CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 40 NOV/DEC 2018

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE

ISSUE 40 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

Audi joins the class of 2019 with the 52

TDK BUILDS FULLY AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING LINE FOR POWER FILM CAPACITORS 24

TOP CAUSES OF FAILURE IN POWER SEMICONDUCTORS 30

DC FAST CHARGERS: THE FIRST HIGHVOLTAGE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 36

CRACKING THE CODE ON EV-READY BUILDING CODES 78

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THE TECH CONTENTS

24 TDK’s fully automated manufacturing Raw materials in one end, pallets full of power film capacitors out the other

24

30 Causes of failure in power semiconductors 36 A new class of high-voltage consumer electronics Top circuit protection considerations when designing DC fast chargers

current events

30

12

Sensata Technologies acquires GIGAVAC for $233 million

13 14

ORNL develops 120 kW wireless charging prototype with 97% efficiency

BMW, Northvolt and Umicore to develop sustainable EV battery lifecycle Champlain Cable patents automotive cable testing apparatus Manitou electrifies two telehandler prototypes with DEUTZ drive systems

17 18

UQM launches PowerPhase HD2 electric motor inverter line

AxleTech and Thor Trucks to develop heavy-duty e-powertrain system

15 16

36

Lithium Werks receives €1.6 billion to construct battery cell factory in China

Audi and Umicore test closed-loop process for recycling EV batteries Orion Engineered Carbons buys French manufacturer of acetylene carbon black Volvo to use Ricardo for large-scale EV battery cell testing program

19 Heraeus optimizes 3D printing of highly conductive copper 20 Trojan Battery releases Trillium line of Li-ion replacement batteries

20

Researchers one step closer to using carbon fiber as a structural battery

21 Dana’s new e-Hub drive for heavy-duty vehicles 22 KEB’s T6 Auxiliary Inverter can handle multiple electric motors

University of London hopes to make EV radiators unnecessary

THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

52 2019 Audi e-tron

52

62 Breaking the dealership deadlock

PlugStar provides EV-specific training to dealers

current events 42

FedEx orders 1,000 Chanje electric vans

62

Tesla buys land for Chinese factory

43 GM kills the Volt and other sedans, promises more EV investment 44 Rivian reveals impressive electric pickup truck and SUV 45 easyJet plans to fly electric passenger jets by 2027 46 Workhorse starts production of lightweight electric delivery vehicle

HES Energy Systems reveals plans for hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft

47 Proterra partners with Thomas to build e-school buses 48 Tesla, GM and Nissan advocate for extending the federal EV tax credit 49 Turkish Jest Electric city bus uses BMW i3 motors and batteries 50 Dyson selects Singapore for EV factory site

44

AVEVAI reveals new IONA electric van and truck

51

Wiggins Lift releases high-capacity electric forklift

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) November/December 2018, Issue #40 is published bi-monthly by Electric Vehicles Magazine LLC, 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259. 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 2260 5th Ave S, STE 10, Saint Petersburg, FL 33712-1259.

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78 EV-ready building

78

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The best ways for cities and states to encourage consumers to switch to EVs

70 Volvo invests in mobile charging company FreeWire

70

NCSU develops compact 50 kW fast charger with 97.5% efficiency

71 Duke Energy pilot supports charging infrastructure in South Carolina

ChargePoint and FLO partner to enable EV roaming across North America

72 New line of charging stations uses batteries to reduce charge time

Nissan uses bidirectional charging to power North American facilities

73 Hubject partners with MOEV to enable seamless charging 74 Google incorporates EV charging stations into Maps

72

Tesla Model 3 to get CCS Combo 2 plug in Europe

75 ABB invests $10 million in new e-mobility research center

Mitsubishi Electric uses EVs to manage renewable power generation

76 Envision Solar earns European patent for EV ARC

Bockchain based toolkit enables EV charging with clean energy

77 California utility PG&E proposes new commercial EV charging rates

Porsche dealers will have to share the cost of fast chargers

74

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Rivian Automotive has emerged from nine years in stealth mode to reveal prototypes of its pure electric pickup truck and SUV (more on page 44). The design, features and specs of the vehicles look great, as we’d expect from a ground-up EV design. The startup is now entering the ramp-up phase - securing funding, procurement, production, sales, delivery, maintenance, etc - which is arguably much more difficult than creating great designs and prototypes. If Rivian can thread that needle, deliveries are expected to begin in “late 2020.”

The fanfare surrounding Rivian’s vehicle unveiling reminds us that, while Tesla is now the singular dominant force in EVs, its focus on Model 3 in the past years has presented opportunities for others to catch up in the electrification of larger vehicles. After all, we’re often told by the auto pundits that trucks and SUVs are what Americans really want to buy. The race to lead these emerging EV segments could have serious long-term consequences for an industry that’s changing quickly.

While some major automakers are now producing great crossover EVs - like the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron - there is little indication that these first-generation luxury vehicles will ever sell in volumes approaching Model 3’s success.

Tesla’s midsize sedan is crushing it - lapping the competition in its segment and bursting into the top five overall sales of any vehicle model in the US. The race is on to dominate the next segment.

The obvious favorite for a larger crossover EV is Tesla’s Model Y, to be based on the Model 3 platform. Business Insider says it has seen internal documents revealing that Tesla plans to have “a pilot Model Y line built at Gigafactory 1

by June 1, 2020” and to ramp up production to about 2,000 units per week by September 2020.

Will Y face any serious volume competition when it arrives? If so, my guess is that it will come from a startup that aces the execution - perhaps from SF Motors’ medium and full-size crossovers, Rivian’s SUV, or from someone else.

Based on recent events, I think it’s less likely that a major automaker will lead with a compelling EV and a real commitment to selling as many as possible although I’d love to be surprised.

Ford, for example, has undergone a lot of reorganization recently, including a new $11-billion budget to introduce seven new battery electric models by 2021.

According to the announced plan, the first of these will be an electric SUV that’s due to roll off the line in 2020. We’ll see if the dinosaurs of Detroit can figure out how to lead, or if they continue playing catch-up to the EV trailblazers for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps the largest source of untapped electric potential is pickup trucks.

Elon Musk has been talking about building one for years. He’s indicated that the team has initial designs and said that he is “personally most excited about the pickup truck.” However, Tesla has a very full plate, and no official timelines have been announced, so the Tesla Pickup is surely at least 3-4 years away.

Aside from a few companies that focus on commercial fleet or low-volume markets, such as Workhorse and Bollinger, Rivian is the only one to reveal a compelling electric pickup so far. If the startup can do what many others have failed to - actually make it into production - could we have another breakout EV leader?

Christian Ruoff | Publisher

EVs are here. Try to keep up.

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Christian Ruoff Laurel Zimmer Charles Morris Markkus Rovito Jeremy Ewald Chris Cox Oktane Media Special Thanks to: Kelly Ruoff Sebastien Bourgeois

Publisher: Associate Publisher : Senior Editor: Associate Editor: Account Executive: Graphic Designers:

Contributing Writers: Paul Beck Matt Frommer Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Charles Morris Christian Ruoff Contributing Photographer: Charles Morris Eva Rinaldi Cover Image Courtesy of: Audi

For Letters to the Editor, Article Submissions, & Advertising Inquiries Contact: Info@ChargedEVs.com

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PUBLICATION OF STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP FOR A REQUESTER PUBLICATION IS REQUIRED AND WILL BE PRINTED IN THE ISSUE OF THIS PUBLICATION: ISSUE 40, NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2018. 18. I CERTIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION FURNISHED ON THIS FORM IS TRUE AND COMPLETE. CHRISTIAN RUOFF, PUBLISHER, SEPTEMBER 28, 2018.

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THE TECH

Lithium Werks receives €1.6-billion investment to construct battery cell factory in China Battery specialist Lithium Werks has signed a €1.6-billion agreement with the Zhejiang Jiashan Economic and Technological Development Zone to construct a 60-hectare (nearly 150-acre) battery cell factory in the Yangtze Delta in China. This is the beginning of a 15-20 year plan to construct several large factories globally.

The factory’s production capacity is expected to be 500 GWh per year by 2030. Due to this rapid growth and investments from companies such as Oost NL, Lithium Werks projects revenue of over $1 billion by 2020. Lithium Werks is also working with the University of Twente to develop a 2,000-engineer-strong research campus by 2025.

“Significant investments are needed for an actual energy transition. The Chinese government has been working on clean energy plans for some time and their commitment confirms the crucial role that batteries play in this,” said University of Twente Rector Victor van der Chijs.

According to the Capgemini Research Institute, “During the next decade alone, we can expect demand for lithium-ion batteries to grow tenfold. The battery industry will need to respond by constructing factories to deliver capacity in excess of 10,000 GWh in the next three decades.”

12

Sensata Technologies acquires GIGAVAC for $233 million Industrial sensor specialist Sensata Technologies (NYSE: ST) has reached an agreement to acquire privately-held electrification solution provider GIGAVAC for $233 million.

Sensata is expanding its positions in electrical protection, thermal management and regenerative braking.

The addition of GIGAVAC’s portfolio will enable Sensata to tap into the market for high-voltage contactors, which are critical components of both EVs and charging stations.

GIGAVAC’s contactors are designed to provide safe operation at extremely high current levels, and are well-positioned to enable fast charging.

GIGAVAC has over 270 employees, and expects to record $80 million in revenue for 2018. Its products are used by more than 1,500 customers in the automotive, battery storage, industrial, heavy vehicle and off-road markets. Some of these overlap with Sensata’s global customer base.

Sensata intends to maintain GIGAVAC’s existing employee base and its headquarters in Carpinteria, California.

