, simply ask an EV owner. Customer satisfaction is off the charts compared to legacy gas vehicles. This is because EVs are better products in many ways (and they’re getting better with each passing year). By and large, EVs owners love their cars, they’re not switching back to gas, and they’re encouraging friends to go electric too.

EVs are also becoming a sound economic choice for commercial vehicles, like electric buses.

Electricity is cheap and the price is far more stable compared to gas and diesel. When you also consider the potential maintenance cost savings, electrification becomes a no-brainer for fleets.

So, if you’re an elected official, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon and support initiatives that encourage investment in the EV industry. If you hurry, you can claim credit for the country’s greatest new industry during the next election cycle.

This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. EVs are not Obamamobiles, they’re Americamobiles.

EVs are here. Try to keep up.

Christian Ruoff Publisher

ETHICS STATEMENT AND COVERAGE POLICY AS THE LEADING EV INDUSTRY PUBLICATION, CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE OFTEN COVERS, AND ACCEPTS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM, COMPANIES THAT ADVERTISE IN OUR MEDIA PORTFOLIO. HOWEVER, THE CONTENT WE CHOOSE TO PUBLISH PASSES ONLY TWO TESTS: (1) TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE, AND (2) IT MEETS THE INTERESTS OF OUR READERSHIP. WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR EDITORIAL CONTENT, AND THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY OUR EDITORS AND WRITERS ARE IN NO WAY AFFECTED BY A COMPANY’S PAST, CURRENT, OR POTENTIAL ADVERTISEMENTS. FURTHERMORE, WE OFTEN ACCEPT ARTICLES AUTHORED BY “INDUSTRY INSIDERS,” IN WHICH CASE THE AUTHOR’S CURRENT EMPLOYMENT, OR RELATIONSHIP TO THE EV INDUSTRY, IS CLEARLY CITED. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANY OPINION EXPRESSED IN THE CHARGED MEDIA PORTFOLIO AND/OR WISH TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE INDUSTRY, PLEASE CONTACT US AT CONTENT@CHARGEDEVS.COM. REPRINTING IN WHOLE OR PART IS FORBIDDEN EXPECT BY PERMISSION OF CHARGED ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE.

Tome Vrdoljak Graphic Designer

Contributing Photographers Charles Morris Nicolas Raymond Andi Tamplin Tauno Tõhk RoadOver (Flickr) Mroach (Flickr) Cover Images Courtesy of Toyota Special Thanks to Kelly Ruoff Sebastien Bourgeois For Letters to the Editor, Article Submissions, & Advertising Inquiries Contact Info@ChargedEVs.com

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XALT Energy has announced that its Lithium Titanium Oxide (LTO) battery cells have been certified under China’s new GB/T quality control standard. The new and more stringent standard replaces the QC/T standard under which the cells were previously certified.

XALT launched the LTO cell in China last year, and was ramping up production volume to meet the demands of bus manufacturers there when the Chinese government abruptly changed qualifying requirements in April.

Certification testing was performed by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC), an independent third-party laboratory qualified by the Chinese government. XALT Energy’s cells were confirmed to meet the requirements of all three relevant standards: GB/T 31484-2015, 31485-2015 and 314862015.

XALT Energy’s LTO cells, produced in the company’s highly automated manufacturing facility in Midland, Michigan, are designed for long-life, rapid charge and discharge applications in all temperature environments.

“The new GB/T standard was a big part of China’s regulatory changes,” says Subhash Dhar, XALT Energy CEO. “We had the confidence in our cell design to begin testing immediately. The positive and timely test results validated our confidence, our technology and our customer’s choice in selecting XALT’s LTO cells for their pure electric, fast-charge buses.”

10

Massachusetts startup 24M has delivered an initial quantity of production-size battery cells to NEC Energy Solutions (NEC ES). 24M claims its semisolid lithium-ion cells, which have a mixture of solid and liquid phases, will be able to deliver up to a 50% cost reduction compared to current Li-ion designs.

Conventional Li-ion battery cells have a large proportion of inactive, non-charge carrying materials - supporting metals and plastics that are layered within a cell’s casing. 24M says its semisolid thick electrode allows it to eliminate more than 80% of these materials and increase the active layer thickness by up to five times.

The 24M cells are designed to stand up to the long cycle and calendar life required by grid-scale energy storage applications. NEC ES will use them in its integrated storage systems.

“The market for energy storage solutions is growing rapidly, but cost remains a significant factor for many customers,” said Bud Collins, CEO of NEC ES. “With 24M semisolid lithium-ion battery cells, NEC ES will be able to include better batteries for a better price in our next-generation energy storage systems.”

Photo courtesy of 24M

XALT Energy receives China’s new GB/T certification for Lithium Titanium Oxide cells

24M delivers first production-size semisolid battery cells

THE TECH

Photo courtesy of Dana Incorporated

Dana’s new Spicer Electrified e-axles for hybrids and EVs Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) has introduced a new portfolio of integrated motor, control, and e-drive technologies for electric propulsion systems. The new Spicer Electrified products are designed to address each of the company’s end markets - light, commercial, and off-highway vehicles - and to complement its Long line of battery-cooling solutions.

Currently in production, the Spicer EV Drive for electric vans manages speed and torque from the e-motor to the wheels. Planned for launch in 2018, Dana’s new e-axles for electric transit buses and city delivery vehicles feature a fully integrated motor and gear box (pictured above).

Dana is also working with automotive manufacturers to develop AWD e-axles that meet customer demand for AWD functionality paired with traditional front-wheeldrive hybrids.

“Dana began developing electric driveline concepts 50 years ago. Since then, we have been a leader in bringing

new mechanical and electric drive simulations, systems, and controls to the marketplace,” said Bob Pyle, President of Dana Light Vehicle Driveline Technologies. “Our Spicer Electrified brand is the result of a comprehensive strategy to leverage Dana’s experience and research across all vehicle markets to accelerate the introduction of cleaner, more efficient drivetrain components for electric and hybrid vehicles.”

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Photo courtesy of Linear Technology

Linear Technology, a maker of battery stack monitoring ICs for EVs and hybrids, demonstrated a concept car featuring a wireless battery management system (BMS) at the recent Electronica Show in Munich.

The concept vehicle, developed by design partner LION Smart, combines Linear’s battery stack monitors with its SmartMesh wireless mesh networking products in a BMW i3, replacing the traditional wired connections between the battery packs and the BMS. Linear believes a fully wireless BMS offers great potential for improved reliability, lower cost and weight, and reduced wiring complexity for large multicell battery stacks.

Linear’s LTC6811 is a complete battery measuring device for hybrid/electric vehicles that can measure up to 12 series-connected battery cell voltages with better than 0.04% accuracy. Combining the LTC6811 with Linear’s SmartMesh wireless mesh networking system addresses the reliability issues associated with automotive wiring harnesses and connectors.

SmartMesh embedded wireless networks are designed to deliver >99.999% reliable connectivity by employing path and frequency diversity.

In addition to improving reliability by creating multiple points of redundant connectivities, the wireless network enables additional BMS capability. Wireless connectivity enables more flexible placement of battery modules, and makes possible the installation of sensors in locations that are unsuitable for a wiring harness.

Wireless sensors integrated into the SmartMesh network, such as current and temperature monitors, offer the potential for synchronizing these measurements with cell voltages.

In the quest to increase the energy density of Li-ion batteries, Yuan Yang, an Assistant Professor at Columbia Engineering, has developed a novel approach: reducing or eliminating capacity loss that occurs when a battery is first manufactured. In a paper recently published in Nano Letters, Yang and colleagues explain how this new method could improve Li-ion energy density by 10-30%.

“When lithium batteries are charged the first time, they lose anywhere from 5-20% energy in that first cycle,” says Yang. “Through our design, we’ve been able to gain back this loss, and we think our method has great potential to increase the operation time of batteries.”

When a lithium battery receives its first charge after production, a portion of liquid electrolyte is reduced to a solid phase and coated onto the negative electrode of the battery. This process, usually done before batteries are shipped from a factory, is irreversible, and lowers the energy stored in the battery by as much as 30%.

The traditional approach to compensating for this loss has been to put certain lithium-rich materials in the electrode. However, most of these materials are not stable in ambient air. Manufacturing batteries in moisture-free air is much more expensive than manufacturing in ambient air. Yang has developed a new trilayer electrode structure to fabricate lithiated battery anodes in ambient air.

In these electrodes, he protected the lithium with a layer of the polymer PMMA, coated the PMMA with active materials such as artificial graphite or silicon nanoparticles, then dissolved the PMMA layer in the battery electrolyte, exposing the lithium to the electrode materials. “This way we were able to avoid any contact with air between unstable lithium and a lithiated electrode,” Yang explains, “so the trilayer-structured electrode can be operated in ambient air.”

Photo courtesy of Yuan Yang, Columbia Engineering

Researchers increase energy density by eliminating firstcycle capacity loss

Wireless BMS improves reliability, enables new features

THE TECH

Photo courtesy of Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed’s new 1,000 V silicon carbide MOSFET reduces cost and size, improves efficiency Wolfspeed, a specialist in silicon carbide (SiC) power products, has introduced a 1,000 V MOSFET that’s designed to reduce overall system cost, while improving efficiency and decreasing size. Wolfspeed says the new MOSFET, which is optimized for fast charging and industrial power supplies, enables a 30% reduction in component count, a threefold increase in power density, and a 33% increase in output power.

“Supporting the widespread implementation of offboard charging stations, Wolfspeed’s technology enables smaller, more efficient charging systems that provide higher power charging at lower overall cost,” said John Palmour, CTO of Wolfspeed.

“Wolfspeed’s new 1,000 V SiC MOSFET offers system designers ultra-fast switching speeds with a fraction of a silicon MOSFET’s switching losses,” Palmour added.

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“The figure-of-merit delivered by this device is beyond the reach of any competing silicon-based MOSFET.” According to Wolfspeed, designers can reduce component count by moving from silicon-based, three-level topologies to simpler two-level topologies made possible by the 1,000 Vds rating of the SiC MOSFET. The increase in output power in a reduced footprint is realized by the low output capacitance - as low as 60 pF - which significantly lowers switching losses.

Wolfspeed offers a 20 kW full-bridge resonant LLC converter reference design, which allows designers to evaluate the new 1,000 V SiC MOSFET.

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Automotive supplier Continental has been working with Renault since 2013 on a mild hybrid system that operates at 48 volts, instead of the 300-400 volts usually used in hybrid vehicles. The new Hybrid Assist system is slated to go into production in Renault’s new Scénic and Grand Scénic models.

Instead of a conventional starter generator, the system uses an electric motor with a continuous output of 6 kW (10 kW temporary). The motor is also used to recapture braking energy, which is stored in a small battery. The combustion engine can be switched off at speeds below 20 km/h, and restarted with the 48-volt drive within 0.2 seconds - half the time required by a conventional starter.

In test vehicles, Continental’s 48-volt technology has demonstrated fuel savings of up to 21 percent.

The 48-volt solution is designed to be easy to combine with existing ICEs, and requires no more room than a conventional starter generator.

The water-cooled induction motor can be connected directly to the engine’s cooling circuit. The inverter is integrated into the housing lid of the motor, and the modular system also includes a DC/DC converter, which enables the 48-volt system to be connected to the vehicle’s on-board power supply.

Photo courtesy of Continental

Continental 48-volt hybrid drive goes into production in new Renault

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THE TECH

Photo courtesy of Ideal Power

Ideal Power’s double-sided B-TRAN power semiconductor Power conversion specialist Ideal Power (NASDAQ: IPWR) has produced prototypes of a new product called a Bi-Directional Bi-Polar Junction TRANsistor (B-TRAN).

Due to its anticipated low conduction and switching losses, Ideal Power believes the B-TRAN can improve the efficiency of a range of power control and conversion equipment, including EV drivetrains. The company expects the B-TRAN to address a significant portion of the power semiconductor market that currently relies on devices such as IGBTs. Ideal Power will use the prototypes to test and characterize the capabilities of the B-TRAN, and the results will be used to optimize the device design and manufacturing process. The first commercial use of the devices is expected to be in Ideal Power’s PPSA-based converters.

“The B-TRAN, due to its unique double-sided struc-

ture, is expected to deliver substantial performance improvements over today’s power semiconductor devices in bi-directional power control applications,” said Bill Alexander, CTO of Ideal Power.

“Currently, four conventional switches (two IGBTs and two diodes) are required to control power bi-directionally. We believe that the B-TRAN will be able to perform the same function with efficiency losses predicted to be 1/10th that of conventional switches. The faster switching performance predicted for the B-TRAN should result in more efficient, smaller and lower cost power converters.”

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NASA inaugurates new Electric Aircraft Testbed

Ultracapacitor specialist Maxwell Technologies has introduced a 51-volt module that’s specially designed for use in hybrid buses and other high duty cycle applications. The latest addition to Maxwell’s lineup features a 2.85 V, 3,400-farad ultracapacitor cell that delivers the company’s highest available energy and power density.

Maxwell’s 51 V module includes an active cooling system, which is designed to ensure optimal performance from -40° to 65° C, and improves its continuous current rating by nearly 90%. It also incorporates Maxwell’s proprietary DuraBlue Advanced Shock and Vibration Technology. It exceeds the industry’s highest vibration standard for ultracapacitor modules (ISO 16750-3, Table 12), and has an IP65 environmental protection rating. It has an identical mounting pattern to Maxwell’s current 48 V module.

“Hybrid bus systems need to perform reliably, even when exposed to harsh conditions such as rugged roads and extreme temperatures,” said Maxwell VP Dr. Henning Hauenstein. “The 51-volt module’s ability to perform during demanding high duty cycle applications reinforces our ongoing commitment to deliver superior performance and value to our customers.”

16

Photo courtesy of Maxwell

Maxwell Technologies unveils 51-volt ultracapacitor module for hybrid buses

Commercial electric aircraft may lie far in the future, but NASA is conducting research on several fronts.

Engineers at the NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) at NASA’s Glenn Research Center ran the new facility’s first test in September. Dr. Rodger Dyson led a team that successfully tested a 600-volt electrical power system that could realistically power a small one- or two-person aircraft.