“Over the past four months, we have significantly strengthened Sensata’s overall portfolio by divesting our lower-growth valves business, and acquiring a fast-growing, highly differentiated business in GIGAVAC,” said Martha Sullivan, CEO of Sensata. “The acquisition of GIGAVAC immediately increases Sensata’s content and capabilities for electrification. As we expand GIGAVAC’s customer reach, we expect to accelerate growth as the industry moves toward a more electrified fleet.”

Photo courtesy of UQM

UQM launches PowerPhase HD2 electric motor inverter line

UQM has launched a new line of PowerPhase HD2 electric motor inverters. The system is half the weight of previous models (16 kg with a volume of 14 liters) and is rated for 950 A, up to 750 V and 250 kW. It is designed for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and is set to be production-ready in 2019.

“We’re pleased to announce the evolution of our product lineup as we expand globally, and as we are now experiencing meaningful growth in the markets we serve,” says UQM CEO Joseph Mitchell.

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Photo courtesy of Thor Trucks

THE TECH

Photo courtesy of ORNL

The DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has created a 120 kW wireless charging system with a mere six-inch air gap between the battery and coils.

Tests have shown the experiment to be 97% efficient, rivaling wired high-power fast chargers.

ORNL’s previous demonstration was a much smaller 20 kW system currently being modified for several EV applications including delivery vehicle charging.

The researchers have combined this technology with new coil designs and modern silicon carbide power electronic devices to create the most recent light and compact 120 kW system. The team’s next step includes 200 kW and 350 kW systems with better dynamic charging qualities.

Their ultimate goal is 15-minute (or less) highway-speed dynamic charging, which can only be made possible with the efficiency inherent in 350 kW to 400 kW systems.

“We used finite element and circuit analyses to develop a novel co-optimization methodology, solving the issues of coil design while ensuring the system doesn’t heat up or pose any safety issues, and that any loss of power during the transfer is minimal,” says Project Lead Veda Galigekere.

14

AxleTech and Thor Trucks to develop heavy-duty e-powertrain system Specialty powertrain manufacturer AxleTech is developing a heavy-duty e-powertrain system in partnership with Thor Trucks. The companies plan to integrate AxleTech’s e-axle technology with Thor’s proprietary battery technology to create a fully electric commercial vehicle powertrain.

AxleTech provides integrated solutions for on-highway EVs, including Class 6, 7, and 8 trucks, as well as for transit applications. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a new electric independent suspension concept for high-mobility applications. AxleTech’s 5000 Series eISAS concept is designed to lower heat signatures and improve fuel savings.

California-based Thor Trucks recently announced a partnership with UPS to build and test two electric delivery trucks.

“Thor Tucks will benefit tremendously from AxleTech’s industry-leading powertrain expertise as we work to meet the market’s increasing demand for electrification,” said Thor Trucks COO Giordano Sordoni.

“Electric powertrains for on-highway use are rapidly advancing at a global scale, and AxleTech’s technology has kept pace with this evolution,” said AxleTech CEO Bill Gryzenia. “Due to the market need for these solutions, we are proud to work alongside Thor Trucks to build the most advanced integrated powertrain components for driveline electrification.”

Photo courtesy of AxleTech

ORNL develops 120 kW wireless charging prototype with 97% efficiency

As EVs proliferate, there’s an increasing need to establish protocols for sustainably procuring battery cells. BMW plans to collaborate with battery maker Northvolt and materials specialist Umicore to develop a sustainable lifecycle for European EV batteries.

From cell chemistry to usage to recycling, the project seeks to optimize every step of a battery’s lifecycle around sustainable goals. The batteries will be created from environmentally and socially responsible raw materials, manufactured with renewable energy, used as stationary energy storage once they reach the end of their driving lives and finally recycled. The process, Umicore CEO Marc Grynberg explains, “demonstrates a closed loop for high performance, EU-based batteries.”

Photo courtesy of BMW

BMW partners with Northvolt and Umicore to develop sustainable EV battery lifecycle BMW plans to open a battery cell competence center in Munich early next year. Northvolt and Umicore will supplement BMW’s manufacturing expertise with sustainable development, sourcing, manufacturing and recycling methods.

“Batteries are becoming a key strategic question for car manufacturers,” said Peter Carlsson, co-founder and CEO of Northvolt. “This partnership highlights the importance of sustainable battery cells in the coming wave of electrification.”

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THE TECH

Champlain Cable patents automotive cable testing apparatus Champlain Cable has patented a flexibility testing apparatus for automotive wire and cable. The idea for the product came from a European specification for wire (LV-112, used by German OEMs) that described a wire flexing requirement, but did not describe the apparatus used to test the wire.

According to Champlain, the test could not be completed on commercially available equipment, so Applications Test Engineer Doug Cutler invented the new flex testing apparatus.

“We are very proud of Doug,” said VP Mike Williams.

“With his usual ingenuity, Doug designed and fabricated a complex wire flexibility test machine to address a critical customer need. Gaining a patent grant is icing on the cake.”

16

Handling equipment specialist Manitou Group has modified two construction telehandler prototypes to include DEUTZ electric and hybrid-drive systems. The two companies have collaborated on this project as part of Cologne’s ELECTRIP Event Week.

For the hybrid prototype, the partners took a Manitou MT 1335 and swapped its 75 kW DEUTZ TCD 3.6 diesel engine for a 55 kW DEUTZ TCD 2.2 system and a 20 kW electric motor (its electrical system uses 48 V). The fully-electric Manitou MT 1135 telehandler prototype has a 360 V vehicle power supply, a 60 kW electric motor and a 30 kWh capacity battery.

“It is the first full electric construction telehandler prototype that we realized thanks to DEUTZ, and we are proud to work in this explorative phase with a confident supplier,” says Manitou CEO Michel Denis. “This telehandler enables Manitou to enhance our existing hybrid and electric ranges. Innovation is really a part of Manitou Group’s DNA, and electrification allows us to match our CSR approach and our customers’ expectations.”

Photos courtesy of Manitou

Manitou electrifies two construction telehandler prototypes with DEUTZ drive systems

Audi and Umicore, a materials technology and recycling group, have successfully tested a closed-loop approach for recycling components of high-voltage batteries. The companies’ research has shown that 95 percent of raw materials contained in batteries – including cobalt, nickel, and copper – can be recovered and reused for new products.

In a closed-loop recycling approach, elements from retired batteries are transferred directly into new products.

The goal is to ensure the security of supply and shorten delivery cycles by eliminating waste and increasing efficiency. Umicore has begun applying this approach to the high-voltage batteries used in the new Audi e-tron, hoping to learn more about the purity of recovered elements and recycling rates.

“We want to be a pioneer and to promote recycling

Photo courtesy of Audi

Audi and Umicore test closed-loop process for recycling EV batteries

processes,” said Audi Board Member Bernd Martens.

“This is also an element of our program to reduce CO2 emissions in procurement.”

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THE TECH

Orion Engineered Carbons acquires French manufacturer of acetylene carbon black Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE: OEC), a supplier of specialty and high-performance carbon black, has agreed to acquire the French firm Société du Noir d’Acétylène de l’Aubette (which we’ll just call SN2A), a manufacturer of acetylene carbon black.

Acetylene black is an ultra-pure specialty carbon black distinguished by its high electrical and thermal conductivity. It’s used in lithium-ion batteries and high-end electrical cables.

The acquisition includes provisions for a secured long-term feedstock supply. Orion plans to strengthen production capabilities at SN2A’s facility in Berre l’Etang, France.

“SN2A brings us a skilled team, proven technology and an operating plant. With this platform we are going to significantly strengthen our capabilities in the lithium-ion battery market,” said Orion CEO Corning F. Painter. “This bolt-on acquisition is a perfect fit with Orion’s focus on specialty carbon blacks.”

18

Volvo to use Ricardo for largescale EV battery cell testing program UK engineering icon Ricardo will assist Volvo Cars to develop a large-scale testing program to assess the life-cycle characteristics of new lithium-ion cells to determine their suitability for various future electrified vehicle applications.

Ricardo noted that the work will build on the company’s extensive experience in all aspects of electrified vehicle powertrains. In terms of battery systems, this experience ranges from research projects exploring the application of new cell types and chemistries to design, development, testing and manufacturing projects in the area of EV battery packs and their control systems.

“Through the successful completion of many research and product development programs for leading international clients, Ricardo has the hands-on experience and expert capability to support and advise our customers from the concept design phase through to production sign-off, and from identifying application-appropriate cells and developing control systems to the design and manufacture of the pack,” said Ricardo Director Martin Tolliday.

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Heraeus optimizes 3D printing of highly conductive copper German material and manufacturing specialist Heraeus Additive Manufacturing has developed a new way to manufacture highly conductive copper components on a standard 3D printer.

The new process produces components with 99.8 percent density of solid copper and conductivity of about 95 percent on the International Annealed Copper Standard scale - according to Heraeus, around 85 percent IACS is customary in the market.

Copper has high conductivity and ductility, but reflects the laser wavelength that is used in standard machines almost like a mirror. Also, the high thermal conductivity of copper causes quick dissipation of the coupled energy. This results in a narrow process window, and makes conventional 3D printing of pure copper impossible.

“With this boost in quality, additive manufacturing of highly conductive copper components is now possible, worthwhile and cost-efficient in many industrial sectors,” says Tobias Caspari, Head of Heraeus Additive Manufacturing. He adds that the new process can reduce the time required for spare parts procurement from several months to a few days.

Applications include components of electric drives, inductive heating and thermal management.

In conventional manufacturing processes, manufacturing tolerances are often too high to achieve reproducibility in particularly sensitive manufacturing processes, Caspari says. “We’ve solved this problem as well. We’re now working on further increasing the conductibility of micro-alloyed copper and applying our findings to other standard machines.”