NEAT’s mission is to help engineers design, develop and test systems for electric aircraft. Once complete, it will be a reconfigurable test bed that will be used to assemble and test power systems for large passenger airplanes with over 20 Megawatts of power.

NEAT is just one element in a larger NASA effort investigating electric propulsion.

Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research in California are using the 13.5-foot-tall Airvolt test stand to anticipate system integration challenges and verify and validate electric propulsion components.

“A lot of claims are made about the efficiency of electric motors, and we want to verify that and gain experience with commercial off-the-shelf or custom-designed systems,” said Yohan Lin, Airvolt Integration Lead.

NASA is also working on an experimental electric plane. The X-57, nicknamed “Maxwell,” features 14 electric motors turning propellers, all integrated into a uniquely-designed wing. NASA researchers ultimately envision a nine-passenger aircraft with a 500 kW power system in 2019.

The X-57 is being built using a Tecnam aircraft fuselage that will be integrated with the wing. The planned final version will feature twelve small electric propellers along a high-aspect ratio wing’s leading edge, which will be used to generate lift during takeoff and landing, and two larger motors on the wing tips, which will be used for cruising.

The experimental wing is being designed at NASA Langley in Virginia, and fabricated by Xperimental in San Luis Obispo, California. The vehicle will be powered by a battery system developed by Electric Power Systems of the City of Industry in California.

THE TECH

Photo courtesy of ON Semiconductor

ON Semiconductor’s new compact intelligent power module for EV/hybrid auxiliary motor applications ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ON) has introduced what it calls the industry’s most compact 650 volt, 50-ampere intelligent power module for controlling vehicle AC compressors and other high-voltage auxiliary motor applications in hybrid and electric vehicles.

The FAM65V05DF1 integrates IGBTs, freewheeling diodes and gate drivers in an automotive-qualified package with a footprint of 12 square centimeters - up to 40% smaller than solutions assembled from multiple discrete components.

The device is designed to simplify and shorten the process of designing the power stages of high-voltage automotive auxiliary inverters for AC compressors and oil pumps - applications that must comply with strin-

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gent performance standards with tight space constraints.

ON Semiconductor recently acquired Fairchild Semiconductor, adding a range of high- and medium-voltage devices to its portfolio, which already includes many lowand medium-power solutions for legacy ICE vehicles as well as hybrids and EVs.

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Researchers demonstrate Li-ion anode with siliconnanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon Researchers from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Stanford University have demonstrated the feasibility of a hybrid anode for Li-ion batteries using silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite/carbon.

In “Scalable synthesis of silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite for high-energy lithium-ion batteries,” published in Nature Energy, Minseong Ko and colleagues explain that this architecture allows compatibility between silicon and natural graphite, and addresses the issues of side reactions caused by the structural failure of crumbled graphite dust and uncombined residue of silicon particles caused by conventional mechanical milling.

The new material shows a high first-cycle Coulombic efficiency (92%) and a rapid increase of Coulombic efficiency to 99.5% after only 6 cycles, with a capacity retention of 96% after 100 cycles.

A full cell using LiCoO2 has demonstrated a higher energy density (1,043 Wh l-1) than that of standard commercial graphite electrodes.

The researchers prepared the Si-nanolayer-embedded-graphite/carbon hybrids using a chemical vapor deposition process with a scalable furnace. This design has been demonstrated to produce 5 kg per batch, using a small amount of silane gas (SiH4), and uniformly distributes silicon nanolayers on graphite powder.

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THE TECH

Photo courtesy of Infineon Technologies

Infineon’s Power PROFET switches are designed to replace relays and fuses Infineon Technologies has launched a new family of ultra-low ohmic smart high-side switches that it says offer the lowest on-resistance and the highest energy capability on the market. Power PROFET switches enable the replacement of electromechanical relays and fuses in power distribution and junction boxes up to 40 A DC. Infineon points out that the power architecture of today’s vehicles is constrained by the intrinsic limitations of relays and fuses, which are bulky and have limited switching cycle capability. Power PROFET switches offer more than 1,000,000 switching cycles, and can replace several components, such as relays, fuses, relay drivers, cables and connectors.

Power PROFET switches feature on-resistances down to 1.0 mΩ, and are designed to drive high-current applications such as power feeds of electronic control

units, auxiliary power outlets, PTC heaters or rear window heaters. They are also suited for applications with high switching cycles and high energy requirements such as starter relays in start-stop systems and electric brake vacuum pumps.

Power PROFET switches are designed to increase energy efficiency. They feature less than 2 W dissipation while conducting 30 A DC. Further power management is supported through integrated current sensing and pulse-width modulation capability. They also offer a benchmark energy handling capability of up to 3,000 mJ for single pulses and 550 mJ for repetitive pulses. This can eliminate the need for a free-wheeling current recirculation path, reducing system cost.

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CS-16-H84

TURNKEY DRIVETRAINS

By Christian Ruoff

UQM, Eaton and Pi Innovo collaborate to help customers build better heavy-duty EVs

W

e write about electric buses a lot at Charged.

That’s because, as our July/August cover story pointed out, we think that e-buses will inevitably become the top choice for cities and municipalities. This could happen a lot quicker than many people realize, and some have predicted that transit buses will be the first segment in transportation to make the transition to all-electric.

Topping the list of reasons to switch to electric buses is cost - they’re a lot cheaper to own and operate. Replacing a diesel bus with an EV can save hundreds of thousands of dollars per bus over its lifespan. They’re also much quieter and cleaner. Furthermore, many local, state and federal governments around the world are beginning to lay out plans that mandate a complete transition to electric transit buses.

As a result, the electric bus industry is evolving quickly, and a pack of leaders is beginning to take shape.

In terms of drivetrain hardware, UQM’s latest product announcement has firmly positioned it towards the front of the race. In June, the motor manufacturer announced an alliance with Eaton and Pi Innovo to develop a turn-

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key electric drivetrain system called the PowerPhaseDT, which includes a motor, a two-speed transmission, and Image courtesy of UQM an inverter with a transmission control unit.

The new system is similar to the drivetrain found in Proterra’s electric buses, which also use UQM’s motors and Eaton’s two-speed transmission. With manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and California, Proterra is also a clear leader in the North American electric bus space. It’s one of the few bus companies that only builds EVs, and boasts over 2.7 million electric miles to date.

According to UQM, Proterra’s on-the-road experience has clearly shown that a two-speed drivetrain is the best solution based on fuel efficiency, ease of maintenance, and, most importantly, economic advantages for the end customer compared to diesel and natural gas drivetrains.

With its new partnership with Eaton and Pi Innovo, UQM says it can now offer other customers the proven advantages of a two-speed electric drivetrain system as an alternative to less-optimized direct drive solutions.

THE TECH UQM's PowerPhaseDT electric drivetrain system

Image courtesy of Tauno Tõhk - CC BY-2.0

We’ve found a lot of emerging customers for electric motors that are looking for an alternative to direct drive.

Charged recently caught up with UQM’s CEO Joe Mitchell and VP of Engineering Josh Ley. Q Charged: Why did you feel the need to offer an

integrated off-the-shelf drivetrain product to customers?

Don’t bus builders want to design their own systems?

A Joe Mitchell: We’ve found a lot of emerging custom-

ers for electric motors that are looking for an alternative to direct drive. However, they encounter some major challenges while identifying suitable transmissions, integrating that with a motor and controls, and then completing all the qualifications and testing. While working closely with Proterra, both companies realized that there is no need to re-invent the wheel and that the market as a whole would benefit from other customers having access to this proven solution. In a way it’s a part of a growing open source philosophy for the greater good of the EV market.

Seeing the success we’ve had with Proterra shows that the commercial EV and transit industry is ready for a growth spurt. The Proterra system is essentially using the same motor and gearbox combination we’re now

NOV/DEC 2016

21

From a volume perspective, we’re able to combine costs and spread it over many more units to offer best pricing to many different customers with a turnkey solution.

Proterra's e-buses also use UQM motors and Eaton two-speed transmissions

offering in the PowerPhaseDT system - and we determined it was very strategically important for us to provide the entire package to customers, so they can avoid some of the pitfalls we’ve seen in starting from scratch.

Proterra is one of the few companies that has Image courtesy of Proterra designed electric buses from the ground up. Its engineering team has invested a lot of resources to find the best possible solutions - from the two-speed and very heavy 9- or 10-speed transmissions. You don’t drivetrain to lightweight designs and innovative chargneed all those gears and you save a lot mass with an ing. All of this has given them a leg up in the market. electric motor and smaller transmission. For battery So from a volume perspective, we’re able to build upon electric applications you only need somewhere in the that work, combine costs and spread it over many more range of two or three speeds. units to offer best pricing to many different customSo, it’s very important to find the right gearbox with the ers with a turnkey solution. This was also discussed correct input torque and input speed, and that is someat length with Proterra and will benefit them as UQM what scarce for the input conditions needed with adestablishes a wider customer base. vanced electric machines. The solutions are out there, but We also have a knowledge advantage. We’ve been able somewhat rare. With the PowerPhaseDT, we’ve already to look closely at everything out there, and select the done the analysis to bring the best applicable components best transmission option. Even if vehicle manufacturers to the table. and vehicle integrators had the ability and time to do Q Charged: Can you describe the main advantages that, it would require a lot of investment dollars on their end. The truth is that most don’t have the resources to that would lead customers to choose a two-speed do the comprehensive engineering effort required to setransmission over direct drive? lect a transmission and do the qualification and control A Josh Ley: There are three distinct advantages of using a strategy.

So, the easiest solution for many customers is to just two-speed transmission: efficiency, weight and cost. go with direct drive, even though they know that a Electric motors are essentially sized by torque requiretwo-speed option could offer some distinct advantages. ments, because the physical size and torque are related. The With this new off-the-shelf solution, all that hard work higher the torque requirement, the larger a machine is is done. needed. Gear reduction exists to reduce the speed while multiplying the torque. So the torque required from a A Josh Ley: On the technical side, implementing an direct drive motor is significantly more than what is electric drive system is different than a traditional diesel, needed if you use a motor and transmission. which most bus builders are familiar with. The transmisWhen you reduce the motor mass, there is also a cost sions for applications in the diesel realm are usually big reduction. Even with the addition of a transmission, there

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THE TECH

Image courtesy of UQM

There are three distinct advantages of using a twospeed transmission: efficiency, weight and cost.

is usually an overall savings in weight and cost, because the internal commodity-based components of a motor are more expensive than the materials within a transmission.

The motor contains copper, electrical steel and powerful magnets. When you reduce the weight of the motor by three or four times, the overall system cost comes down, and a transmission does not increase the weight three or four times, so it’s a net advantage.

In terms of efficiency, the two-speed transmission helps in a similar way to an ICE. The main goal of the transmission with an engine is to keep within the power band. With an electric machine, the goal of a transmission is keep it in the high-efficiency band for a larger part of the drive cycle.

So shift strategy is intelligent to keep the motor operating in its most efficient region at any given time. This is where the UQM software experience excels, because we always

talk about a system, and that leads to total system efficiency over 95%. In a sense, we have added the other key component to what is now a comprehensive propulsion system.

Q Charged: What were the biggest engineering

challenges that you had to overcome when developing the PowerPhaseDT drivetrain?

A Josh Ley: Basically, the development effort was on

the control side and developing the software to optimize the shift strategy. For this effort, we sought to maximize both efficiency and also smooth operation and drivability through the shift cycle.

A Joe Mitchell: One of the big advantages of this

powertrain is that mechanically it’s already been proven in the field with the Proterra application. They’ve had millions of miles of road time on this powertrain hardware.

Proterra designed a custom controller for their application, and we developed a generic controller that can be set up to run with many different customers. We worked with Pi Innovo to develop that stand-alone transmission control unit.

Q Charged: What sort of integration or calibrating

will a customer have to do when they design an electric bus with PowerPhaseDT?

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23

This will drive cost down in the supply chain and help everyone in the EV market.

Regarding the initial customers, our first step is to work with our pilot partners in key markets on the 10to 12-meter transit and commercial bus market around 18,000 kg, which is the 40-foot buses here in the US. That size is the sweet spot for this transmission. We seem to be fielding calls daily from major bus manufacturers interested in the start of drivetrain production.

A Joe Mitchell: The PowerPhaseDT is also totally

A Josh Ley: The system is designed to be a turnkey

drivetrain to the largest extent possible. There is some software calibration that has to be done in the field, as with all vehicles. In this case it’s mostly to be sure that the shifting is occurring at the right points. So the customer simply creates the wiring harness on their side that connects to our system, and then does some minor fine-tuning. The time to market is reduced drastically. Get to market faster, generate revenue faster. This will drive cost down in the supply chain and help everyone in the EV market.

Q Charged: Are you looking at other commercial

vehicles or market segments that would work well with this new drivetrain?

A Josh Ley: The system could drive larger vehicles as

well, depending on the top speed and the weight limit.

In fact, many of those larger vehicles already have limits on speed for other reasons, so there are a lot of possibilities. Our HD lineup has been used in many heavy-duty vehicles in on-road and off-road applications, so the durability, testing and validation is in place for a variety of commercial vehicle types.

This drivetrain uses our motor/inverter combinations from our PowerPhase HD family of products. Currently we have three variations of that product that range between 140 and 250 kW, with peak torque between 700 Nm and 950 Nm out of the motor itself, and obviously the transmission multiplies that output. The PowerPhase HD family operates two different voltage ranges: one range that centers around 360 V nominal and a higher range that centers around 600 V nominal. We’re also a pretty flexible company, and have the ability to quickly turn a prototype of any custom specification that we receive. We also have a lot of semicustom options and flexibility to tailor existing designs to an application quickly and benefit from a reduced validation timeframe.

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agnostic about the power source that drives it. You can design it around many different types of battery packs, fuel cells or range-extended hybrid systems. All the end customer needs to do is choose the central vehicle control system, accessories, charging system and energy source, and the puzzle is complete.

Q Charged: What stage of commercialization are you

at with the PowerPhaseDT? Are you currently delivering to customers?