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Image courtesy of Chalmers University

THE TECH

Photo courtesy of Trojan Battery

Chalmers researchers one step closer to using carbon fiber as a structural battery

Trojan Battery releases Trillium line of Li-ion replacement batteries Trojan Battery, a supplier of deep-cycle batteries, has released a new line of lithium-ion batteries to replace existing lead-acid ones. The new Trillium batteries have a life expectancy of over 5,000 cycles.

They come in 3 sizes and work in lots of situations that require deep-cycle batteries, such as utility vehicles and other heavy-duty equipment.

Ivan Menjak, Trojan’s Director of Global Product Solutions, said the batteries are a better and more economical choice.

“We have incorporated industry-standard 26650-size lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and the highest-capacity cell configuration to provide market-leading cycle life and energy density,” he said. “This allows for lower initial cost of energy as well as decreased total cost of ownership over the life of the battery.”

The batteries are compatible with 12 V, 24 V, 36 V and 48 V systems, and can also be used in most lead-acid chargers.

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Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology has been experimenting with carbon fiber as a structural electrode. The team has studied the relationship between carbon fiber’s microstructure and electrochemical capacity, and is working to develop a combination that is both mechanically sound and energy-dense. In short, they would like to use an EV’s body as its battery.

The team’s research has discovered that carbon fiber’s electrical and mechanical properties can be carefully controlled by rearranging its graphitic order and crystallite sites. Fibers with small, disorganized crystals have better electrical characteristics, with a stiffness slightly greater than steel. Large, highly-oriented crystals provide better stiffness (over twice that of steel), however, the reduction of electrochemical properties becomes too great for practical use as a battery. The team is exploring carbon fiber’s aviation potential as well. They suggest that increasing the composite thickness would overcome the mechanical challenges of structural electrodes while boosting total energy storage capacity.

“The key is to optimize vehicles at system level – based on the weight, strength, stiffness and electrochemical properties. That is something of a new way of thinking for the automotive sector, which is more used to optimizing individual components. Structural batteries may perhaps not become as efficient as traditional batteries, but since they have a structural load-bearing capability, very large gains can be made at system level. In addition, the lower energy density of structural batteries would make them safer than standard batteries, especially as they would also not contain any volatile substances,” says Chalmers Professor Leif Asp.

Dana, an Ohio-based company that designs propulsion systems for heavy-duty vehicles, introduced the Spicer Electrified with TM4 e-Hub Drive at the recent Bauma construction machinery trade fair in China.

The drive is designed for underground mining trucks, large wheel loaders and reach stackers. It features Spicer axles, Brevini planetary drive designs, TM4 electric motors and Dana’s control technology.

The drive is in the pre-production and field testing stage, but the company expects it to be available for production by the end of this year.

Dana CTO Christophe Dominiak said he expects the drive to match the arduous demands of heavy-duty vehicles. “The ultimate measure of hybrid and electric technologies is their ability to meet the rigorous performance expectations of off-highway vehicles at the work site. This

Image courtesy of Dana

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THE TECH

University of London hopes to make EV radiators unnecessary with simplified thermal management systems

Photo courtesy of KEB America

KEB’s T6 Auxiliary Inverter can handle multiple electric motors with diverse power ratings

KEB America has released a new inverter for commercial hybrid and electric vehicles in the North American market. The T6 Auxiliary Inverter is a multi-inverter system made for auxiliary motors including compressors, pumps and electric power take-off systems.

The T6 can handle up to six electric motors with three different power ratings. It has an embedded controller, inverter drive controls, and electromagnetic compatibility filtering, all in the same compact unit. The drive has IP67 and IP6K9K ratings on the housing and connectors, so it can be installed in harsh operating environments.

The T6 inverter provides speed and torque control for the auxiliary functions of an EV. All the drive’s components conform to automotive temperature and vibration standards.

Each inverter axis supports a variety of motor type options: induction, synchronous PM, switched reluctance, or linear. KEB’s motor control algorithms allow for “sensorless” (no encoder) closed-loop speed, torque, and positioning performance.

Integrated features include common-mode DC EMI filters and an embedded main control unit (MCU) that supports a CODESYS programming environment for intelligent system control. With two CAN ports available, the MCU also supports a CAN communication gateway with the J1939 protocol.

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City, University of London has received a £121,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Williams Advanced Engineering to test several promising thermal management technologies in a project known as Battery Integrated Power Electronics for EV Drive train (BIPED). The project seeks to distribute battery packs and circuitry in a way that simplifies heat management and significantly reduces vehicle weight.

Currently, power electronics are packed together, generate large quantities of waste heat and require heavy cooling systems. BIPED suggests an alternative: distribute both battery packs and power electronics into small units for each motor. City researchers claim that this change will simplify thermal management to the extent that radiators will no longer be needed.

Also, power cables can be made shorter (and therefore lighter) and will only need to handle 25 A instead of 300 A. Lower voltage and current transistors can be used, further reducing weight. Though there are more units to handle, BIPED proposals do not increase the number of internal communications wires. As a final bonus, each battery module operates at less than 50 V, making postcrash recovery much safer as well.

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9 AT1

RAW MATERIALS IN ONE END, PALLETS FULL OF POWER FILM CAPACITORS OUT THE OTHER TDK has built a fully automated manufacturing line for its EPCOS DC link capacitors for electric drive, taking an early lead as automakers begin to churn out EVs

By Michael Kent

F

or companies that produce products used for electric power conversion, EVs represent a huge new market, potentially much bigger than any other existing industry.

Those who have realized the potential and invested early are now positioning themselves as leaders in automotive power conversion and beginning to reap the benefits.

TDK develops electronic components focused on fast-growing technology markets including various automotive segments. As one of the major global suppliers to the automotive industry, TDK knows that automakers are looking for repeatability and reliability from their suppliers. For this reason, the company

24

has set out to build fully automated assembly lines for its products.

EVs represent a boom for power electronics parts suppliers. Like many of the applications in the renewable energy sector, e-mobility powertrain applications demand high power with higher voltages and currents along with the highest reliability.

“The solar industry is a huge market for film capacitors,” Eduardo Drehmer, EPCOS Film Capacitor Marketing Director North America, told Charged. “But the installed capacity in electric vehicles will soon surpass that of photovoltaics. So even though the EV market is still in its infant stage, the demand for film power caps is growing fast.”

Photo courtesy of TDK

THE TECH

This EPCOS DC link capacitor has been specifically designed for IGBT modules of EVs and features a rated voltage of 500 V DC and capacitance of 500 ÂľF.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

The solar industry is a huge market for film capacitors. But the installed capacity in electric vehicles will soon surpass that of photovoltaics.

â&#x20AC;?

Strategic automation In recent years, the number of worldwide EV development projects has become too numerous to count. In order to prepare itself for the growing demand, TDK is redesigning its manufacturing lines for its power film caps.

The company installed its first fully robotic assembly line in early 2018 in Heidenheim, Germany, at the mother factory for film power capacitors for e-mobility applications. Raw materials are fed into machines on one side, and capacitors go onto pallets on the other, all with fully automated process control. The company says this one-of-a-kind system offers the xEV market

NOV/DEC 2018

25

Photo courtesy of TDK

Programming of a robot in Heidenheim to insert winding packs into capacitor housings.

huge advantages: strong quality control, the ability to more easily expand its capacity with identical lines and processes, and full product traceability.

“Perhaps the biggest advantage of this type of system,” said Drehmer, “is its reproducible quality, especially when it comes to manufacturing customerspecific capacitors in high volumes.”

How it’s made Inside a large film capacitor there are typically several flat windings. TDK’s automated production process begins with the metallization of a very thin plastic film, only a few micrometers thick. The metallized film is then slit into sections and fed into a winding machine.

Such machines must have a high level of mechanical precision to handle the ultra-thin plastic film, and include barcode identification for each winding, allow-

26

ing full traceability not only of the final product, but of each individual winding used in each capacitor.

“Some of TDK’s key manufacturing technologies involve complex, precision-controlled production processes,” explained Drehmer. “That knowledge was critical in building this system with a high degree of quality control.”

After winding, the thin film windings are compressed into the desired shape. A metal coating is sprayed on the top and bottom to create the conductive contact layer. The windings then undergo annealing - a thermal treatment designed to pre-age them, in a sense, so that when they’re under high-stress operation they don’t change any of their properties anymore.

Throughout this process, each individual internal component is tested to ensure quality control. Thanks to the barcode identification of each component, if a

THE TECH

the biggest “Perhaps advantage of this

type of system is its reproducible quality, especially when it comes to manufacturing customer-specific capacitors in high volumes.

”

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problem arises down the road, the root cause can be identified, traced and addressed.

About a dozen or so of the individual windings depending on the design of the final product - are connected to busbars and packed into a larger enclosure.

Then, resin is added under a vacuum and cured. The final product is thoroughly tested and palletized for delivery.

Customization It is not uncommon for customers to want something a little different from a standard film power capacitor - slightly different form factors, performance specifications, etc - so each production setup for the customerspecific products will require some element of tailoring.

TDK serves major projects with high volumes, so it works closely with its customers to help design the right EPCOS capacitor for a given application and

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Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a film power capacitor?

Film power capacitors have become an Images courtesy of TDK indispensable component in modern EV drives.

They are used in the DC link of the inverter to smooth the ripple current. These capacitors must be able to handle high voltages and currents while offering a stable capacitance level over a very long operational lifespan.

All capacitors store an electrical charge using pairs of conductive layers separated by an insulator, or dielectric. In the case of film capacitors, the dielectric is a plastic film, in most cases polypropylene, that is metallized to form the conductive layer.

The most commonly used method to increase the capacitance at a given voltage rating is to Basic offset structure of a film power capacitor: alternating metallized make the insulator very long and roll it up into dielectric layers are contacted to the sprayed electrodes on either side. a cylinder, then to compress the windings until they are flat. By offsetting all the odd layers to one side and the even layers to the other, a massively parallel connection can be made to the external terminal, which dramatically reduces the internal inductance of the capacitor while also increasing its current rating (see figure).