A Joe Mitchell: We’ve announced that full production

will begin in 2017. Right now we’re in the testing stage with hand-picked pilot partners. These are customers that we identified with the ability to take the PowerPhaseDT to volume that were interested in working with us on the development. We are also in ongoing discussions with interested parties that either wanted to be part of this first wave but the timing didn’t work out, or want to get prepared for when production starts in 2017.

Honestly, we’ve had more interest in this product offering than we expected.

We currently have three pilot partners in Asia (Hybrid Kinetic Group in Hong Kong, Wuzhoulong Motors and Yangtse Bus through ITL in China) and one in North America (ADOMANI), and we’re in the final stages of identifying a European partner.

Q Charged: China is clearly the largest market for

electric buses at the moment. Do you expect to see a lot of high-volume orders for PowerPhaseDT from China?

A Joe Mitchell: Yes, definitely. The orders coming

from China for electric buses are orders of magnitude larger than anywhere else - you can add zeros to the end in terms of volume. There are some great things going in North America and Europe too, but from a volume and commercial viability standpoint, the biggest things are happening in China.

THE TECH

The system is designed to be a turnkey drivetrain to the largest extent possible.

Image courtesy of UQM

You can design it around many different types of battery packs, fuel cells or range extended-hybrid systems.

That’s why it was very important for us, strategically, to find the best approach for entering that market. It’s very difficult for a small foreign company to go in and truly be a player in China. So a few years ago we began a process to identify the best potential partner. We had a list of over 50 companies at one point and, over time, narrowed that list down until it was clear that Hybrid Kinetic Group (HKG) was the best option. In June we announced a new partnership with HKG that will bring us an infusion of new capital and the ability

to install the infrastructure to support the market in China. Also, very importantly, HKG will bring us access to the Chinese market that would be very difficult for us to accomplish on our own.

They have great capitalization, an ability to invest in UQM, and many contacts in the market that will open the doors for us. HKG primarily develops and manufactures batteries and battery management systems, and will manufacture electric and hybrid vehicles. So it ended up being an excellent partnership that gave us the ability to present ourselves in China with some domestic ownership.

They already have the captive market and great customers, and will also give us the autonomy to be able to expand into other markets beyond just HKG. There is a lot of potential there. China has over 40 bus OEMs, and everyone is looking closely at electric drive.

So overall, this is all consistent with the strategic process that was outlined several years ago. Identify the potential growth markets, address the technology gaps with viable solutions, and identify partners that will provide us with the capital to expand our global reach.

NOV/DEC 2016

25

AN AIRBAG FOR

BATTERY

PACKS

By Micheal Kent

PyroPhobic Systems’ uniquely formulated thermoplastics will expand up to 20 times when heated, stopping thermal runaway before it happens.

ngineers have been searching for ways to mitigate the risk of fire with Li-ion batteries since the technology was first commercialized. Chemists are creating new cell formulations that are less prone to problems, electronics experts are designing fail-safe battery management systems, and mechanical engineers are building complex cooling and fire suppression systems.

A common rule of thumb for any new technology

E

26

is that it typically needs to be significantly better than existing solutions to gain real traction. And that is true for the safety of large Li-ion-powered systems.

By and large, the technology is very safe, particularly when compared to the risk of fire with liquid or gas hydrocarbon fuels. However, advanced Li-ion technology is fairly new, so even rare problems make big headlines and have a real impact on consumer perception.

THE TECH

If you have a lithium cell fire, the material absorbs the heat and expands to provide good separation between the cells so you don’t have a cascading event.

Photo courtesy of Andi Tamplin - CC BY-ND 2.0

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Engineered prevention PyroPhobic Systems has been focused on the science of fire prevention for 15 years. The Ontario-based company’s claim to fame is its intumescent fire-resistant thermoplastic technology. The company designed a resin that can be added to just about any type of thermoplastic (though it primarily works with HDPE and PVC) and swells when exposed to heat, increasing in volume by about 20 times.

“We figured out how to injection-mold intumescent thermoplastics without having them react in the injection tool - which would be a really bad thing,” PyroPhobic’s head of international business development Timothy Riley told Charged. “And we can use standard injection molding equipment. The material can also be extruded into shapes or sheets and CNC machined into precise specifications.”

Today, PyroPhobic’s material is primarily used in the commercial construction industry for barrier applications. For example, if you have a fire-rated concrete slab that you want to pass a conduit through, you would use the intumescent plastic inside of the conduit. If a fire occurs, the material swells and fills the opening, preventing the transfer of heat or flame through the conduit.

The company says that it produces millions of parts a year for the construction industry.

“About five years ago, we started to track lithium battery applications,” said Riley. “In that time we’ve developed a lot of data, and created a specific product for batteries.”

Snuffing out battery problems Using the same intumescent fire-resistant thermoplastic technology, PyroPhobic says it can help ease safety concerns for large battery packs in applications like EVs, electrified marine vessels and stationary energy storage systems.

Battery fires are classified as Class D fires because they involve combustible metal, and can go from ambient temperature to about 1,000° C in a matter of seconds. In order to stop a chain reaction that spreads to every cell in a pack, you need to be able to react very quickly to contain a problem.

To target the growing industry for advanced batteries, PyroPhobic developed a new product line that it calls Lithium Prevent - described as an airbag for batteries.

“If you have a lithium cell fire, the material absorbs the heat and expands to provide good separation between the cells so you don’t have a cascading event,” explained Riley. “It’s considered to be a phase-change material. If it

28

We figured out how to injectionmold intumescent thermoplastics without having them react in the injection tool - which would be a really bad thing.

If it were sitting on your desk it would just look like regular plastic. But when a fire happens it causes an endothermic reaction in the material, so it absorbs the heat, which causes it to change into a high-volume char-like ash.

THE TECH were sitting on your desk it would just look like regular plastic. But when a fire happens it causes an endothermic reaction in the material, so it absorbs the heat, which causes it to change into a high-volume char-like ash. When the pack is properly designed with Lithium Prevent, the problem cell is entombed in the material and separated from an oxygen-rich environment. It breaks the fire triangle and also can control the flow of vented electrolyte from the damaged battery to prevent it from pouring over into adjacent cells.”

“The temperature that causes Li-ion runaway is usually about 200 to 225° C,” Riley continued.

“After that the cells can get up to 1,000° C pretty quickly. We’ve done tests that show our material can separate the energy so that an adjacent cell, right next to the runaway cell, is about 110 to 120°. That’s half the temperature required for runaway. The thermal separation between cells is excellent. I’ve seen this achieved with as little as 2.5 mm of our material between large prismatic cells. In fact, NASA did some tests with our material and published a public report which confirms the prevention of thermal runaway propagation. We’ve also done a lot of other studies with clients, but that data is private for now.”

PyroPhobic’s magical material is the result of a range of proprietary methods and materials that are included in its resin. The company formulates and premixes it into the plastic. So when you order a batch of its special blend, you receive a plastic-resin mix that is ready to go into the injection molding machine. The company also has the capacity to produce and deliver molded parts.

“We make millions of parts a year for the commercial construction industry, and we can do the same for the battery industry,”

said Riley. “Our typical design process is to first find out what the client wishes to accomplish, and review their specifications and current designs they are using. Then we modify the design to include the Lithium Prevent as a component in their system, and work with them to test and evaluate the system to achieve the required goals.”

Lithium Prevent products have about the same mechanical properties as the host thermoplastic, for example

THE TECH Photos courtesy of PyroPhobic

NASA prototype testing - nine 18650 Li-ion cells in a pack, center cell thermal event did not cascade to adjacent cells

HDPE or PVC. PyroPhobic says the material can also be used to simply replace other parts within a pack, with the added benefit of enhanced fire suppression capabilities beyond the typical plastics.

The market for safety The company’s pitch to battery pack designers is simple: This is the most effective fire protection system you can build. “There are no other solutions in the marketplace that can react this quickly,” said Riley. “There are others that are designed for petrochemical fires or commercial construction applications, but those aren’t nearly as severe as a lithium battery fire. If you look at a time/temperature curve, you see that our material reacts in seconds and begins to cool the pack within that short period of time.”

Having a prevention system that can stop a problem in its tracks is valuable in many applications, from cars to boats to buildings. However, one could argue that in applications with a large number of people in a dense area, like battery packs aboard ships at sea or in basements of buildings, these advanced fire suppression systems are even more critical.

“If you have a Li-ion energy storage system in a hospital, or on a cruise ship with thousands of people onboard, you’d better have a robust fire protection system,” said Riley. “And even with an EV in the garage, I think you would sleep better with the type of protection that Lithium Prevent can provide. There are some active systems that manufacturers are using in some applications, like using a water mist, halon, or CO2 systems. And they are all effective at suppressing fires, however our prod-

30

If you have a Li-ion energy storage system in a hospital, or on a cruise ship with thousands of people onboard, you’d better have a robust fire protection system. ucts can greatly reduce the amount of damage that is done and stop a thermal runaway before active systems need to be discharged. Many people in the fire science industry are saying that it will be best to have multiple lines of defense wherever possible - active systems combined with passive suppression products like Lithium Prevent. However, in a lot of consumer electronics and transportation cases like e-scooters or bikes, using our product may be the only feasible solution.”

There is also a range of less elegant fire safety solutions. For example, in some high-risk applications like airplanes, engineers have basically sealed the battery pack in a stainless steel box that’s inside of another stainless steel box. “The weight of that is considerable,” said Riley. “Also, with that kind of solution, when one cell runs away, they’re all going to run away, so you’re going to have a much larger event with greater risk.

With our materials you can design it to stop the fire at a single cell, so it doesn’t cascade through the entire

PUT AMATEUR BATTERY TESTING pack. So we offer a considerable weight advantage and a much higher degree of responsiveness.”

There are currently no regulations for fire protection in passenger vehicle battery packs, but Riley believes it’s just a matter of time. For marine and commercial building batteries, regulators appear to be acting more quickly. Also, when you’re dealing with multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment like ships or large commercial buildings, the insurance companies get involved, and that helps to drive things more quickly. “There are many code committees that are meeting right now to develop those industry specs for fire protection,” said Riley. “Then the standards will be reviewed and eventually adopted by code authorities around the world.

There are different philosophies about what people think is necessary in regulations, so the battery industry has to work its way through that.”

PyroPhobic says that it’s currently working on development projects with several companies “that we would know,” but it can’t disclose them at this time. With the market for large battery packs continuing to grow significantly, the company is optimistic about the advantages its unique technology offers.

“The beauty of our product is that you can injection-mold it with a high degree of specificity,” said Riley. “With that precision you can design a system to control events at a single point and stop major fires before they happen.”

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SIMULATING

SIGNALS TESTING NEXT-GENERATION VEHICLES

REQUIRES NEXT-GENERATION EQUIPMENT

To stay on top in the test and measurement industry, Chroma Systems Solutions continually invests in the next generation of testing products.

By Micheal Kent

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Chroma offers various AC/DC power sources and electronic load products

O

ne major challenge that the EV industry has had to overcome is figuring out how to test its new products. No matter how great and innovative you think your new design is, if you can’t adequately test it, how do you know it’s truly great?

Until recently, there were no standard operating procedures for testing vehicles with massive lithium-ion battery packs onboard. The industry quickly learned that there is a lot that can go wrong in a new design that has to last for hundreds of thousands of miles through extreme temperature swings. To make matters

THE TECH

Images courtesy of Chroma Systems Solutions

We’re all across the supply chain, because everything has to be tested.

more complicated, these new EVs also interact with the outside world in a much more complex way - plugging in to the grid through hardware from dozens of different manufacturers.

Over the past decade, EV engineers began to work hand-in-hand with test and measurement companies to design the right testing products. “A lot of customers that come up with new technologies put the burden on us to develop the right features in our test equipment,” Luis Veliz, Chroma Systems Solution’s Director of Automated Test Equipment (ATE) told Charged.

Chroma is an electronic instruments company that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growth in vehicle electrification. The company offers testing products in all four quadrants - AC input, DC input, AC output and DC output - which has allowed it to enter the EV market at many points throughout the electrified systems - from charging station simulation to BMS testing and everything in between.

“We’re all across the supply chain, because everything has to be tested, from a small resistor all the way up to a final product,” said Veliz. “Our customers include both the automakers and their suppliers. Not all EV companies design all their own systems, but when they integrate third-party parts, those have to be tested during development and final production.”

Evolving with EVs Chroma’s suite of products includes systems for testing how EVSE interacts both with the grid and with vehicles.

One feature that Chroma developed while working closely with customers is a constant impedance mode for AC and DC electronic loads. “Most electronic loads have constant current, resistance, power and voltage modes,” explained Veliz. “We introduced constant impedance (CZ) mode to better represent real life. If you’re measuring the AC signal at the wall, for example, and someone starts running a vacuum cleaner somewhere, that’s going

NOV/DEC 2016

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Images courtesy of Chroma Systems Solutions

Chroma's regenerative grid simulator model 61800 series

to induce a certain inductance into your testing. So we’re simulating that in different products so you can test based on different activities that are going on in the real world.”

“Consumer electronics chargers are a good example of where you would use a DC load and CZ mode,” continued Veliz. “Let’s say you have a Mini-USB charger where you can plug in smart phones from multiple manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, Google, etc). Now we can simulate each phone’s impedance to make sure the charger performs the way it is supposed to every time.”

Another clever feature that Chroma introduced for DC loads is the ability to accurately simulate large and small currents using the same hardware. “On most DC electronic loads, when you start drawing a smaller current, they are not as accurate,” said Veliz. “They’re typically designed with a 10% and 100% load range. We introduced a third range at 1%. Let’s say you want to test a battery that normally draws 60 A for its main application, but from that battery you’re also drawing 200 milliamps for some components. For example, if you want to turn on an LED, that’s a really small current, but you want to simulate that at some point. So now with one product you can accurately simulate the big stuff and the little stuff to know for certain how it will behave in the real world.”

As more and more drivetrains are being powered by electricity, along with the vehicle’s accessories, Chroma has the ability to become a one-stop testing shop for automakers. And with its advanced test systems for the LED and solar PV industries, Chroma can even simulate more exotic vehicle accessories like advanced lighting systems and solar integrated roofs.

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We’ve noticed a trend that automobile manufactures who are entering the EV market are also looking into solar applications.

“We’ve noticed a trend that automobile manufactures who are entering the EV market are also looking into solar applications - high-power inverters, possibly to leverage the battery technologies they are developing for their cars,” added Steve Grodt, Chroma’s Director of Business Development. “They look to Chroma’s 61800 Regenerative Grid Simulators and 62000H Solar Array Simulators to create a micro-grid environment. To tap into another segment, automakers use the inverters and batteries to deliver energy storage systems for military applications.”

Battery team Chroma has a specific team that’s dedicated to all aspects of battery testing - cells, modules, packs, BMS, etc. The company’s systems have power ranges from 100 W up to 1 MW, and from 60 V up to 1,500 V. The equipment is used in all aspects of prototyping, design verification, and end-of-line production tests.

One example of design verification performed with Chroma’s equipment is testing the balancing functions

THE TECH Chroma's battery test and automation solutions

of a battery pack’s BMS. For active balancers, designed to shuttle energy between cells, engineers will use a DC load to draw current from one cell and see how the BMS reacts. “The purpose of the BMS is to make sure all the cells are within the same voltage range, and you need to confirm that it always works,” said Veliz. “You also want to make sure that it maintains control of any bad cells, and it doesn’t continue to draw current from them.”

A typical end-of-line production test will include charging and discharging a pack in about two-minute intervals, and measuring to ensure that it’s within certain parameters. “In that case we’re usually looking for DC-IR, which is the internal resistance of the battery,” said Veliz.

“When you go from drawing 10 A to 2 A, the voltage will change. Using the rate of change of the voltage and Ohm’s law, you calculate the internal resistance of the battery.

If the DC-IR is outside of the design parameters, there could be a problem with anything from a single faulty cell to a physical connection. Then there are also usually tests to ensure that the pack can charge and discharge at its design limits: 1C, 2C, etc.”

Designed for automation Chroma says what really sets it apart from the competi-

Creating the scripting without manual programming can save engineers a lot of time. tion is that it has focused on testing automation since the inception of the company. “Our software makes us unique,” said Veliz. “Usually, you need to be a programmer to work with a software package. In our case, as long as you know what parameters you want to test on your product, you can script a test on our software without ever knowing how to program in C, BASIC, or any other language. Creating the scripting without manual programming can save engineers a lot of time.”

The company stresses the importance of using highquality components to build its equipment for automation and production environments. In the high-speed and time-critical world of computer and automotive manufacturing, a few seconds of downtime can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Chroma ships its products all around the world, including to manufacturing environ-

NOV/DEC 2016

35

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Images courtesy of Chroma Systems Solutions

THE TECH

Chroma's software platform - Battery Pro (for Model 17030/17020/17011)

I can think of at least five features that we’ve introduced into the market in the last three years. ments that are less than ideal, with dusty atmospheres and irregular grid power. “With reliability and speed-of-test in mind, we design products a little differently, with higherquality components, so you know it’s going to work in any high-volume manufacturing environment,” said Veliz.

Pushing the boundaries There are a few features in the test and measurement world that are considered the frontier of the industry, including accuracy of the settings and the measurements, higher power density, and speed of tests and communications.

To maintain its position among the top of the pack, Chroma spends a considerable amount of resources on R&D. The company says it has about 540 R&D test engineers that do nothing but develop new products and

Customized ATS for EV/PHEV maintenance application

features. In addition to having a large and diverse group of engineers, every year Chroma makes a big investment as much as 15% of its revenue - back into R&D to develop new technology and products to ensure precision, reliability, and uniqueness.

According to Veliz, it’s paying off. “I can think of at least five features that we’ve introduced into the market in the last three years that were so useful to customers that other companies followed our lead and added them as well.”

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THE VEHICLES

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Photo courtesy of Jaguar

Jaguar recently offered a first look at its I-PACE electric SUV concept in an online virtual reality event ahead of the car’s debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The production version of the I-PACE will be revealed next year, and is scheduled to be on the road in 2018.

The I-PACE, which Jaguar calls a five-seat sports car and a performance SUV in one, has electric motors on the front and rear axles. Combined output is 400 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque - the same torque rating as the F-Type SVR. The motors and 90 kWh battery pack were designed in-house by Jaguar. The concept features 50 kW DC fast charging capability, and has an EPA-estimated 220 miles of range.“Electric motors provide immediate response with no lag, no gearshifts and no interruptions,” said Ian Hoban, Vehicle Line Director. “Their superior torque delivery compared to internal combustion engines transforms the driving experience. With 516 lb-ft of torque and the traction benefits of all-wheel drive, the I-PACE Concept accelerates from 0-60 mph in around four seconds.”

“This is an uncompromised electric vehicle designed from a clean sheet of paper: we’ve developed a new architecture and selected only the best technology available,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, Technical Design Director.

“The I-PACE Concept fully exploits the potential EVs can offer in space utilization, driving pleasure and performance.”

California refuse collection company the Ratto Group will roll out 15 refuse trucks retrofitted with Wrightspeed’s Route range-extended electric powertrain over the next 12 months.

The Wrightspeed Route powertrain is optimized for heavy-duty frequent-stop drive cycles, like those of refuse trucks. It replaces a vehicle’s engine, transmission and differential systems with a fuel-agnostic microturbine generator and Wrightspeed’s own motor, motor controller, clutchless transmission and vehicle dynamics software. A four-speed clutchless gearbox uses software controls in place of traditional transmission components, saving on weight while delivering a wide range of power and speed.

Capable of powering vehicles weighing up to 66,000 pounds up grades as steep as 40%, the Route provides the refuse market with the power-to-weight ratio needed for collection duty cycles. Wrightspeed’s patented Geared Traction Drive (GTD) digitally drives each rear wheel of the vehicle, providing the slip control needed to operate in tough road conditions.

“In a business that puts a premium on re-use, this represents the ultimate in recycling. We’re literally recycling the recycling truck,” said Ratto Group COO Lou Ratto.

“By integrating Wrightspeed’s powertrains into our existing commercial fleet, we’re initiating a progressive solid waste and recyclables collection strategy that will maximize the life of our vehicles, cut fuel consumption and emissions, and have a positive environmental impact on our service areas.”

Photo courtesy of Wrightspeed

Wrightspeed plug-in garbage trucks take to the road

Jaguar I-Pace concept previews E-SUV to be produced in 2018

Photos courtesy of Tesla

All Teslas now being produced with full self-driving hardware In less than two years, Tesla says that all its models should be capable of full level-5 autonomy, driving themselves without human input.

Here’s the gist of it, from the Tesla blog: “…as of [October 19, 2016], all Tesla vehicles produced in our factory - including Model 3 - will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.”

At this point, only the hardware part of the system is in place. The software that makes it all work will be enabled gradually via over-the-air updates. In fact, the new hardware suite will not offer the same Autopilot capabilities that the old one does at first, but it should reach parity after a few months of software improvements. The software will be operating in “shadow mode,” constantly gathering data to improve the system, until it is capable of full autonomy by 2018. Elon Musk promised a demo of a fully autonomous drive from Los Angeles to New York by the end of 2017.

Tesla described the new hardware suite: “Eight surround cameras provide 360-degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.”

“To make sense of all of this data, a new onboard computer with more than 40 times the computing power of the previous generation runs the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software.

Together, this system provides a view of the world that a driver alone cannot access, seeing in every direction simultaneously and on wavelengths that go far beyond the human senses.”

The Tesla Neural Net relies on the Nvidia Titan GPU, but doesn’t use any third-party hardware sensors, Musk said in a conference call following the announcement. The new system won’t be sold to other automakers, as it would be “very hard to turn into a kit.”

No, all the wonderful new goodies will not be free. The safety features enabled by the system will come standard on all models, but the Enhanced Autopilot package will be a $5,000 option, and Fully Self-Driving mode will cost $8,000.

THE VEHICLES

Photo courtesy of BMW Group

BMW has sold 100,000 EVs and PHEVs, and several new models are on the way The BMW Group has delivered more than 100,000 EVs and PHEVs worldwide since the launch of the i subbrand in November 2013. The i3 has sold over 60,000 units, and the i8 has sold 10,000, which makes it the top seller among electrified sports cars, BMW says (for comparison, Tesla sold about 2,400 units of the Roadster).

The Bavarians have also sold some 30,000 of the various BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrid models.

The BMW Group now offers seven plug-in vehicles, and more are in the pipeline. Future attractions include a MINI Countryman PHEV expected in 2017, an opentop roadster variant of the i8 in 2018, a pure electric MINI in 2019 and a pure electric X3 in 2020. Early in the next decade, the company plans to introduce a new, larger BMW i model called the iNEXT. “BMW i remains our spearhead in terms of innovation

and it will continue to open up groundbreaking technologies,” says BMW Chairman of the Board Harald Krüger.

“When it comes to electric drivetrains, we’ve already successfully managed to put this technology transfer on the road. The next technological advance we will address is automated driving, where the BMW iNEXT will set a new benchmark.”

In July, Atieva demonstrated a converted van called Edna that seemed to be a test vehicle for the powertrain that will be used in the company’s upcoming sedan. The boxy little van beat a Ferrari and a Model S on the drag strip.

Lucid’s flashy web site offers no technical details, but does hint at some advanced autonomy features: “Our vehicles will feature automated driving systems, natural voice interactions, and intuitive user interfaces.”

Lucid’s CTO and head of its vehicle program is former Tesla VP and Model S Chief Engineer Peter Rawlinson.

The company has two development facilities in Silicon Valley, and says that it is closing in on a location for a factory that will have a capacity of around 20,000 units per year, eventually ramping up to 130,000.

Much about the company remains mysterious. It was founded in 2007, and initially produced battery packs for electric buses in China. In 2014, two Chinese firms, state-owned carmaker BAIC and tech manufacturer LeEco, invested around $100 million for a 50 percent stake.

Shortly thereafter, LeEco announced plans to develop its own EV, and its billionaire owner Jia Yueting also invested in a third EV startup, Faraday Future.

The exact relationship among the three companies is anybody’s guess at this point, but observers believe that they will share some core technologies. If Jia’s vision comes to full fruition, the three EV-makers could be producing 670,000 cars annually within a few years, surpassing Tesla’s planned production of 500,000 Model 3 sedans.

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Photo courtesy of Lucid

Atieva renames itself Lucid Motors, teases new EV

Property management giant JLL (NYSE:JLL) plans to lease 10 Proterra Catalyst electric buses to provide commuter shuttle services between Chicago’s commuter train stations and two of the city’s tallest buildings, the Prudential Plaza and Aon Center.

The electric shuttle fleet, which is funded in part by Drive Clean Chicago, will begin service in December.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing tenants request more transit options to ease their commutes,” said Bryan Oyster, Senior VP at JLL. “With Proterra’s leasing option, we are able to provide a top-of-the-line shuttle service that meets tenants’ commuting needs and Chicago’s clean vehicle goals, while staying true to our own sustainability goals.”

“Creating clean transportation options is a key pillar of the City’s sustainability goals,” said Randy Conner, Chicago’s Acting Commissioner of Transportation. “This fleet is exactly the type of adoption we hoped Drive Clean Chicago would spur, and we look forward to seeing how other fleets respond to the precedent that has been set.”

To date, e-bus manufacturer Proterra has sold more than 312 vehicles to 35 municipal, university, and commercial transit agencies throughout North America.

“At Proterra, we are dedicated to ensuring every transit provider can seamlessly transition to a zero-emission fleet,” said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra. “By leasing the buses, Proterra customers can electrify their fleets with no out-of-pocket cost and total annual payments and costs equivalent to the total operating costs of a leased diesel bus.”

Photo courtesy of Proterra

Proterra to deliver 10 e-buses to shuttle service in downtown Chicago

THE VEHICLES

Quebec adopts zero-emission vehicle mandate Quebec has become the first Canadian province to adopt a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate similar to the one in effect in California. Quebec’s National Assembly passed the regulation by a unanimous vote of 112 to 0.

Starting with the 2018 model year, automakers will be required to generate ZEV credits equivalent to 3.5 percent of their sales in Quebec (four times the current market share for all plug-in vehicles), and the threshold will rise quickly, to 15.5 percent of sales by 2025.

The Quebec government already offers EV purchase rebates of up to $8,000, as well as grants for the purchase and installation of charging stations. The province has set a goal of having 100,000 plug-in vehicles on its roads by 2020.

“We have just adopted one of the toughest bills in North America, and we did so unanimously,” said David Heurtel, Quebec’s Minister of Sustainable Development, the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change.

“This act is fully in line with our vision of a Quebec that

has fast-tracked into the economy of the 21st century - a modern, prosperous and low-carbon economy. Promoting transportation electrification means investing in the future of our businesses and our children’s future.”

“The energy policy we unveiled last spring focuses on concrete actions to foster the transition to a low-carbon footprint economy. Today’s announcement, combined with other measures already underway, such as the Drive Electric and Plug at Work programs, the deployment of a charging station network across Quebec and the implementation of a multi-fuel service station pilot project, proves that our government wants to provide itself with the means to achieve this transition,” added the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Pierre Arcand.

A draft regulation will be tabled shortly for public consultation. The law may yet be amended in response to automaker input, but Green Car Reports notes that car companies have been surprisingly positive in their public responses to the bill so far.

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THE VEHICLES

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UK government extends Plug-In Van grants to larger trucks

The UK government has announced an investment of an additional £4 million ($4.9 million) to the Plug-In Van grant scheme, extending eligibility to larger electric vehicles. Electric trucks above 3.5 tons will now be eligible for grants of up to £20,000 ($24,300).

The grant amount is automatically deducted from the price of the vehicle by the dealer at purchase, and the dealership completes the necessary paperwork. The scheme will be reviewed in March 2018, or after 5,000 grants have been processed.

The UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles pointed out that electric vans and trucks have particular air quality benefits, as they spend much of their time in city centers, and more than 96% of them are diesel-powered.

Also, the proportion of vans in the UK transport fleet is increasing: new van sales are up 66% between 2010 and 2015, compared with a 30% increase for cars.