A special feature of film capacitors is their selfhealing properties. If a breakdown occurs, the aluminum will evaporate around the breakdown 1) Organic dielectric spot and immediately form 2) Metalized electrodes aluminum oxide, which is an 3) Material displacing shockwave excellent insulator. In a few 4) Air gap microseconds the breakdown 5,6) Plasma discharge zone spot thus becomes highly 7) Bound layer between plasma zone and dielectric resistive and is insulated 8) Breakdown channel from the rest of the capacitor, 9) Dielectric in gas zone ensuring the full functionality 10) Isolation area of the capacitor after The anatomy of self-healing in a film capacitor. breakdown.

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the required driving profiles. For example, an electric SUV may have to pull a trailer as well as being able to operate reliably at cold temperatures. In contrast, an electric sports car typically used in moderate climatic conditions may have to be designed for striking acceleration and urban stop-and-go traffic at high temperatures. “It’s important to know what sort of performance engineers are looking for,” said Drehmer.

“Sometimes they need very high power for a long time, or maybe they need high power just for 20 seconds.

Proper thermal management design is also key to ensuring a long life.”

With the first fully automatic assembly line now up and running, TDK says that its strategy is paying off.

“We’re happy to say that this investment has been very welcomed by the automotive industry,” said Drehmer.

“They want high-quality parts and a repeatable process, and there are very reliable components coming out of this system. We are now ready to reproduce our

“Thishasinvestment been very

welcomed by the automotive industry. They want high-quality parts and a repeatable process.

”

production lines at our factories for power capacitors around the world and ramp up high-volume production capacity fast according to customer demand.”

CAUSES OF FAILURE IN POWER SEMICONDUCTORS

By Jeffrey Jenkins

A

ll electronic devices eventually die, and the failure can be quite spectacular if suitable foresight and care was not employed during the design and construction phases, especially if the device handles high power or is supplied by a large battery. It should go without saying that both conditions apply to much of the electronics inside an EV, so a closer look at where and how power electronics fail and how to minimize the collateral damage will be the focus of this article.

Although there are myriad precipitating or apparent causes of failure, the ultimate cause is usually thermal in nature; that is, overheating. The only real exception is failure due to overvoltage puncturing an insulator, such as the gate oxide layer in a MOSFET or IGBT. Applying too high a voltage across a reverse-biased or turned-off semiconductor (PN) junction will cause it

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THE TECH

NOV/DEC 2018

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THE TECH to start conducting through a proStray inductances in a typical inverter (one phase shown) cess called avalanche breakdown, but it might be surprising to learn that no harm will result as long as current is limited. This is how most Zener diodes work, actually (those with a breakdown voltage above 4 V or so), but aside from Zeners and a few specialized devices/circuits typically used to create short, sharp pulses, avalanche breakdown is an unwelcome - and unplannedfor - phenomenon. Consequently, if a switch or diode undergoes avalanche breakdown, it frequently fails a few nanoseconds later from extreme overcurrent.

The most common cause of avalanche breakdown in power electronics - besides overvoltage on the supply line - is from the spike produced during turn-off by any stray (or “unclamped”) inductance in between the switch and the input capacitor (or between each switch in an inverter leg). This spike is produced because It’s apparent that serious inductors resist any change in the flow of current attention must be paid to through them, and while the inductances involved here are (or should be!) very small - on the order of a minimizing the stray inductance few tens of nanohenries at most - the currents can be by bringing the forward and quite high and the switching times quite short.

The actual equation that describes the voltage proreturn conductors as close duced by an inductor experiencing a change in current together as possible or else is V = L * (dI / dt), where V is in volts, L is in nH and dI / dt is the change in amps per nanosecond. Given resort to more complex circuits that a single wire in free space has an inductance of to either recycle the energy about 8-10 nH per cm, and that the voltage spike will be 1 V for every 1 A / 1 ns per 1 nH of inductance, it’s stored or to dissipate it as heat apparent that serious attention must be paid to miniin passive snubbers. mizing the stray inductance by bringing the forward and return conductors as close together as possible (which cancels out the magnetic fields - and therefore cure is worse than the disease. Finally, degradation of the inductance - from each) or else resort to more comthe input capacitor - that is, a loss of capacitance and/ plex circuits to either recycle the energy stored (e.g. or an increase in its Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) resonant operation or active clamps) or to dissipate - can also cause the turn-off spikes to increase over it as heat in passive snubbers. While lengthening the time; this is a particular issue with electrolytic types, turn-off time will reduce the magnitude of the spikes, as they literally dry out with age or use. it also increases the switching losses, and if taken too Overcurrent is another proximate cause of failure, far will also result in device failure; a case in which the but unlike overvoltage, in which there is a clearly

32

Unlike overvoltage, in which there is a clearly marked delineation between what is tolerable and what isn’t, current rating is a much more nebulous parameter.

marked delineation between what is tolerable and what isn’t, current rating is a much more nebulous parameter. This is because the current rating of a semiconductor mainly depends on how effectively heat can be removed from it. Other effects such as the number of charge carriers available, thermal inertia, etc. affect the ultimate current permissible through a semiconductor device, but at timescales longer than a few minutes you can just about push as much current through it as you want so long as you keep it from getting too hot. The key parameter in the datasheet to check is the thermal resistance from the junction to either the case (you specify the heatsink) or the ambient (they specify the heatsink) and the maximum junction temperature allowed, which is usually 100° C (though it can be much higher for newer silicon carbide devices). Even reputable manufacturers can play fast and loose with all the specs involved here, so it definitely pays to run a few calculations as a sanity check before spec’ing a part. For example, one 1,200 V / 600 A IGBT datasheet specifies a thermal resistance from junction to case of 0.049° C / W and a maximum voltage drop of 2.40 V at 100° C, so this device can theoretically handle 637 A as long as the case is kept at 25° C. To actually achieve the datasheet spec of 600 A while keeping the junction below 100° C at an ambient of 25° C, however, the total thermal resistance from junction to ambient cannot exceed 0.0521° C / W. Given that the IGBT already uses up 0.049° C / W of that in the junction to case, the heatsink can’t contribute any more than 0.0031° C / W of additional thermal resistance. While this isn’t technically impossible to achieve with an exposed-pipe liq-

uid-cooled heat exchanger with sufficient coolant flow, it definitely qualifies as “heroic measures required” (especially since losses from switching haven’t been considered, much less operating at an ambient higher than 25° C). As a heatsink with such vanishingly small thermal resistance tends to cost a lot, while competitive market pressures steeply penalize designs that are too conservative, the best compromise is to monitor the temperature as close to the junction as possible the aforementioned device includes a thermistor right next to one of the IGBT dice inside - and start derating the allowed current once temperature climbs above a certain point.

The other effects that come into play at even higher currents (and much shorter timescales) are bond wire vaporization (i.e. acting like a fuse), desaturation, current crowding and other safe operating area (SOA) violations. Bond wire vaporization is fairly selfexplanatory: bond wires are the very small-diameter wires that interconnect the semiconductor die or dice to external terminals so they are very much like the fuses they so resemble (failure from repeated thermal cycling will be addressed below). Desaturation is a phenomenon in which the voltage drop across a switch that is otherwise supposed to be fully on starts rising sharply as if it were only partially on. While this term is most commonly applied to IGBTs (or other bipolar devices) because they exhibit the effect most strongly, it can occur in any semiconductor, and is the result of running out of charge carriers (“holes” in p-type material; electrons in n-type). Desaturation is especially pronounced in bipolar devices (like IGBTs) because voltage drop in them remains fairly constant over a wide range of current - usually in the range of 1.5 V to 2.5 V for modern IGBTs - but increases to 7 V or more at some level of overcurrent (usually >3x rated current). The voltage drop in unipolar (or “majority carrier”) devices such as MOSFETs is basically ohmic

NOV/DEC 2018

33

THE TECH

Cu bond wire AIN insulator

Si die Solder Cu metallization

Cu base plate

Solder

Layers in an IGBT module in nature until desaturation occurs, so it will likely already be quite high by the time the device truly enters desaturation (and it will have long since failed from overheating, too). The sharp rise in voltage drop during desaturation in IGBTs makes it a convenient proxy for detecting overcurrent and short-circuits in them (less so for MOSFETs), but the protection circuit needs to act fast, because a steep increase in voltage drop times an already excessive current means extraordinary amounts of heat are being generated in the junction.

Consequently, even those IGBTs which claim to be “short-circuit tolerant” need to be turned off within 10 microseconds of entering desaturation (while those that don’t make such claims might survive such abuse for 1 µs at most).

Current crowding is basically desaturation that is localized to the area surrounding the gate contact(s), and it occurs to some extent every time an IGBT is in the process of turning on or off, due to the time it takes the change in operating state to propagate throughout the die (this effect is virtually non-existent in MOSFETs). Current crowding used to be a major problem in the older Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) technology that predates IGBTs, but the use of massively parallel and cellular construction - splitting one big switch up into many hundreds of smaller switches in parallel, basically - has nearly eliminated it.