“The electric car revolution is well underway with consumers, and this funding will encourage more businesses to consider switching to cleaner vans and trucks,” said Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark. “Our automotive sector is thriving, with the world’s most popular electric car already made in the UK, and we are forging ahead to deploy new engine technology to make low-carbon vehicles mainstream.”

New report highlights five years of growth in Oregon’s electromobility industry The state of Oregon is an enthusiastic adopter of EVs, second only to California. A new report released by the trade group Drive Oregon explores the achievements of the state’s EV industry over the past five years, and discusses market trends that are shaping the sector’s future.

The new report notes that sales of EVs in Oregon have increased steadily since 2011. There are now over 9,300 plug-in vehicles registered in the state. Oregon has deployed over 600 public Level 2 charging stations and over 115 DC fast chargers.

Oregon is one of nine states that have adopted California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, which requires 15% of new vehicle sales in 2025 to be zero-emission vehicles. The state has also joined other state and national governments in a more ambitious goal of having all new cars sold be zero-emission EVs by 2050.

Drive Oregon currently has 112 members, including local firms across the supply chain, non-profit and public partners, and global automakers. To date, the group’s Matching Grant Program has awarded some $520,000, leveraging over $24.5 million in additional investment.

Jeff Allen, Executive Director of Drive Oregon, said, “Oregon made an investment back in 2011, and that investment has paid off. Working together with our partners, we’ve leveraged new investment and established Oregon as a leader in sustainable electric mobility.”

Chris Harder, Director of Business Oregon, noted, “Drive Oregon has positioned the state as the epicenter of the electric vehicle industry. The success of the sector is a validation of Oregon Innovation Council’s public-private investment approach and ability to spur next-generation industries across the state.”

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LeclanchÊ is Europe’s only manufacturer of both power and energy Li-ion cells, and a diverse application engineering firm, giving it an edge in booming new markets.

By Christian Ruoff

T

he advantages of electrifying transportation are far-reaching. Advanced energy storage systems are even making their way into the commercial marine industry. There are many marine applications in which adding a large Liion battery pack makes a lot of sense.

The best-use case varies depending on the boat size and purpose. All-electric ferries, for example, are being deployed in different areas, largely driven by regulations. There are some sensitive harbors that require all vessels to be low-noise and pollution-free. And if there is a need for a ferry with a range of about 20 nautical miles or less, going all-electric works great.

There are also a few growing niches for hybridization and load optimization. Boats that need to operate in the heavily-regulated zones but also have long range capabilities can be designed with a PHEV-like drivetrain traveling short distances on battery power and running diesel engines outside of restricted areas.

Other marine duty cycles can benefit greatly from a hybrid propulsion system - tugboats, for example reducing fuel consumption and cutting emissions by up to 35%.

Also, some of the world’s largest vessels are realizing a clear financial payback by converting their existing auxiliary loads to an aftermarket hybrid system - running a genset (diesel generator) in its most efficient range, coupled with a battery pack.

SEAWOR 46

Images courtesy of Leclanché

THE VEHICLES

THY EVS NOV/DEC 2016

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Images courtesy of Leclanché

One-stop shop for power and energy To meet all the different use cases for advanced marine battery packs, engineers usually choose between a variety of Li-ion cell formulations that have either higher energy or higher power capabilities.

Leclanché is a European manufacturer of both power and energy cells, headquartered in Switzerland with cell manufacturing in Germany and offices in Belgium and the US. In fact the century-old company is the only manufacturer of both lithium-titanate (LTO) and graphite-NMC cells on the Continent.

Graphite-NMC is a Li-ion technology that’s often used in passenger EVs because its high energy density provides the longest possible range. LTO is capable of very high charging power, so it’s used in applications where regular fast charging events are expected.

“We’re known for our Swiss engineering and German high quality, but also, being the sole European player is actually a great asset for us,” Antti Vayrynen, Leclanché’s VP of Electrified Transportation, told Charged. “Transporting batteries is difficult because of safety regulations. Particularly transporting batteries by air freight - it’s not impossible, but having multiple European offices is definitely an advantage.”

Leclanché’s cells are used in a variety of stationary storage applications. In transportation the company is focused on three segments: commercial marine, on-road vehicles (mainly buses) and industrial machinery such as mining equipment.

The company is not simply a manufacturer of cells.

It also designs and manufactures full Li-ion powered systems for most applications. “We actually have more

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We actually have more electrical, software, and mechanical engineers focused on system design than chemists working on cells at this point. electrical, software, and mechanical engineers focused on system design than chemists working on cells at this point,” said Vayrynen. “When we go to customers we don’t just try to sell them Li-ion cells. We start with advanced simulations of their application to find out what kind of cell will work best: high-energy graphite-NMC or high-power LTO. Then we help to design a complete system solution.”

Designed for the sea In some ways, marine conditions are quite friendly for designing Li-ion battery packs. The temperatures of the storage compartments are generally constant and not too high. Vayrynen says Leclanché designs marine packs with both liquid and air cooling, depending on the application. Typically a boat that’s designed for multiple fast charging events per day will require liquid cooling.

There are also fewer packaging constraints on boats than in on-road EVs, both in terms of volume and weight. Of course, it’s always important to minimize packaging to increase payload, but boats are less sensitive to weight vs range tradeoffs.

There is one aspect of the marine industry that is

THE VEHICLES

Signature aliquunt vel ipsa re sum qui siti con por si a sum

Images courtesy of Leclanché

All-Electric Denmark E-Ferry

In a marine vessel, if there is trouble with the battery it must be taken very seriously, because you can’t escape from the boat so easily.

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more challenging for battery system engineers - strict safety regulations. “In a marine vessel, if there is trouble with the battery it must be taken very seriously, because you can’t escape from the boat so easily,” said Vayrynen.

Late last year some classification societies released new battery-specific safety requirements, including a lot of safety analysis and fire propagation testing. In the unlikely event of a battery fire, the goal of the new regulations is to make sure the problem stays within one battery module and doesn’t spread throughout the pack or further.

“Achieving product certification for these types of regulations involves detailed safety and hazard analysis, and a lot of testing,” said Vayrynen. “During our current work on an electric ferry project for Denmark, Leclanché is gaining certification for our marine product line.

It’s a scalable module system, and now with this rigorous safety approval we can use it in all marine applications.”

THE SHIPS Denmark E-Ferry Leclanché describes the Denmark E-Ferry as the company’s flagship project. The EU-funded vessel is the world’s largest fully electric ferry, and will be brought into service in November 2017. It will transport up to

THE VEHICLES The BB Green All-Electric Air Supported Vessel

The 25-ton ship, named BB Green, reduces water resistance with a batterypowered fan in the bow that injects pressurized air into a cavity under the ship

198 passengers and 31 vehicles between the island of Ærø and the Danish mainland.

The electric drivetrain of the ferry comprises two parallel, fully redundant parts, which increases safety and reliability. The e-ferry will reach speeds of up to 14 knots - faster than existing boats of similar size. The enormous battery pack contains 4.3 MWh of graphiteNMC cells, providing a range of about 20 nautical miles between charges.

The BB Green ASV In May, Leclanché was one of eight partners that worked together to launch the first all-electric Air Supported Vessel (ASV) in Riga, Latvia. The 25-ton ship, named BB Green, reduces water resistance with a battery-powered fan in the bow that injects pressurized air into a cavity under the ship. The air cushion supports about 80 percent of the vessel’s displacement, reducing resistance by 40 percent at high speed. The system enables the ship to reach a speed of 30 knots, propelled by two 280 kW electric motors, and claim the title of “the world’s fastest electric commuter vessel.” The hull and propulsion system was made by Echandia Marine and SES Europe.

BB Green currently runs on a Leclanché-built 200 kWh LTO battery - but it’s designed to be upgraded up to 400 kWh. The boat’s current configuration enables it to operate at high speed for over 30 minutes with a

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Images courtesy of Leclanché

14-nautical-mile range. At each stop, the LTO pack is fast charged for 15 to 20 minutes.

The vessel holds up to 70 passengers plus bikes, and is initially being used for demonstration purposes across Europe.

Charging dock Large marine battery packs require an equally large amount of charging power. Vayrynen explained that the charging operations must be automated. “The power is so high that any equipment would be difficult for people to handle. It’s also critical that charging is very safe and trouble-free. It must be connected quickly, because the time that you’re in the port is very valuable.”

The 200 kWh LTO battery in the BB Green ASV currently charges with a peak power of about 800 kW, and

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We’re quite vertically integrated and can design and supply the whole system - battery, driveline and chargers. when the second half of the pack is installed the power will double.

The 4.3 MWh graphite-NMC pack in Denmark’s EFerry charges with a peak power up to 4 MW. “In some cases Leclanché works with partners to develop the charging system for customers,” said Vayrynen. “But we also have the knowledge and net-

THE VEHICLES

work to provide the chargers ourselves. In fact, we’re quite vertically integrated and can design and supply the whole system battery, driveline and chargers.”

Hybrids are a first step for some customers, but the biggest potential for financial savings is allelectric.

Land/sea synergies On the road, one of Leclanché’s core focuses is electric and hybrid buses. “We work closely with some big bus companies,” said Vayrynen. “Hybrids are a first step for some customers, but the biggest potential for financial savings is all-electric.”

Leclanché sees a few electric bus hotspots in cities that have ambitions to be emissions-free, including London and Paris, which recently announced a plan to transition a major part of its bus fleet to electric.

Supplying both LTO and graphite-NMC is also an advantage for the bus market, in which Vayrynen describes a complicated process of helping customers design an

Images courtesy of Leclanché

THE VEHICLES

To decide which kind of fleet is best for a city is quite a big optimization problem.

It depends on what kind of roads you have, how fast you can build up the infrastructure and how much you can invest in a given timeframe. electric ecosystem. “Many cities like the idea of having opportunity charging along the routes and using LTO packs that are fast charged many times per day. This allows for a smaller battery investment because you can use smaller packs that are charged more often. However, the investment in the charging infrastructure is higher because it’s in more locations. So to decide which kind

of fleet is best for a city is quite a big optimization problem. It depends on what kind of roads you have, how fast you can build up the infrastructure and how much you can invest in a given timeframe.”

Typically, a Leclanché battery pack designed for en route charging will contain between 50 and 80 kWh of LTO cells. For long-range buses designed for overnight charging, a graphite-NMC pack will be between 200 and 300 kWh. Leclanché says that the core building blocks of its battery packs are the same for any application. “Our module design contains the BMS and up to 32 cells,” said Vayrynen. “That remains the same - what changes is the larger box that comprises the pack. For marine use, this is a scalable rack that also has the fire suppression system. In buses it’s usually defined by the customer’s existing platform. But the ability to use the same basic technology that crosses over many applications allows us to design efficiently. It’s very helpful as we work on many different projects in our pipeline.”

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Image courtesy of Toyota

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THE VEHICLES

2017 Toyota launches an all new plug-in hybrid that some call “the best Prius ever”

PRIUS

PRIME

By Charles Morris

NOV/DEC 2016

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T

A hybrid breed apart Toyota is branding the Prius Prime as a breed somewhat apart from the Prius family. The previous-generation plug-in looked just the same as the plain Prius, but this time around, “we made efforts to be sure Prius Prime stood out,” Nathan Kokes, Prius Prime Marketing Manager, told Charged. “If you put the cars side by side, you see that the front, from the A pillar forward, and the rear, from the C pillar back, are completely different. The hood is designed differently, the air intakes in the front of the vehicle, the grill, the headlights, are all very eye-catching.”

If you put the cars side by side, you see that the front, from the A pillar forward, and the rear, from the C pillar back, are completely different.

Images courtesy of Toyota

he Toyota Prius is a historic vehicle by any measure. It was the first hybrid to be mass-produced, and it remains the only one to achieve truly mass-market popularity since it first went on sale in Japan in 1997, it has sold nearly six million units in over 90 worldwide markets.

Toyota introduced the Prius Plug-in Hybrid in 2012 and, by the much more modest metrics of the plug-in world, it sold relatively well. At the apex of its life cycle, it was the third best-selling plug-in vehicle in the US (after the Volt and the LEAF). By the time production ended in 2015, it had earned the distinction of third best-selling PHEV worldwide (after the Volt/Ampera and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV). As of April 2016, worldwide sales totaled 75,400.

At the beginning of this year, the fourth-generation Prius went on sale, featuring not only a much sportier appearance, but also significant advances in battery, electric motor and gas engine technologies. Toyota followed this up with a next-generation plug-in Prius, the Prius Prime, which should be arriving at US dealerships as you read this. The new plug-in has a 25-mile EPA-estimated electric range and will be available in all 50 states.

Prius Hybrid

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vs

Prius Prime PHEV

THE VEHICLES

In fact the quad-LED headlamps aren’t just designed to look cool, but also incorporate some new smart features. “They can stay in high-beam longer because they have a blocking system that measures [the distance and position of an oncoming vehicle] and just blocks out the high beams for that one section, and then the section around them will still have the high-beam light on,” Kokes explains.

The rear of the vehicle features an LED tail lamp that wraps completely around the tailgate. “The rear glass is eye-catching because it has what’s called a dual wave design, so it kind of swoops down in the middle,” said Kokes. “That is reflected on the glass and also on the rear spoiler itself. And that rear tailgate is made of car-

bon fiber, so it’s got a great feel. When you lift it, it feels very light. It’s strong, and it’s made of advanced materials that early adopters are really interested in.”

Plug-in puzzlement Here at Charged, we have often bemoaned the fact that consumers and mainstream media outlets still don’t understand the differences among the various types of electrified vehicles. Toyota wants to reduce that confusion, and that’s part of the reason for the Prime’s distinctive styling.

“Being immersed in the alt-fuel category, we are all very well versed in what PHEV means, but for the general market, from our research, we’ve found a lot of

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25

Miles EPA-Estimated EV Mode Range

133 54 EPA-Estimated Combined mpg

confusion,” said Kokes. “People barely know what hybrid means outside of a couple of metropolitan areas, and even a lot of hybrid buyers don’t know what they have. So when you start throwing in additional terms like plug-in hybrid...”