A related problem is the SOA violation, which occurs when the product of the voltage drop across a device and the current through it exceed the safe operating area. When the switch is fully on, the voltage drop

34

Thermal fatigue occurs when there are mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the various layers bonded together (die, substrate or heat spreader, insulator, baseplate, solder, etc) which are then subjected to temperature variations. across it is very low, and while the switch is off the current through it is zero, so dissipation is low or zero, respectively. During the transition from each state, however, the voltage drop is high, while current might also be high - the device is acting more like a resistor than a switch. For example, a switch that is supplied by 300 V at a current of 100 A experiences a worstcase instantaneous power dissipation of 30 kW right before it fully turns off. When integrated out over the course of a full switching cycle the average dissipation loss from switching should be quite low, but that assumes that the transition time is a small fraction of the cycle time (a rule of thumb is to aim for transition time in the range of 0.5-1% of the period). This is why you don’t want to make the switching times any longer than necessary (nor increase switching frequency

arbitrarily). The graph of allowable voltage drop vs current is called the safe operating area for the device, and while modern MOSFETs and IGBTs generally have “square” SOA curves - that is, can tolerate both maximum current and voltage at the same time - they also are infamously intolerant of operation in the linear region (i.e. like a resistor).

The last major cause of failure is thermal fatigue, which can affect the bond wires, semiconductor dice, the solder which attaches the dice to the heat spreader, the ceramic insulator used between the heat spreader and baseplate, etc. Thermal fatigue occurs when there are mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the various layers bonded together (die, substrate or heat spreader, insulator, baseplate, solder, etc) which are then subjected to temperature variations.

The differences in the rate of expansion of each layer induces mechanical stresses proportional to the change in temperature. If the temperature swing is too wide and/or there are too many hot/cold cycles, then cracks in any of the layers, or voids in the solder, specifically,

With good design and careful assembly the inverter, charger, etc, in an EV should outlast the batteries, motor and most of the moving parts. can develop. Thermal fatigue is the one failure mode guaranteed to strike down a power semiconductor if nothing else gets to it first. While there are simple solutions to this problem - such as the springs that Semikron uses to press the dice, heat spreader and insulator against the baseplate in their lower-power modules - they invariably suffer from a much higher thermal resistance and/or assembly cost. Consequently, this is one failure mode we all have to live with, but with good design and careful assembly the inverter, charger, etc, in an EV should outlast the batteries, motor and most of the moving parts.

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36

THE TECH

A NEW CLASS OF

HIGH-VOLTAGE

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DC

fast charging isn’t just a godsend for EV drivers looking for a quick charge. It’s also an entirely new level of consumer electronics.

“You and I, as members of the general public, have previously never had access to anything higher in voltage than what we see at home in our wall socket,” Tim Patel, Global EV Charging Business Development Manager at Littelfuse, told Charged. “Some of these newer chargers are pushing 400 V DC, all the way up to 1,000 V DC, of electrical energy.”

To put that in perspective, wall sockets in North America provide 120 V AC. DC fast chargers are on their way to becoming the highest-power devices people will interact with outside of industrial settings.

But what does that entail in terms of design?

“There’s clearly a different set of rules to abide by to make sure that you and I remain safe when we use these pieces of equipment,” Patel continued.

Top circuit protection considerations when designing DC fast chargers

By Paul Beck

DC fast chargers are on their way to becoming the highest-power devices people will interact with outside of industrial settings.

NOV/DEC 2018

37

THE TECH Technology used in the stages of DC fast charging

Littelfuse is a circuit protection company that was founded almost a century ago to manufacture fuses.

Today, the company has diversified its portfolio to include power semiconductors for DC fast chargers.

Considering its years of circuit protection experience, Littelfuse is uniquely positioned to address the new set of rules that apply to high-power DC fast chargers.

“When it comes to EV chargers, we really have three pillars that we stand on, and those are safety, efficiency and reliability,” Patel said.

Personnel protection One clear concern when it comes to high-voltage DC fast chargers is the risk of electric shock. Will EV drivers have to wear insulated safety gloves whenever they want to charge their batteries? Clearly not - but ensuring user safety is of the utmost importance.

“The voltage is higher, and when it comes to a person being able to touch a panel or enclosure that’s sitting outdoors, there needs to be a mechanism to ensure that the supply can be shut off if there’s any kind of fault between the internal electrical parts and the external housing,” Patel said.

Such a mechanism is called a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). A GFCI is a device that monitors electrical current to ensure it takes the correct path.

38

very specialized “There’s ground-fault protection.

It’s actually DC groundfault protection that’s built in at the output side to make sure that when we pick up the nozzle, the circuit’s not energized.

”

If the current takes an unexpected path - for example, through a human body - the GFCI will immediately break the circuit.

“You and I as normal people have never had access to this level of DC voltage before,” Patel reiterated. “So there’s very specialized ground-fault protection. It’s actually DC ground fault protection that’s built in at the output side to make sure that when we pick up the nozzle, the circuit’s not energized. And if it ever were to be accidentally energized, the GFCI would monitor it to such a degree that we’d never be under the threat of getting an electrical shock.”

Patel refers to this type of safeguard as ‘personnel protection,’ but it’s not just us fleshy humans at risk of electric shock. Many circuit components, such as the semiconductors used in EV chargers, are also sensitive to high voltage. It’s important to ensure that these components are not exposed to more voltage or current than they can handle.

Semiconductor protection There’s a lot of electrical engineering that goes into making a DC fast charger, and a lot of (metaphorically) moving parts. To convert the grid’s AC electricity into the high-voltage DC used to charge an EV battery, you need semiconductor technology such as diodes, rectifiers, MOSFETs, and IGBTs. Each of these components requires protection against an unexpected swell of current. Fortunately, this protection can be provided by Littelfuse’s bread and butter: the humble fuse.

“They could be traditional fuses, which is more for regular AC inputs to power supplies for overcurrent protection,” Patel said. “Or they can be a little more specialized, like some of our newer products, called high-speed fuses, which are directly intended to protect semiconductors. They actually have a very specific

time-current characteristic that’s engineered into them, so that they operate very quickly compared to traditional AC input fuses.”

In addition to providing overcurrent protection, fuses can mitigate risk to personnel. For example, a short circuit within a semiconductor module is bad for the module, but it could be even worse for people nearby.

“Those kind of events could actually cause the case of the [semiconductor] device to rupture,” said Patel. “And when that happens, given the voltage and current that’s being used here, there’s really no telling how drastic that case rupture could be. In some cases, it could actually be explosive enough to cause metal pieces to shoot out of the enclosure and possibly get access to the outside world. If someone’s standing nearby, it would be a bad thing. So these high-speed fuses are designed to make sure that they cut off supply to those semiconductors before that level of drastic fault ever has a possibility of occurring.”

Another concern for sensitive semiconductors is an unstable power supply. The power grid can be made unstable, or noisy, by nearby electrical loads. For example, if your EV charger is located near an industrial facility with large motors, the switching on and off of those motors can produce spikes in the power supply.

These spikes can wreak havoc on power semiconductors, Patel points out.

“We have some technologies in the form of metaloxide varistors, which are ceramic devices that absorb a lot of transient voltage energy,” he said. “And another technology called gas discharge tubes, also known as spark gaps, can absorb levels of transient energy.

They see the most use in lightning surge protection.

If there’s a nearby lightning strike and there’s some transient voltages that get electromagnetically induced

NOV/DEC 2018

39

THE TECH

into the power lines, those could propagate into a power supply in a fast charger. These over-voltage protection devices will absorb that energy, preventing it from going into the sensitive electronics that actually make the charger work.”

High-power chargers Though there aren’t many high-power chargers (defined as those operating above 50 kW) currently on the market, that may soon change. “I believe the highest [charger being tested] out in the marketplace now is at 475 kW of power,” Patel said. He points out that the ability to charge an EV at roughly the same rate as refueling an ICE vehicle is critical to increasing EV adoption - and the more power a charger can deliver, the faster an EV can be charged.

There are two parameters that affect the power of an electrical circuit: voltage and current. Increase one or the other, or both, and you increase the power. However, increasing the current of EV chargers has drawbacks. For one thing, higher currents produce more heat. This can be mitigated by increasing the size of the charger cable, but this creates other problems. After all, a cable can only get so big before consumers simply can’t wield it. Increasing the voltage, on the other hand, does not cause these problems. Thus, the EV industry has settled on voltage as the key to increasing charging power.

“The only really practical way to push power is to increase the voltage and keep the current at the same levels,” Patel said. “That allows you to have the most reasonable cable size, minimize the amount of copper that you need, and make it still usable, not too heavy for the user to actually pick up and plug into the car.”

Although the next-generation DC fast chargers that are being tested today max out at roughly 1,000 V, Patel expects the EV industry to eventually standardize at 1,500 V. This would allow EV chargers to match

40

end goal is to “The harmonize on a voltage that can also be integrated with other sources of energy not just the grid, but things like solar panels, which have already standardized at 1,500 V for solar farms.

”

power sources such as solar panels, allowing for better integration in the future.

“We really see the industry topping off at 1,500 V DC, and that could be several years down the road,” said Patel. “But the end goal is to harmonize on a voltage that can also be integrated with other sources of energy - not just the grid, but things like solar panels, which have already standardized at 1,500 V for solar farms, as well as wind energy and local energy storage systems.”

Fast charging standards In addition to these design considerations, there are several regulatory standards that must be incorporated

into EV chargers. EV charging standards depend on location. In North America, the UL 2202 standard for EV Charging System Equipment pertains to DC charging systems up to 600 V. UL 2202 includes several requirements for both personnel and circuit protection. In addition to UL 2202, the SAE J1772 standard constrains the power levels and architecture of charging systems by defining electrical connectors - that is, the plug that goes into your EV. Outside North America, the most important global standard for DC fast charging comes from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in the form of IEC 61851 Electric Vehicle Conductive Charging System. IEC 61851-23 defines requirements for DC charging stations with an input up to 1,000 V AC and 1,500 V DC. “IEC 61851 is the most international standard in terms of scope, so the Europeans adopted that and added some national deviations to comply with local electrical codes,” Patel said. “And some parts of Asia like China also adopted versions of that IEC standard, but also added their own specific requirements where

they need it for their own electrical grid codes and standards.”

Front and center of EV charging challenges Littelfuse isn’t stepping on the brakes when it comes to power semiconductor safety and efficiency. Earlier this year, the company acquired IXYS, a prominent semiconductor company. Littelfuse is also continuing to push the envelope on advancing semiconductor technology.

“We are looking at newer generations of technologies,” Patel said. “We are all-in in terms of development of our own silicon carbide technology, and the whole purpose of the newer semiconductor technologies is to really get the best levels of efficiency in a power converter design.”

Between the acquisition of IXYS and Littelfuse’s own research and development, the company is excited about its position in the EV charging industry.

“It puts Littelfuse really front and center when it comes to the main design challenges that a charging engineer would have,” Patel said.

THE VEHICLES

Photo courtesy of Chanje

Tesla buys land for Chinese factory

FedEx orders 1,000 Chanje electric vans In one of the largest fleet orders of EVs to date, FedEx has ordered 1,000 electric vans from California EV startup Chanje. The delivery giant said it will buy 100 Chanje V8100 vans outright, and will lease the remaining 900 from fleet management specialist Ryder System, which Chanje has designated its exclusive sales channel and service partner.

The Chanje V8100 van is manufactured in Hangzhou, China by FDG Electric Vehicles, which is also Chanje’s main investor. It offers a range of approximately 150 miles, 675 cubic feet of cargo space, and about 6,000 pounds of capacity.

FedEx says it will use the electric vans for “commercial and residential pick-up and delivery services in the United States.”

“FedEx continually seeks new ways to maximize operational efficiency, minimize impacts and find innovative solutions through the company’s Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize approach to sustainability,” said FedEx Chief Sustainability Officer Mitch Jackson.

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Tesla has acquired a 210-acre piece of land in the Lingang region of Shanghai for its planned Gigafactory 3.

No price has been announced.

Lingang is located on the coast, about 47 miles from the center of Shanghai. Several automakers with foreign connections have facilities there, and unmarked test vehicles are often seen roaming the streets.

Earlier this year, Tesla announced a deal with the Shanghai government to build a wholly-owned local factory, and said that it “will take roughly two years” to start producing vehicles, “then another two to three years before the factory is fully ramped up to produce around 500,000 vehicles per year for Chinese customers.” Now the company says it is “on track” with its accelerated construction plan.

On Tesla’s last earnings call, Elon Musk said that Tesla expects to spend about $2 billion to quickly bring Gigafactory 3 to a production rate of about 250,000 vehicles per year before ramping up to full capacity. Funding will mostly come from local debt – investment from Tesla “will not start in any significant way until 2019.”

Producing cars locally in China will dramatically reduce costs. Trade tensions between the US and China have resulted in import tariffs of as much as 40% on Tesla vehicles, and it’s unclear whether the situation is likely to improve or to get even worse. Tesla recently said the high tariffs are forcing it to accelerate construction on the Shanghai factory.

“Tesla continues to lack access to cash incentives available to locally produced electric vehicles in China that are typically around 15% of MSRP or more,” said Tesla in its Q3 earnings report. “Taking ocean transport costs and import tariffs into account, Tesla is now operating at a 55% to 60% cost disadvantage compared to the exact same car locally produced in China. This makes for a challenging competitive environment, given that China is by far the largest market for electric vehicles.

To address this issue, we are accelerating construction of our Shanghai factory, which we expect to be a capital-efficient and rapid buildout, using many lessons learned from the Model 3 ramp in North America.”

GM kills the Volt and other sedans, promises more EV investment

Seldom has the future of an industry turned sour so quickly. US automakers have enjoyed several years of record profits, but the wild ride is coming to a screeching halt as global trends point to a future of reduced demand, curtailed product lines and the need to invest large sums in new technologies.

As part of a major restructuring, GM has announced that it will cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce – almost 15,000 employees – and close down five factories in North America by the end of 2019. Following the leads of Ford and Chrysler, GM will discontinue most of its sedans, including the Chevrolet Cruze and the Chevrolet Volt PHEV, which will cease production by March 2019.

The coming transition to EVs is surely one part of the reason for the sweeping changes. “GM now intends to prioritize future vehicle investments in its next-generation battery-electric architectures,” the company said. CEO Mary Barra says GM plans to double its investment in EVs and self-driving technology.

However, other factors are probably having more impact. The growth of the overall auto market has stalled – US auto sales fell about one percent in 2017, according to Kelley Blue Book. Most of today’s auto buyers want trucks, SUVs and crossovers, so that’s where the Big Three plan to focus their resources (those who do want sedans are turning to Tesla, a trend that bodes ill for the German brands). President Trump’s trade war has delivered another major blow – GM said in June that new tariffs risked “undermining GM’s competitiveness against foreign auto producers by erecting broad brush trade barriers that increase our global costs.”

Mary Barra put a positive spin on the news: “The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future.” Wall Street seems to agree that the restructuring, which is expected to save the company some $6 billion, is necessary medicine – GM’s stock saw a substantial rise following the announcement.

“GM is making a big bet on a future that is autonomous, connected and electric,” said AutoTrader Analyst Michelle Krebs. “It has to be extremely profitable now to finance [that future] because no one knows when those vehicles will be commonplace.”

E-mobility advocates welcomed GM’s promise of more investment in EVs, but as Electrek’s Fred Lambert pointed out, a dash of skepticism is necessary: “What they are announcing today on [electrification] is very vague, while the layoffs are very concrete.”

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Rivian Automotive has emerged from nine years in stealth mode to reveal a pure electric pickup truck and an SUV, both with specs that rival those of the roaring gas-belching, money-printing trucks currently on the market.

Rivian was founded by CEO RJ Scaringe, who grew up restoring classic cars and earned a PhD in automotive mechanical engineering from MIT. The company has amassed over $500 million in funding and employs some 600 people across several states. Last year it took over a former Mitsubishi factory in Normal, Illinois.

The Rivian R1T pickup features a skateboard battery pack and four small electric motors, each with a capacity of 147 kW. Total power output will range from 300 kW to 562 kW, depending on the choice of battery packs.

Rivian says the battery pack options will be 105 kWh, 135 kWh, and 180 kWh, offering ranges of 230, 300 and 400 miles, respectively. The R1T is capable of 11 kW Level 2 charging and 160 kW DC fast charging.

The e-truck is built for the job site, with a payload capacity of 800 kg and a towing capacity of 5,000 kg.

Features include a “lockable Gear Tunnel aft of the cab” with 350 liters of storage space, an integrated watertight tonneau cover, and three 110 volt/400 watt power outlets.

Rivian’s truck also includes the latest tech goodies: “The R1T will launch with a robust hardware suite… including camera, lidar, radar, ultrasonic and a high precision GPS coupled with high definition maps. This hardware enables Level 3 autonomy for highway operation.” The company also says its vehicles will be upgradeable via over-the-air software updates.

Rivian’s R1S is an SUV that’s built on the same platform as the R1T. Most of its specs are the same or similar - the main difference is that instead of a cargo bed, there’s room for a third row of seating.

44

Photos courtesy of Rivian

Rivian reveals impressive electric pickup truck and SUV

The Rivian R1T will start at $69,000 in the US. The company is now taking reservations, secured by refundable $1,000 deposits. Deliveries are expected to begin in “late 2020.” The higher trim levels will be delivered first – Rivian says the 180 kWh and 135 kWh versions will be available at launch, while the base version with the 105 kWh pack will be available “within 12 months of the start of production.”

Scaringe says the company expects to produce about 50,000 vehicles per year.

THE VEHICLES

easyJet plans to fly electric passenger jets by 2027

Photo courtesy of easyJet

British airline easyJet is making progress on its plan to fly electric passenger jets on some of its routes by 2027.

Its partner, US startup Wright Electric, has successfully flown a two-seater electric aircraft, and is now moving to the next stage of engine development. Wright is now working on an electric engine for a nine-seater plane that is scheduled to fly next year, and has filed a patent for a motor to be used in a larger, easyJet-size aircraft.

The airline is targeting a 10% cut in carbon emissions by 2022 by using more fuel-efficient jets, and hopes to have electric planes flying on routes of about 500 kilometers within the decade.

“Electric flying is becoming a reality, and we can now foresee a future that is not exclusively dependent on jet fuel,” said easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren.

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Photo courtesy of Workhorse

HES Energy Systems reveals plans for hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft

Workhorse starts production of lightweight electric delivery vehicle Workhorse has begun initial production of a lightweight electric delivery vehicle, the Workhorse NGEN1000. At 4,000 pounds and with up to 1,000 cubic feet of storage, the van’s weight is less than half that of conventional diesel step vans with similar storage capacity. The vehicle will boast a 100-mile range, according to Workhorse, and come in four cargo sizes: 250, 450, 700, and 1,000 cubic feet.

The NGEN-1000 is the first vehicle from Workhorse’s NGEN line to begin production. Features of the NGEN1000 include: • New design with grill-less front end • Smaller battery pack • Floor with 7.25-inch clearance • Hub motors in front • All-wheel drive • 6,000 lb carrying capacity

46

Hydrogen fuel cell provider HES Energy Systems has been developing hydrogen propulsion systems for small unmanned aircraft for 12 years. Now the company has announced plans to develop a regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft called Element One. HES aims to release a flying prototype before 2025.

The aircraft is designed to carry four passengers, and will have a range of between 500 and 5,000 km, depending on whether hydrogen is stored in gaseous or liquid form. Element One combines HES’s hydrogen fuel cell technologies with a distributed electric aircraft propulsion design. Modeled on its current drone-scale systems, HES’s distributed system is designed to allow for modularity and increased safety through multiple system redundancies.

HES says that refueling Element One will take no more than 10 minutes using an automated nacelle swap system.