“We wanted to try to reduce the complexity and name this car as the top-level Prius,” said Kokes. “It is the most efficient Prius. We’re going to try to show people that this vehicle is within the Prius family, because people know and trust Prius, but it’s differentiated with a name, and they’ll try to find out more about what that means and if it’s right for their lifestyle. We anticipate that when people learn about it, and it’s explained on the dealership lot or on our very detailed web site, it will give people an explanation of what the benefits are of owning it and how it works.”

Ask the person who owns one Toyota designed the Prius Prime with the benefit of a lot of input from the previous generation of Prius PlugIn owners.

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“The biggest influencers we have are our owners,” said Kokes. “We do extensive questioning and surveying and focus groups with our owners. We do regular owner panel surveys just to get a sense of what’s working, what’s not, and what the requests are. We are crunching data all the time and making recommendations based upon our owner feedback, what competitive moves are happening, and what the advancement of the technology seems to be in the marketplace. We try to really keep our fingers on the pulse of what consumers are looking for.”

One thing that customers wanted was “stand-out styling,” Kokes told us. “The consumers that are buying these vehicles display a lot of early adopter traits. So they’re looking for a vehicle that reflects their choices.

They’re likely going to be some of the first people to buy new electronics, the newest phones, because they want to be seen as thought leaders.”

Powertrain progress “For the powertrain, we wanted to push electric driv-

Images courtesy of Toyota

EPA-Estimated MPGe

THE VEHICLES

Being immersed in the alt-fuel category, we are all very well versed in what PHEV means, but for the general market, from our research, we’ve found a lot of confusion. ing as much as we could without sacrificing overall efficiency and hybrid efficiency of the vehicle itself,” said Kokes. “Because we know this consumer is interested in exploring what EV driving is all about, but might not want to take that full step into a pure EV and potentially sacrifice some lifestyle aspect. So it was a big exercise in balance [to find] the right size of the electric powertrain compared to the hybrid powertrain.”

The Prius Prime is built on Toyota’s New Global Architecture platform. Its drivetrain shares a lot of components with that of the hybrid model, but there are a few important differences. “The engine and the motors are the same, and the transaxle is the same,” Kokes tells us. “What’s different is the addition of a one-way clutch in the transaxle of the Prius Prime, which allows the second motor to also act as a traction motor for the vehicle, so you get the benefit of a dualmotor system.”

Like the standard Prius, the Prime has two electric motors, called Motor-Generators 1 and 2. Previously, MG1 was used only to start the gas engine and to handle regenerative braking. However, the Prime has a

Three trim levels The base-level Plus [sic], which starts at $27,100, comes with the Toyota Safety Sense system, which includes automatic high beams, lane departure alert with steering assist, and pre-collision braking. It also features Quad-LED projector headlights, Remote AC System, and Smart Key System.

The Premium model, which starts at $28,800, adds an 11.6-in. HD multimedia display, heated front seats, wireless smartphone charging, and a charging cable lock.

The Advanced model, which starts at $33,100, adds a color Head-Up Display, integrated LED fog lights and LED accent lights, and several more autonomy features, including Intelligent Clearance Sonar, Intelligent Parking Assist, Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert.

In Japan only, a solar roof and CHAdeMO fast charging are available as options.

Sprag one-way clutch that locks in with the crankshaft during EV Mode, so that both MG1 and MG2 can be used as traction motors.

“With Prius Prime, both motors are used to drive the vehicle forward, so you get the improved EV driving capability that the customers are looking for, and it can go all the way up to 84 mph - full highway speed driv-

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Images courtesy of Toyota

ing in all-electric mode,” Kokes explains. “So you get great EV drive feel when you’re accelerating as well as sustained EV driving in freeway situations.”

Why plug in?

The popularity of the previous Prius Plug-in was always something of a puzzle to EV pundits. Unlike the Volt, its electric range (11 miles by EPA standards) is not long enough to allow most trips to be made on electricity alone, so when you do the math, the gas savings along are unlikely to justify the higher purchase price.

For Californians, eligibility for the coveted “green sticker,” which gives access to HOV lanes, is surely a powerful inducement. In fact, many countries and regions offer monetary and other incentives for plug-in vehicles, but few offer them for conventional hybrids, so for many motorists, it makes sense to opt for the plug-in model, even if you never plan to plug it in. And it’s only natural that first-time plug-in buyers are likely to opt for a trusted model such as the Prius.

Bigger battery, more miles Whatever your motivation for buying a plug-in may be, more electric range is always better, so Toyota listened to owners who complained about the minimal range of the previous Prius Plug-In, and doubled the battery capacity. The Prius Prime has an 8.8 kWh battery, and electric range is now an EPA-estimated 25 miles.

Thanks to improvements to the battery technology and packaging, the new pack is only about 80% larger and 60% heavier than the old one.

Inevitably, the increased range comes with a tradeoff, and as always seems to be the case with plug-in vehicles, that trade-off is cargo space - Toyota had to raise the cargo floor height by a couple of inches to accommodate the Prime’s bigger battery. Whereas the

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The specs Gas engine

1.8-liter, 4-cylinder

Electric motor

Permanent magnet AC synchronous

Hybrid system net power

121 hp (90 kW)

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

Battery capacity

8.8 kWh

Electric range

25 miles

0-60 speed

“about 11 seconds”

Top speed in EV mode 84 mph Fuel efficiency

54 mpg combined; 133 MPGe (EPA estimates)

Coefficient of drag

0.24

Cargo capacity

19.8 cubic feet (2017 Prius has 24.6)

Curb weight

3,365-3,375 lbs (2017 Prius is 3,075)

previous Prius Plug-in had the same cargo space as the ordinary hybrid (21.6 cubic feet with the seats up), the Prius Prime has substantially less than its plugless sibling (19.8 cubic feet instead of 24.6). Musicians and campers can console themselves with the fact that

THE VEHICLES

What’s different is the addition of a one-way clutch in the transaxle of the Prius Prime, which allows the second motor to also act as a traction motor for the vehicle. that’s still more than the Volt can offer.

Unlike the standard Prius, the Prime has two individual seats in the rear, instead of a bench seat that can seat three in a pinch. All in all, a certain amount of interior space has been sacrificed to give us a more usable electric range. Whether the trade-off is worth it is a question each individual driver must answer, based on how they plan to use the vehicle.

Proud to be electric Another complaint about the old Plug-In was that there was no way to lock it into pure electric mode the legacy engine would kick in whenever you pushed the pedal past a certain point. And the gas engine isn’t always ready for action - every Prius driver has had the disconcerting experience of flooring the accelerator and having to wait half a second for the car to actually accelerate.

That’s all over now - the Prius Prime features three driving modes. When freshly charged, or any time that sufficient battery charge remains, it defaults to EV Mode, in which it acts like a pure EV, all the way up to a top speed of 84 mph. Once the charge is depleted, the Prime switches to Hybrid Mode, in which it drives like an ordinary Prius. EV Auto mode allows you to maintain your existing charge as long as possible, so you can save it for later, perhaps to glide silently through a sleeping suburb.

Saving gas and electrons The 8.8 kWh battery can be charged relatively quickly from a 110-volt household outlet, using the cable that comes with the vehicle. “Just plug it into the standard outlet in the garage, and a little over five hours later you have a fully charged battery,” Nathan Kokes told us. “So there’s no special equipment to buy, and no added expense or complexity for the buyer. Unless you are an ER doctor who sleeps 4 hours a night, you will have a charged battery when you get up in the morning.”

“We found with the previous generation that it’s better to let the consumer buy a Level 2 charger on their own,” said Kokes. “There are so many choices out there that they can just go to Amazon and pick one up. A Level 2 charger takes the charging time down from 5 hours to 2 hours, so the difference for the additional cost is a big question mark for us. We really see the benefit of Level 2 charging for workplace or public charging, but when you’re home, generally speaking, you’re going to plug the thing in overnight.”

Toyota is especially proud of the Prime’s fuel efficiency, which Kokes told us is the highest of any vehicle sold in the US: 133 MPGe. The total range is also the highest in the industry: 640 miles with a full tank of gas and a full battery.

“The engineers worked tirelessly to make sure that the system itself would be the most efficient it could possibly be. They were able to achieve the top efficiency of any vehicle - it even beats pure electric vehicles in terms of the total efficiency of the system. It’s the most efficient car in America.”

That achievement is thanks to the longevity of the company’s electrification program. “Toyota has done so much to push and promote and get people comfortable with vehicle electrification, and that was just one of the benefits of our R&D efforts, for the engineers to eke out a little bit more efficiency.”

The price of a Prime The price premium for the Prius Prime is not prodigious. Starting MSRP is $27,100, compared to $24,685 for the 2017 Prius. A federal tax credit of $4,500 is available, and California residents in the right income bracket can claim an additional $1,500 rebate (and of course the prized green sticker). So for many buyers, the pinnacle of technology that is the Prime could actually end up being cheaper than a plugless Prius, with the gas savings as a free bonus. That’s a can’t-lose

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Koji Toyoshima, Prius Prime Chief Engineer

They were able to achieve the top efficiency of any vehicle - it even beats pure electric vehicles in terms of the total efficiency of the system. proposition that begs the question: Why buy a car without a plug?

In fact, Toyota may already be thinking along those lines. In September, Prius Prime Assistant Chief Engineer Shoichi Kaneko told AutoblogGreen that someday all Prii may come with a plug. “Ultimately, PHEV may be the way to go,” Kaneko said.

Images courtesy of Toyota

THE VEHICLES

First drives In its EV Mode [the Prime] accelerates from a standing start with confidence and a light chirp of the front tires, and then accelerates with a distant, familiar all-electric whine. And especially for the first 30 or 40 mph, it’s definitely no slouch, as it pins you back in the driver’s seat in a way that the standard Prius won’t. The Prime drives better. Hands down.

There’s less excess body motion in the Prime, and its more aggressive rebound damping give it a more confident, almost sport-sedan-like feel going into tight corners.

- Green Car Reports The Prime shines when it’s driving on battery power. It’s smoother and quieter and simply more pleasant. Without a doubt, the best Prius ever.

- Autoblog The Prime plug-in still drives like a Prius, which is to say it’s no fun behind the wheel. This is a car devoted to efficiency, not agile sportiness...We watched the gauges very closely and found we got exactly Toyota’s promised 25 miles range in EV mode.

- Autoweek The loss of the 5th middle seat in the Prius Prime is...regrettable [but] the Prime’s elevated performance compared to the first Prius Plug-in is the real story here. The Prius Prime is superior in every measurable way. While the first Prius Plugin wanted to be a hybrid first, and begrudgingly an EV second, the Prius Prime wants to be an EV. That was the most obvious

part of the driving experience to me as a previous Plug-in owner: 100% throttle available in EV mode. It’s the best Prius they’ve ever built.

- PriusChat We noticed better ride quality compared to the standard Prius. Handling is not as sharp, but still predictable.

Because of [the heavier battery], the Prime rides better than the lighter, standard Prius (though it heaves a bit over large road undulations), feels heavier (if respectably linear) to your brake foot, and turns in with concomitantly less crispness. Dynamically, it lands somewhere between the standard Prius and the Volt, which carries 2.1 times the Prime’s battery capacity.

- Motor Trend With a full battery, the car is committed to deliver an electric car experience, complete with near-silent running and brisk response. In hybrid operation, it functions much like a regular Prius. In other respects the Prime drives very similarly to the regular Prius, with a comfortable, steady ride and handling that’s responsive and secure, though not sporty.

Top trim lines get a large Tesla-like touch screen that serves as the gateway to the audio system, trip information, phone, and navigation. The expression “Can’t see the forest for the trees” is most apt here. You’ll get Toyota’s various apps and other secondary items before you’ll figure out how to get simple good-old FM radio. Yes, it’s that maddening.

- Consumer Reports

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Study: Intelligent charging can minimize scale of stationary storage required

EVgo, a sprawling network of DC fast charging stations that operates in 66 US cities, has opened its 800th charging station, at SaveMart in Madera, California. The location features two dual-standard DC fast chargers manufactured by BTC Power.

“The addition of our 800th fast charging station is a significant milestone in EVgo’s mission to drive EV adoption and create a beneficial grid that can make daily EV use and long-distance EV travel the most convenient method of travel,” said EVgo Vice President Terry O’Day. “The site at SaveMart Madera is a perfect example of where EVgo feels infrastructure expansion is needed; it is located in a high-traffic retail area close to many other amenities and major travel arteries.”

EVgo now operates over 400 fast chargers in California, with another 130 in the pipeline.

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Photo courtesy of ABB

EVgo opens 800th DC fast charging station in the US

Several countries and US states have established, or are considering, renewable portfolio standards, which require a certain percentage of the electricity supply to come from renewable sources. In “Charging a renewable future: The impact of electric vehicle charging intelligence on energy storage requirements to meet renewable portfolio standards,” published in the Journal of Power Sources, Kate E. Forrest and colleagues from the University of California Irvine examined how the intelligence of EV integration could impact the required capacity of energy storage systems to meet renewable targets.

They found that, given an renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 80% in 2050, immediate charging of EVs would require a stationary storage network with a power capacity of 60% of the installed renewable capacity and an energy capacity of 2.3% of annual renewable generation.

However, with smart charging of EVs, required power capacity would drop to 16%, and required energy capacity to 0.6%. With vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging, stationary storage systems might not be required at all.

The study points out that the required capacity of stationary energy storage is directly tied to the scale and time profile of excess renewable generation. The power capacity of available energy storage corresponds to the peak power level of renewable curtailment. Smart charging reduces the power difference between load and generation during peak curtailment, reducing the power capacity of storage required compared to immediate charging. Intelligent EV charging allows for better alignment of renewable generation and load profiles, decreasing both the power and energy capacity of storage required to reach a given RPS target.

“If vehicle charging loads can be shifted to more closely align with renewable generation, it can allow the system to capture otherwise curtailed renewable generation,” write Forrest et al. “Intelligent charging can [also] reduce the amount of renewable generation that needs to be shifted to meet electricity demand, which can reduce the required capacity of energy storage systems needed to meet a renewable energy utilization target.”