HES has partnered with Wingly, a French startup that provides flight sharing services for decentralized and regional air travel, to increase accessibility to remote and rural areas with Element One. “We analyzed millions of destination searches by pilots and passengers”, said Emeric de Waziers, CEO of Wingly. “By combining Element One, Wingly and existing airfields, we can change the paradigm.”

Electric propulsion has the potential to open up currently underused airfields to commercial traffic, as other e-aircraft manufacturers, including Zunum, have also noted.

“France alone offers a network of more than 450 airfields, but only 10 percent are connected by regular airlines,” said de Waziers. “We will connect the remaining 90%.”

Photo courtesy of HES Energy Systems

THE VEHICLES

Proterra partners with Thomas to build electric school buses Daimler, the parent company of Thomas Built Buses, recently made a major investment in electric bus maker Proterra.

Now the two companies have unveiled an electric school bus featuring Proterra’s powertrain.

Thomas originally presented the Saf-T-Liner eC2, aka Jouley, in late 2017. The latest version is being co-developed at Proterra’s Greenville, South Carolina manufacturing facility. Few technical details have been released, but Daimler says Jouley can be recharged using the CCS standard at 60 kW in three hours, which suggests a battery capacity of about 180 kWh. “School buses provide critical community infrastructure and are an excellent application for vehicle electrification,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. “We’re pleased to work with an industry leader like Thomas Built Buses to unveil a high-performance electric school bus that reduces our children’s exposure to diesel emissions.”

Tesla, GM and Nissan advocate for extending the federal EV tax credit

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The federal EV tax credit is something of a blunt instrument, but there’s little doubt that it has encouraged a substantial number of EV purchases. The future of the $7,500 tax credit is uncertain. Recently, one Republican senator introduced a bill to expand the credit, and another introduced a bill to get rid of it and replace it with a tax on EVs. Last year, Congress rejected a previous attempt to eliminate the credit, so it’s pretty clear that legislators on both sides of the aisle support the incentive, and EVs in general. Now that the Democrats have regained control of the House, the time could be ripe to reform and improve the program.

The existing tax credit has several problems. For one thing, it benefits only higher-income taxpayers, who arguably don’t need it. For another, because it was designed to be phased out for individual automakers after they reach a threshold of 200,000 plug-in vehicle sales, it now has the perverse effect of penalizing companies that took risks and got into the EV market earlier, and rewarding those who sat on the fence and waited to introduce their own plug-in vehicles.

The three automakers belonging to the former group, Tesla, Nissan and GM, have formed a coalition, together with several other EV-related organizations, including ABB, ChargePoint, Plug In America and Proterra, which advocates eliminating the sales cap and allowing all automakers to compete on a more equal basis.

“The original electric vehicle tax credit, which goes directly to consumers, not manufacturers, catalyzed the market, increased consumer awareness and grew a nascent industry,” reads the manifesto of the newly formed EV Drive Coalition. “To promote continued market growth and stabilization, members of the EV Drive Coalition are advocating for reform to lift the current cap on the number of consumers who can take advantage of the credit through each manufacturer.”

“Arbitrary constraints with the federal credit limit consumer options and make it harder for consumers to purchase the cars they want,” says Joel Levin, Executive Director of Plug In America. “Lifting the cap would create a more level playing field for all manufacturers, giving consumers the freedom to decide which car they want in a free and fair market.”

“We feel that the tax credit should be modified so all customers continue to receive the full benefit going forward,” said Dan Turton, VP of Public Policy at GM. “We’ve been able to make tremendous strides in the underlying technology of electric vehicles,” said coalition spokesperson Trevor Francis. “The battery power and the range have improved significantly over the last few years. With every new advance, we get closer to becoming an economically sustainable market. However, we’re not there yet, and keeping the cap will have a negative impact on a sustainable US electric vehicle market. As it stands now, electric vehicles are responsible for nearly 300,000 jobs. This is a jobs issue and an economic issue in addition to a consumer issue.”

THE VEHICLES

BMW has agreed to supply i3 motors and batteries to Turkish manufacturer Karsan for a battery-electric city bus called the Jest Electric, which is produced in Bursa, Turkey.

The synchronous motor that will be used to power the Karsan Jest Electric generates peak output of 125 kW (170 hp) and maximum torque of 250 N¡m. The battery consists of 8 modules with 12 cells each, and has a capacity of up to 44 kWh. Both were developed by the BMW Group, and are produced at the BMW plant in Dingolfing, Germany.

With a combination of two BMW batteries, pre-series prototypes of the Karsan Jest Electric have a capacity of

Photo courtesy of Karsan

Turkish Jest Electric city bus uses BMW i3 motors and batteries

88 kWh and a range of 210 km. When used on scheduled service, the city bus should be able to run for 18 hours without stopping to charge.

Karsan found that the compact size of BMWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motor and battery are advantageous in terms of interior space.

The six-meter Jest Electric offers room for up to 26 passengers, four more than the legacy gas-powered version.

THE VEHICLES

50

AVEVAI reveals new IONA electric van and truck Photo courtesy of Eva Rinaldi

The British firm Dyson, famous for its innovative vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, has chosen Singapore as the manufacturing site for its upcoming EV. Dyson, which is investing some $2.6 billion in its effort to expand into automobiles, says it will build a new factory by 2020, and hopes to bring its first vehicle to market by 2021.

Singapore might seem an unlikely spot to build cars – it currently has no auto plants, and is one of the most expensive places in the world to buy an automobile. However, the city-state does boast the world’s second-largest container port, and is a manufacturing hub for other high-tech products, including Rolls Royce aircraft engines. Singapore also has a free trade agreement with China, by far the world’s largest market for EVs. Dyson already has a manufacturing hub in Singapore that focuses on digital motors and employs about 1,100 people. James Dyson told Bloomberg that his company’s “center of gravity” has tilted toward Asia, which generated almost three quarters of revenue growth last year.

“The decision of where to make our car is complex, based on supply chains [and] access to markets,” Dyson CEO Jim Rowan said in a note to staff. He cited “the availability of the expertise” as a plus.

Dyson has yet to reveal any details of its planned EVs. Construction is still ongoing at the company’s facility at Hullavington, England. The plant, on the site of a former airfield, now has 400 employees, and features extensive test tracks.

Photo courtesy of AVEVAI

Dyson selects Singapore for EV factory site

Singapore-based AVEVAI (the name stands for Autonomous Vehicle, Electric Vehicle, Artificial Intelligence) has launched a range of electric light commercial vehicles called IONA. The IONA is built on a chassis developed in cooperation with Daimler and Chinese truck maker Foton, and is designed specifically for use by delivery and service businesses. The first two vehicles, a van and a truck, will be offered in both short and long wheel-base versions.

Each can handle a payload of up to 2,500 kg and as much as 18 square meters of cargo.

AVEVAI uses supercapacitor technology to increase range and improve battery life. Estimated range figures are 330 km for the IONA Van and 300 km for the IONA Truck.

The IONA’s batteries are designed to excel in extreme weather conditions, at temperatures as low as -40° C and as high as 70° C The company plans to offer a 22 kW Level 2 charging station that can fully charge the IONA Truck in two hours.

AVEVAI CEO Argun Boldkhet says the company was founded in response to the demand from small- and medium-sized businesses for low-cost, flexible EVs. “Tighter regulations on harmful emissions in urban areas are driving demand for e-LCVs. Our mission is to create affordable, functional and highly efficient products that meet the current needs of many businesses operating in the parcel, fast-moving consumer goods and last-minute delivery segments.”

Forklift manufacturer Wiggins Lift unveiled a fully electric industrial forklift at the recent Breakbulk Americas Show in Houston. The Yard eBull has a 30,000 to 70,000 lb capacity and is commercially available with a sixmonth lead time.

Wiggins says the Yard eBull achieves higher capacities than other electric lifts by using high-voltage lithium-ion batteries instead of the lead-acid batteries typical of smaller models. Wiggins reports that, in addition to meeting higher industrial demands, the lithium-ion battery offers better resilience and a longer lifespan.

“We’ve been in the material handling field for over 50 years, so producing a large-capacity, zero-emission forklift was a logical next step for us,” said Wiggins Director of Sales Micah McDowell.

Photo courtesy of Wiggins Lift

Wiggins Lift releases highcapacity electric forklift

To produce the Yard eBull, Wiggins partnered with Los Angeles-based transportation startup Thor Trucks, which provided batteries and system integration solutions to improve R&D efforts. Thor Trucks also collaborated with UPS and AxleTech earlier this year.

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THE VEHICLES

E-TRON

By Charles Morris

NOV/DEC 2018

53

Photos courtesy of Audi

A

new generation of EVs is beginning to appear on the roads, and these cars have what it takes to compete head-to-head with fossil fuel vehicles. They offer more than enough range to cover anyone’s daily commute, and thanks to vast new charging networks such as Electrify America and Europe’s Ionity, they are increasingly able to make long-distance highway trips with ease. They have the form factor that today’s auto buyers want (namely, the crossover SUV), and they don’t require any compromises in terms of performance and comfort.

The first German entrant in this new class of EVs is the 2019 Audi e-tron, which evolved from a concept presented at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. EVs have come a long way in those four years, and the e-tron incorporates the latest electric powertrain advances. It features a bottom-mounted battery pack with a novel cooling system, along with two asynchronous motors, all designed and produced in-house by Audi. Range is expected to be around 248 miles. The luxury EV offers the latest and greatest comfort and driver-assistance

54

A wider selection of electric models will bring more car buyers over to the electric side, which is good news for both consumers and automakers. features and a couple of world firsts, including virtual rear-view mirrors (these will only be available in Europe for now, thanks to US regulations).