Tesla will end free Supercharging for vehicles ordered in 2017 It was bound to happen. Four years ago, when Tesla introduced the Supercharger Network, EVs were unfamiliar to most consumers, and their limited range made them a tough sell. Offering unlimited free charging was a great way to nip that particular objection right in the bud, and it surely closed many a sale.

However, today there are over 160,000 Teslas on the road, and the company hopes to be selling half a million a year by 2020. At some point, offering unlimited free charging to all would begin to look like an unsustainable Ponzi scheme. Not only could it eventually sink the company, it would be a bad deal for Tesla owners, as we discussed in detail back in June, when the company announced that Supercharging would not be free for Model 3 buyers.

This is no bait-and-switch move - current owners will continue to enjoy free charging for the life of the vehicle, as agreed. In fact, you have until January 1, 2017 to order a Tesla and get in on the lifetime gravy train.

The company explains the new policy in a blog post: For Teslas ordered after January 1, 2017, 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) will be included annually so that all owners can continue to enjoy free Supercharging during travel. Beyond that, there will be a small fee to Supercharge which will be charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car. All cars will continue to come standard with the onboard hardware required for Supercharging.

We will release the details of the program later this year, and while prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity, our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center.

These changes will not impact current owners or any new Teslas ordered before January 1, 2017, as long as delivery is taken before April 1, 2017.

Besides keeping the Supercharging experience convenient for drivers, charging a fee will enable Tesla to invest more money in the network.

There are currently 4,605 charging points at 734 locations worldwide, and the company has big plans to expand. More capital will allow it to build not only more stations, but better ones, with higher charging levels, solar panels and battery storage.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Mercedes to offer wireless charging system using Qualcomm Halo technology

Charging network operator ChargePoint has rolled out a new service called Waitlist, which enables drivers to use their mobile phones or RFID cards to “line up” to use a public charging station.

When a charging station is busy, drivers can use Waitlist by tapping their ChargePoint card on the station to get in line. After a car has finished charging, or reached the time or energy limit set by station owners, drivers receive a reminder asking them to move their vehicle so others can charge. When a station becomes available, the first driver in line is notified. Drivers can also set up Waitlist so they are automatically added to a queue every day.

ChargePoint tested Waitlist with 30 customers, serving 14,000 drivers, before making the service widely available, and found that station utilization increased by 20% on average, and as much as 45% for stations that were already busy. Drivers, many of whom had created makeshift systems to deal with crowded charging stations, reported that Waitlist removed the stress of sharing stations.

Waitlist can also be adapted to fit the needs of charging station owners. For example, station owners can limit how long drivers can charge when the Waitlist service is enabled, helping to maximize use of their stations.

Analytics and reporting provided by ChargePoint helps station owners plan capacity upgrades and identify drivers who do not move their vehicles in a timely fashion.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes

ChargePoint’s new Waitlist feature lets drivers line up for public chargers

When Mercedes updates its S550e plug-in hybrid in 2017, it plans to offer a wireless charging (WEVC) system, manufactured by a Tier 1 power electronics supplier that has licensed Qualcomm’s Halo technology.

Qualcomm and Daimler didn’t say which supplier would be producing the wireless system for Mercedes, but in July, Qualcomm entered into a license agreement with Lear Corporation, and said that it would be collaborating with Lear on wireless programs for several OEMs. “Lear is a leading, global, Tier 1 supplier of high power charging systems and related electronic components to the automotive industry,” said Steve Pazol, Qualcomm’s VP of Wireless Charging. “It is ideally positioned to develop a broad portfolio of WEVC systems, including multi-coil, solenoid and circular systems.”

Halo uses resonant magnetic inductive wireless energy transfer, and offers efficiency of around 90%, comparable to conductive charging. According to Qualcomm, the charging pad’s multi-coil design delivers high efficiency and high power, even if the pads are misaligned, so drivers do not have to park precisely, nor is there any need for complex on-board alignment systems.

In 2015, Qualcomm and Daimler issued a joint statement about their wireless strategy, which includes developing more powerful charging. While the 3.6 kW WEVC system is adequate to charge a plug-in-hybrid battery, Qualcomm noted, a pure EV with a 30-40 kWh battery needs double or even triple the charging power to fill up in a reasonable amount of time.

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MAN selects ABB fast chargers for e-bus R&D facilities

EV Connect, provider of a cloud-based charging station management platform, has won a $4-million contract from the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to install and manage about 300 Level 2 charging stations throughout New York state, in addition to 100 charging stations the company is already managing under a 2013 agreement.

For this expanded program, EV Connect will partner with GE and EV Box to provide the charging stations, and with local contractors for the installations.

The NYPA project requires that the hardware and software be built on an open standards-based architecture.

The EV Connect platform provides charge station-agnostic command and control; enterprise and energy systems integration via an open API; driver communications and support; and demand-response functionality across multiple charging networks.

EV Connect also recently inked a similar agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

New York’s Charge NY Initiative aims to create a statewide network of up to 3,000 charging stations by 2018.

“EV Connect is honored to have been awarded this follow-on contract from the New York Power Authority, as it recognizes the success of the existing program and the value we bring to the entire EV ecosystem within New York State,” said Jordan Ramer, EV Connect CEO. “When combined with the recent program from NYSERDA, this award enables us to greatly expand our presence within the state, further utilize our utility demand response technologies, and enhance the EV charging solutions we provide to site hosts and drivers.”

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Photo courtesy of ABB

EV Connect wins contract to install and manage 300 charging stations in New York state

Power and automation giant ABB is supplying fast chargers to MAN Truck & Bus for its new e-bus R&D program.

Volkswagen subsidiary MAN, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of heavy commercial vehicles, has announced that it will begin pilots of e-buses in 2018, and begin serial production by 2019. The company is developing e-buses at its R&D facilities in Munich, using a test bench equipped with different charging technologies from ABB. For depot charging tests - to be used at a terminus where a bus has a longer stop - MAN will use an ABB fast charger with a CCS2 connector. For opportunity charging tests, ABB will supply a charge pole with inverted pantograph, which connects to a contact on the roof of the bus.

The fast charging solutions are based on the international IEC 61851-23 standard.

Both ABB and MAN are partners in the European e-bus charging system initiative, which promotes international standardization of fast charging for electric buses.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

SAE working to finalize Wireless Power Transfer standard

Photo courtesy of Tritium

Tritium launches three new Veefil fast charger models Australian charger manufacturer Tritium has added three new DC fast chargers to its Veefil line, which now includes four models. The new offerings were on display at the recent eCarTec show in Munich.

All Veefil fast chargers support both CHAdeMO and SAE Combo standards. All are liquid-cooled, and are designed to function in temperatures from -35° to 50° C. All feature an IP65 aluminum enclosure and a stylish, high-visibility design.

The Veefil UT 50 kW DC fast charger is designed for energy and utility companies - it can connect directly to the grid, and includes a solution for metering, switch gear and protection systems.

The Veefil WP 12 kW DC fast charger is aimed at workplace and fleet applications. It’s compact and lightweight, to fit easily into existing parking areas.

The Veefil 22 kW DC fast charger has the same specs as the original Veefil 50 kW DC fast charger, but is meant for locations that are dependent on a lower power supply.

“Tritium’s philosophy is to work closely with its customers to tailor our products to their requirements, and from our discussions with them on what they really need, we have developed three new products,” said Tritium Commercial Director Paul Sernia. “The Veefil UT is available now and the Veefil WP and Veefil 22 kW will be ready to ship in early 2017.”

The process of finalizing standards for wireless charging is well underway. At a recent conference, SAE Wireless Charging Taskforce Chair Jesse Schneider presented the recently published SAE TIR, Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) for Light-Duty Plug-In/ Electric Vehicles and Alignment Methodology, along with plans for standardization by 2018 to support commercialization.

The SAE TIR J2954 contains a normative specification for both the vehicle and infrastructure side coils for the power level WPT 1 (up to 3.7 kW) and informative specifications for WPT 2 (up to 7.7 kW).

The SAE projects a commercial rollout of Wireless Power Transfer infrastructure by 2020.

Bench testing is underway at the Idaho National Lab, and has made significant headway to validate both the WPT 1 and WPT 2 specifications. Interim results have shown that the systems can safely transfer power at efficiencies of 85%-95%.

SAE and ISO will work together to create one common standard, with content shared by the SAE J2954 and ISO 19363 specifications.

“The SAE J2954 TIR gives the wireless power transfer specification for both the vehicle and the infrastructure,” said Jesse Schneider. “The testing projects underway with the US DOE and the industry were designed to give the SAE Wireless Power Transfer Taskforce the background for the WPT 1 and WPT 2 power levels in the first quarter of 2017 for the next phase of standardization, Recommended Practice J2954.”

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High-power connectors will provide that missing link to a new modern way of life - it’s the link to EVs becoming a mass market.

Photo courtesy of ITT Cannon

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

LONGER RANGE MEANS

FASTER CHARGING

By Christian Ruoff

ITT Cannon introduces new charging hardware to the next generation of EVs

T

he future of the EV industry is bright.

We’re losing count of all the planned EVs that automakers have in the pipeline. And it seems increasingly likely that they will follow through with those plans.

If there’s one thing everyone agrees on, it’s that all EVs in the near future will have a range of at least 200 miles, or much more. That means battery capacities will continue to grow, and if the average recharge time for DC fast charging is going to keep up (or get shorter), power levels will need to increase substantially as well. Tesla’s Superchargers are currently maxing out at 140 to 150 kW - which is about three times higher than current EVs equipped with a CHAdeMO or Combined Charging System (CCS) plug.

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We had both EVSE and vehicle manufacturers approaching us and asking for the same thing. global electronics player ITT, through its Cannon brand, introduced a new DC fast charging system in October. Cannon’s Cooled Ultra-Fast DC Charging Solution is a liquid-cooled connector and cable design that enables charging at a level of 400 A at 1,000 V. The company says its high power-density system is capable of delivering the charge required for 60 miles of range within 3 to 5 minutes.

To learn more, we chatted with Ralf Glocker, ITT’s Senior Product Manager for Electric Vehicle Charging.

Photo courtesy of ITT Cannon

There are a few indications that we’ll soon see systems capable of rates much higher than Tesla’s top charging power.

Porsche, for example, has developed an 800-volt charging system (double the voltage of the current CCS standard) for its Mission E concept.

A larger group of Europeans also took a step in this direction last year, with the formation of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN). Audi, BMW, Daimler, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen, together with a couple of charging equipment manufacturers including ABB, are promoting technical standards for CCS, and working to increase its capabilities. CharIN’s immediate goal is to increase the CCS charging level from 50 to 150 kW. Some CharIN members have hinted that, in the longer term, power levels could be increased to as much as 350 kW. In the race to develop faster charging solutions,

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

We were a bit surprised by the first feedback, asking us for 400 A and 1,000 V. the system to 500 A. We also think the trend will keep increasing. High-power connectors will provide that missing link to a new modern way of life - it’s the link to EVs becoming a mass market. It’s a core technology, and we strongly feel that this is a key area we want to grow in.

A few years ago we started off our EV charging solutions with high-performance AC connectors but this is our first activity with DC charging.

Q Charged: Could you explain the

details of the liquid cooling circuit?

A Ralf Glocker: Most importantly,

we’re actually cooling inside the connector itself - with an IP-protected design - as opposed to just cooling the cable. The coolant is flowing through the cable - which allows it to have a very small diameter- and then it’s cooling the contacts to control the temperature at the connection.

This actually allows us to maintain a unique temperature profile. When we charge at full power, the zone with the lowest temperature in the entire assembly is the contact between the car and our connector - even at 350 A or more continuously. Because the cooling is internal to the connector, it’s allowing us to very quickly dissipate the heat. The coolant is going from the intercooler to the cable to the connector, and back again.

Our connector design uses two coil springs per contact for redundancy. This approach creates multiple contact zones and therefore allows us to increase the conductivity, while the internal cooling leads to very little thermal impact from the local current. The design also requires minimal mating forces, which is critical in this domain.

ITT engineers in its Weinstadt, Germany office

Q Charged: What prompted the development of your

new liquid-cooled ultra-fast DC charging solution?

A Ralf Glocker: About a year ago, we had both EVSE

and vehicle manufacturers approaching us and asking for the same thing. We were a bit surprised by the first feedback, asking us for 400 A and 1,000 V. However, these numbers were repeatedly brought up. It was these specific drivers of the market that really prompted the development.

Overall, we identified EV connectors as a strategic market for us, promising sustainable growth in the future. High-power charging in particular is one of the most significant areas, as it aligns with our strategy and way of thinking at ITT. We have it in our DNA to solve the hardest technological challenges.

While most customers asked for a solution in the 350 to 400 A range, we actually designed and tested

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Photo courtesy of ITT Cannon

A few years ago we started off our EV charging solutions with high-performance AC connectors but this is our first activity with DC charging.

Q Charged: Would it be possible to reach these high

charging powers without liquid cooling?

A Ralf Glocker: It could be done, but you would need a

very big cable, making it hard to handle and therefore providing a poor experience.

From the beginning, our development partners were focused on a prime handling experience. User operability is core to everything that we’re doing here.

Therefore, based on our best-in-class quality pledge, we understood that we could only achieve this with a liquid-cooled solution.

You need to consider all those who might not have the physical strength of an average person - they need to be able to easily handle the equipment as well.

Typically, in the automotive industry, and generally with equipment that will be handled by the public, you need to consider users that are slighter than average. In other words, you can’t simply design something for the person of average size. You need to consider all those who might not have the physical strength of an average person - they need to be able to easily handle the equipment as well. And without liquid cooling, that

type of individual could not really cope with the bulky cable and connector.

Liquid cooling allows you to reduce the cable weight by about 40%. As soon as we had decided on this approach, we asked ourselves, how do we want to implement it? There are various options, and we identified that by cooling the connector itself internally, instead of just the cable, we could keep the temperatures as low as possible.

Q Charged: How soon do you think we will start to

see these high-power charging solutions in use with production vehicles?

A Ralf Glocker: We’ve already supplied first custom-

ers with trial versions for tests. So we’re past the initial R&D stage, and we are actually testing products out in the field.

The issue, of course, is that the final standard for higher-power charging is not yet reviewed or approved.

But we recognized, particularly in the European auto industry, that there is a strong market force applied to charging speed - everybody wants to have high-power charging. And we think it will move quickly.

While we have been producing smaller volumes already this year, we expect to have commercial availability next year. Since there are so many variants customers are asking for, both on the EVSE and automotive side, and because standards are not fully defined yet, commercial availability might vary, depending on different customer approaches. We are seeing a really strong customer push for this product. It’s an exciting time for us and we’re gaining some great field experience now.

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Settling Up A federal judge has approved an agreement committing Volkswagen to provide $2 billion for ZEV infrastructure, drawing both criticism and praise from the EV industry.

By Charles Morris Photo courtesy of RoadOver - CC BY 2.0

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

VW will be required to spend $800 million in California and $1.2 billion in other states over the next 10 years to promote zero-emission technology.

B

y now, the main events in Volkswagen’s dirty diesel scandal are familiar to Charged readers. For years, the world’s secondlargest automaker opted not to produce hybrids or EVs, instead relying on “clean diesel” to meet government-mandated emissions standards. In 2015, scientists at the International Council on Clean Transportation were puzzled to find that they couldn’t replicate VW’s emissions results in real-world testing, and alerted the EPA. Soon, the truth came out: “clean diesel” was an outand-out fraud. Volkswagen was forced to admit that it built “defeat device” software into many of its diesel cars, allowing the vehicles to pass emissions tests even though, during normal driving, they were emitting from 10 to 40 times the legal amounts of air pollutants.

A little more than a year after the crime first came to light, Volkswagen has reached a settlement with the US government under which the company will have to buy back or modify the diesel vehicles that contained the sneaky software.

VW will also be required to invest $2 billion over the next 10 years to promote zero-emission technology - $800 million in California and $1.2 billion in other states. Some of this will go to “brand-neutral” Photo courtesy of Mroach - CC BY-SA 2.0

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Photos courtesy of California Air Resources Board - CC BY 2.0

advertising and outreach programs, but the bulk will be spent to install and operate charging or fueling infrastructure. (There is also a separate $2.7-billion fund that’s targeted at nitrous oxide reductions and will be administered by individual states - part of that money could end up being spent on infrastructure as well.)

Things are moving quickly, as legal proceedings go - according to Green Car Reports, VW has been interviewing and hiring staff for the project for a few months. Prospects include personnel with EVSE experience from equipment providers, network operators and environmental organizations. One new hire is said to be an executive who spent several years heading up an automaker’s infrastructure efforts.

Good news, bad news While green groups and EV advocates are generally pleased with the agreement, one aspect of it is highly controversial. VW, not regulators, will choose how to invest the money - it has 120 days to submit a detailed proposal - and it will end up owning the charging infrastructure, with the right to operate it for profit. The settlement stipulates that the company will be “solely

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VW, not regulators, will choose how to invest the money - it has 120 days to submit a detailed proposal - and it will end up owning the charging infrastructure, with the right to operate it for profit.

responsible for every aspect of selecting the National ZEV Investments, including...the timing and locations.”

So, what was originally conceived as a punishment for VW’s fraudulent activities actually turns out to be a huge business opportunity for the company (albeit one that it probably wouldn’t have chosen to pursue on its own).

The agreement does include several provisions to safeguard the interests of the public. It requires that

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

the infrastructure that gets built accommodate all current open standards, so the VW Group can’t give its own vehicles an advantage by offering only CCS fast charging. It also requires the investment to be divided into four 30-month periods, each with a separate action plan. This is designed to future-proof the project, so that the bulk of the money doesn’t get spent on technology that will be out of date in a few years.

VW’s performance will be overseen by regulators CARB in California, and the EPA in the rest of the US - and the company will submit regular reports on its progress. Industry stakeholders will hopefully be able to participate in the review process.

There are a few questions that remain unanswered, such as what mix of DC fast charging and Level 2 charging will be provided, and whether part of the money could be squandered on hydrogen fueling stations.

It’s bad A number of companies in the EV charging market fear that having control over such a large pot of money could give VW an unfair advantage in the marketplace, allowing it to crowd out other players, none of whom have access to anything like two billion bucks (network operator ChargePoint estimates that the entire EV charging market will amount to “at best” about $800 million over the next couple of years).

ChargePoint, supported by 27 other firms and advocacy groups, submitted an amicus brief to the Justice Department protesting the plan. “The agreement

ChargePoint is concerned that VW will use the settlement dollars to promote its own interests and crush the emerging EV charging market. shouldn’t pick winners and losers, especially given that this emerging market transition will in no small part define 21st-century transportation,” said ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano. “ChargePoint is concerned that VW will use the settlement dollars to promote its own interests and crush the emerging EV charging market.”

Naturally, ChargePoint and its friends don’t object to the $2-billion investment - just to the fact that VW will get to decide how it is spent, and will end up owning much of the infrastructure that gets built. This is understandable, considering that these companies have been involved in EV charging since the beginning, while until the government forced its hand, VW not only more or less ignored EVs, but even went so far as to break the law in order to avoid seriously developing them. This is a bit like turning over the planning of a wedding to the mother-in-law who did everything she could to stop the marriage.

As EV pundit Tom Moloughney puts it, VW has “proven beyond any reasonable doubt that they cannot

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be trusted when it comes to clean air initiatives.” Moloughney believes that an independent council, with representatives from industry stakeholders and EV advocacy groups, should be appointed to oversee the implementation, and that competitive bidding should determine who gets to do the work.

In their letter to the court, ChargePoint et al say that “allowing [VW] to flood a competitive market with $2 billion in goods threatens the survival of the current participants in that market, and thus the market itself.” Existing companies need to make a profit from EV charging, whereas VW will theoretically be able to offer charging at a loss, or even free, in order to drive existing players out of the market. “If the Settling Defendants are allowed to enter into the market in this way,” says ChargePoint, “within ten years it is very likely that the Settling Defendants will be the only entities in the electric vehicle charging marketplace.”

It’s good Others in the industry fail to see any such apocalyptic scenario. Terry O’Day, Vice President, Product Strategy and Market Development at EVgo, told Charged that his company takes a different view of the settlement agreement than ChargePoint and its colleagues.

Unlike ChargePoint, EVgo owns and operates all of the over 800 sites in its network. “This experience in owning and operating our infrastructure and controlling the customer experience tells us that it’s important that prospective buyers know that charging is ubiquitous, affordable, and convenient,” said Mr. O’Day. “The settlement with VW gives the opportunity to create a national infrastructure like the one we built, that tells drivers or prospective drivers just those things.”

“Think about what the industry will need over the next few years,” O’Day continued. “Every major automaker has announced EVs that are coming to market with twice the range, which means twice the battery density or more, of existing vehicles. They’re going to need charging rates that are higher than what we have today, because the charge time is going to more than double. So the scale of investment required to build high-speed charging networks and control customer experience is really quite significant. While the VW settlement represents an important down-payment towards that national infrastructure, it’s by no means going to be all that’s required to get us to where we can electrify all transportation in the US.” “So generally we think that this is an opportunity

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Because it’s going to tell drivers that charging is ubiquitous, it’s a consistent customer experience, it’s convenient and affordable, you’re going to see more drivers buying EVs and that’s going to strengthen all the players in the EV industry. for the EV industry, because it essentially plants a stake. And by having a regulator on the other side of this agreement, you can count on the fact that VW is going to make this agreement, and that they’re going to operate it for 10 years. This is more than an intention, it’s an absolute requirement on one of the world’s biggest companies. And as a result, it will attract more investment into the EV industry and into EV charging infrastructure. And because it’s going to tell drivers that charging is ubiquitous, it’s a consistent customer experience, it’s convenient and affordable, you’re going to see more drivers buying EVs and that’s going to strengthen all the players in the EV industry.”

Considering that not all of the 2 billion bucks will go to capital investments, O’Day doesn’t believe that the project will overshadow investment by existing players to the extent that ChargePoint fears. “[The amount] includes some marketing and outreach and education work, and it includes operating dollars. As we know from our experience, a national high-speed network is very expensive to operate.”

While VW is now required to invest a huge amount money, O’Day says it’s well short of what will be required before the electromobility revolution is complete. Far from allowing VW to monopolize the charging scene, O’Day believes that the agreement will force it to bring in other firms as partners. “It certainly gives them power to make decisions, but it holds them to a very aggressive timeline and capital spending. And that timeline is going to require them to rely on partners to a large extent. It’s definitely too early to tell, but I suppose they’re going to need to work with everybody in order to achieve this, because it’s an incredibly ag-

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Having this committed operator with a required investment enables us to get past this chicken and egg problem.

gressive schedule and scale-up that’s required of them.

So they’re going to have many many partners.”

Building a truly national high-speed charging network would not only make longer road trips practical, but would also address the thorny problem of charging for apartment and condo dwellers. “We talk a lot about multi-family dwellings,” said O’Day, “because EVgo has a lot of experience addressing multi-family. There are a lot of markets that could be great EV adopter markets except that many of them are renters. And it’s very difficult to get charging into your apartment building - you have to get your landlord to commit to it, and have it installed for [more than one resident].

And a lot of people don’t have dedicated overnight parking.”

“When you think about the next generation of vehicles that have twice the range of current vehicles, you can imagine that a multi-family resident is now going to be able to buy a car as a primary vehicle and rely on public charging. And that charging will have to be high-speed so you can keep charging times at a half hour or less when you go to the grocery store. It’s really critical that a high-speed public charging network gets built. It’s the most democratic approach, and it re-

quires the least behavior change on the part of drivers.”

O’Day also points out that demand charges from utilities represent an enormous cost that current players with their profit motive may find hard to absorb.

“It’s somewhere around 80% of fixed costs. The first cars coming online that will accept higher charging speeds will have an interest in having that charging network already deployed. But there will be very few cars, and when that first car plugs in, it’s going to cost about $3,000 for that first charging session in just demand charges from the typical utility. So you need lots of cars to follow behind that one in order to catch up and spread the cost over multiple charging sessions.

In the early stages of the industry, it’s very difficult to maintain those operating costs with very few vehicles.

So having this committed operator with a required investment enables us to get past this chicken and egg problem. VW is going to build the egg, now bring us some chickens.”

Part of the reason for O’Day’s different perspective might be the fact that EVgo was once part of a settlement similar to the one VW just agreed to. In 2012, the state of California reached a settlement with electric utility NRG (previously EVgo’s parent company) concerning overcharges by one of NRG’s predecessor companies. Under that agreement, the EVgo charging network built a substantial number of charging stations in California, which it now owns. EVgo now claims to be the largest US operator of DC fast-charging sites.

Those with a taste for legal verbiage can read the complete agreement at: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/20l-partialand-amended-consent-decree The EV-related material is in Appendix C, which starts on page 147.

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Will America

maintain its EV lead? ere at Charged, we believe EVs are for everyone, Trump has made public statements rejecting the science regardless of political leanings. While we cerbehind climate change, implied that any and all regulatainly comment on government policies that we tion is toxic to job growth, and has called for abolishing feel are pro- or anti-EV, we avoid endorsing any particular the EPA (more recently he softened his tone and said candidate or party. that he would “refocus” the agency on its core mission of However, America has elected a new president who has safeguarding clean air). His pick for EPA advisor, Mypromised a radical change from the policies of the past ron Ebell, is reviled by greenies for his unyielding denial eight years. President Obama was a reliable supporter of of climate change science. Does this mean the Trump EVs, so it’s appropriate to ask how the new order will afAdministration will not continue to push automakers to fect our industry. invest in EVs? Currently, every major automaker is either producing, Of course, we hope the Republican-dominated policyor at least developing, plug-in vehicles, and for better or makers in Washington will think long and hard about the for worse, this is largely a result of pressure from governbenefits an emerging EV industry can offer to America ments around the world. (see page 8 of this issue).

Tesla is the only exception - it would clearly continue Climate change and air pollution are far from the only to push EVs full speed ahead without government guidreasons to support the EV industry. Everyone can agree ance. But even Tesla has benefited from some government on the importance of energy independence, which is programs, including a loan usually seen in the “macro” (which it paid back in full sense (EVs help reduce oil ahead of schedule), tax imports). However, there While the entrepreneurship incentives for its customers is a “micro” aspect as well and income from California - the image of Americans of individuals may be the ZEV credits. powering their cars with brains behind all this, make Considering the amount energy generated on their of money and effort that own rooftops, rather than no mistake: clear government automakers have devoted purchased from a centralsupport and smart initiatives to lobbying governments to ized, government-regulated water down pro-EV initiautility, is one that appeals to are the backbone. tives, it’s a safe bet that, if many conservatives, such the US government were as the Tea Party groups that to eliminate measures now have opposed utility-backed in place, such as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy measures to discourage rooftop solar.

(CAFE) standards, many companies would severely The economic benefits of our nascent industry are curtail their plug-in programs. Two days after the election, undeniable. The symbiotic industries of EVs and renewthe Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers sent a letter to able energy have generated a huge wave of entrepreneurs Trump urging that environmental (and safety) regulations starting up new businesses, and America is leading the be relaxed. way. Not only do the Tesla Model S and Model X, Chevy In many ways the US is leading the EV pack today, but Volt and other popular plug-ins fly our flag, but autoChina, Germany and other countries are coming up fast makers around the globe are dependent on technologies in the rear-view mirror. In the wake of the diesel emisdeveloped here in the US - many of them in government sions scandal, Germany’s government and automakers laboratories. appear to be shifting to full support of EVs. And in China, While the entrepreneurship of individuals may be the where air quality and growing energy consumption are brains behind all this, make no mistake: clear governvery real challenges, the government is investing massive ment support and smart initiatives, from the federal sums to support electrification. If the US slackens its pace, CAFE standards to California’s ZEV mandate to federal others will take the opportunity to pass, and they won’t and state charging infrastructure investment to basic look back. and applied research at the national laboratories, are the Along with many other US politicians, President-Elect backbone.

H

Illustration by Nick Sirotich

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