Before proceeding further, let’s address the big T in the room. I’ve written at length elsewhere about why the myth of the “Tesla killer” is just that, so suffice it to say that the Audi e-tron, along with the Jaguar I-Pace and upcoming models from Mercedes and VW, will join Tesla’s Model X in the SUV space as alternatives, not antagonists. There is no longer a niche EV market, but rather a global auto market that’s slowly but surely turning to EVs. A wider selection of electric models will bring more car buyers over to the electric side, which is good news for both consumers and automakers (including Tesla, which has always said that it welcomes competition).

THE VEHICLES

The motors The e-tron is the first pure EV to offer Audi’s vaunted Quattro all-wheel drive system. It features two independent electric motors, a larger one on the rear axle and a smaller one in front. Total output is estimated at 355 hp and 414 lb-ft of torque in normal mode. There’s also an “overboost” mode that can goose the power up to 402 hp and 490 lb-ft for up to 8 seconds, enabling the e-tron to do 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. The car can intelligently switch between motors depending on driving conditions, using just the rear motor to save energy and activating the front motor when higher power or more traction is needed.

As Jan Sömer from Audi’s Production Planning Department explained to Charged, the larger rear engine produces 140 kW. The front axle has 125 kilowatts with an additional 35 available for overboost mode.

Audi opted for asynchronous motors for various reasons. One advantage of an asynchronous motor versus a permanent magnet motor is that “you can turn off one engine and you don’t have losses because of the magnets,” as Sömer explains. However, “the big advantage is you don’t need magnets with rare earth elements. These motors use no rare earth elements at

NOV/DEC 2018

55

The specs Drivetrain Motors

Total power Torque Battery capacity Range Acceleration 0-60 mph

Asynchronous.

Rear: 140 kW; Front: 125 kW (+35 kW in Overboost mode) 355 hp (402 hp in Overboost mode) 414 lb-ft (490 lb-ft in Overboost mode) 95 kWh (83.6 kWh useable) 248 miles (estimated) 5.5 seconds

Top speed

124 mph

Charging

Level 2: 9.6 kW CCS DC: 150 kW

Towing capacity Base price

Front electric motor with power electronics

AWD

4,000 lbs (with optional package) Premium Plus: $74,800 Prestige, $81,800

Electric drivetrain

Images courtesy of Audi

Integrated crash structure of the lithium-ion battery

Load path distribution in the structure of extruded profiles

Lithium-ion battery module with twelve pouch cells

Longitudinal and transverse crash structure

all. We have clean aluminum inside [a special type of aluminum, 99.7% pure] which is comparable to normal copper but much lighter than copper, which is another advantage.”

“In some circumstances one motor shuts down for more efficiency,” says Sömer. “The motors are totally separate. The car always decides, depending on the situation, how much power is supplied, and this is done quite often.” The power electronics can change the speed of the rotating magnetic field ten thousand times per second.

Using two differently sized motors also allowed Audi to offer a generous amount of rear cargo space, always a sore point with EVs. There’s even a small frunk.

56

“The back motor is more compact because the shaft goes right through the rotor,” said Sömer. “That’s an advantage for our customers because the trunk is much bigger.”

Both motors were completely developed and produced by Audi. The power electronics and gearbox come from suppliers, but Audi worked closely with them, and designed the power software in-house.

Audi is producing all the motors at its factory in Győr, Hungary.

The batteries The e-tron’s battery pack stores 95 kWh of energy (83.6 kWh useable), and is made up of 36 modules, each

Cooling the lithium-ion battery during DC charging via the NT cooler Low temperature cooler

Rear electric motor with power electronics

Liquid cooled lithium-ion with 95 kWh Battery cooling via aluminium extrusions (microports)

Lithium-ion battery pack

Housing cover (aluminium sheet)

Battery junction box

Pouch cell Coolant connection Module connector

Aluminum case Housing tray with crash protection structure (extruded sections)

containing 12 pouch-type lithium-ion cells from LG Chem. The pack and electrical system operate at 396 volts.

As befits a native EV, the e-tronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battery pack is mounted at the bottom of the vehicle, between the axles. The cells are from LG Chem, but the modules and everything else in the pack was designed by Audi, and will be assembled in Brussels.

Charged spoke with Paul Schneider, the Technical Project Leader who oversaw the design of the battery system. He explained that the 13.4-inch thick, 1,543-pound pack uses a multi-layer design, something like a lasagna. The cells comprise one horizontal layer, and the cooling system consists of a layer of plates

Cell modules with twelve 60 Ah cells

underneath the cells. The bottom layer is a stout steel plate, to provide under-body protection from stones and other road debris.

Audi opted to use flat, large-format cells rather than cylindrical cells, because it believes the flat cells make it easier to perform thermal management inside the pack. Each module is encased in aluminum, and thick partitions isolate the modules to minimize the risk of thermal runaway spreading, while adding rigidity to the pack. With an eye to future developments, the pack is designed in such a way that everything down to the module level can be repaired, and it can use modules employing different cell types and chemistries.

According to Schneider, the different brands of the

NOV/DEC 2018

57

Photos courtesy of Audi

Volkswagen group are pursuing completely separate battery programs, at least for the moment. The e-tron’s battery pack will be used solely in Audi models. VW has its own Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) platform, while Audi and Porsche are working together on a new counterpart to MEB called the Premium Platform in Electrification (PPE).

The charging The e-tron comes with a “home charging capsule” that provides 9.6 kW Level 2 charging. Audi has said that it plans to introduce dual on-board chargers next year (presumably something similar to the Twin Chargers that Tesla used to offer), which will increase Level 2 charging speed.

The e-tron includes CCS DC fast charging as a standard feature, and can handle power levels of up to 150 kW - apparently the first production EV to do so.

Most DC fast charging today takes place at 50 kW, but with an eye to the future, the Electrify America and Ionity charging networks are already installing 150 kW chargers (Audi is a participant in both networks). A little bird at Electrify America hinted to Charged that the network had used the e-tron to test its new 150 kW stations.

Audi wants e-tron buyers to be confident that they can make long highway trips. For US customers, the e-tron comes with a credit for 1,000 kWh of charging at Electrify America. For European buyers, the e-tron Charging Service offers one-card access to 72,000 charging points in 16 countries, operated by 220 different providers. The Ionity joint venture aims to have some 400 highway charging stations installed all over Europe by 2020, and Audi customers will have access to these as well.

Starting in 2019, e-tron drivers may not even need

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There are no fewer than 7 different driving modes, and 3 selectable levels of regenerative braking, from zero to maximum. a card. Audi is working on a system that will enable charging stations to automatically recognize an individual vehicle (as Tesla’s Supercharger system does) and handle authentication and billing transparently.

The features The e-tron is a luxury model, so you’ll find all the latest high-tech bells and whistles. It features Audi’s Virtual Cockpit system, an elegant melding of old and new that’s featured on most of Audi’s latest models. The main 10-inch screen controls infotainment features such as phone, audio and navigation. Other vehicle functions are controlled by slick-looking smaller touchscreens located where the knobs and buttons would usually be.

Some Audi models feature a Level 3 driver assistance system called Traffic Jam Pilot - it’s not yet clear whether the e-tron will have some version of this, or a similar adaptive cruise control/lane keeping system.

Of course, the e-tron is also a true SUV. Its air suspension can adjust the ground clearance by up to 3 inches. The chassis can be raised for a bit of off-road adventure, and is automatically lowered for better aerodynamics on the highway. The e-tron can tow up to 4,000 pounds when equipped with the optional towing package.

There are no fewer than 7 different driving modes, and 3 selectable levels of regenerative braking, from zero to maximum.

THE VEHICLES

Perhaps the e-tron’s most attention-getting new feature is the absence of a feature - the European version has no side mirrors. Where the mirrors would be are little stalks with tiny cameras, which send images to two 7-inch trapezoidal OLED screens mounted on the inside of each door. Drivers can adjust the camera direction and zoom level.

Audi’s Virtual Mirrors may seem like an idea whose time has come, but so far, the few reviewers who’ve actually tried them have been skeptical, finding that cameras still can’t duplicate the remarkable capabilities of the human eye.

Aside from being cool, what are the practical advantages of the new doodads? Audi says they reduce the e-tron’s coef-

The Audi plant in Brussels has an initial capacity of about 1,000 e-trons per week, and the company says it has received 10,000 preorders from European customers. ficient of drag by a percentage point, increasing range by about one mile. They allow the car to be about six inches narrower, and seem to reduce interior noise.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they won’t be coming to the US auto market any time soon. Tesla originally designed Model X without mirrors, but the company tried and failed to convince US regulators to allow them. Audi says it’s also lobbying to update the rules, but sees no prospect of a change in the near future.

The motivation As loyal Charged readers know, the established automakers, including Audi, have a history of launching new plug-in vehicles with lots of hoopla and hype, then failing to market them. That’s why we tend to wrap up every article about a new model with an educated guess as to what its maker’s marketing plans, or lack thereof, may be.

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Photos courtesy of Audi

At the e-tron’s launch extravaganza in San Francisco, optimism was running high. Included on the 1,600-strong guest list were representatives of 300 US Audi dealers, plus some from Asia and Europe. Many of these were general managers, who are involved in the day-to-day operations at dealerships. A chap who’s involved in dealer training told me that Audi plans to conduct an extensive e-tron-focused training program over the next few months. An Audi dealer from Oakland told me that he had sold a substantial number of the brand’s previous generation of plug-ins, and that he expects great things from the e-tron.

Then came the news that Audi does not plan to ship any inventory vehicles to its US dealers. Stateside customers will have to place orders at dealerships or on Audi’s web site, held by refundable $1,000 deposits.

Audi of America President Scott Keogh told Automotive News that some customers could wait months for

THE VEHICLES delivery, and implied that maintaining an inventory would be a money-losing proposition for the company.

We found it puzzling that Keogh would make such a pessimistic and self-sabotaging statement. A company spokesperson later clarified that, if production exceeds existing orders, e-trons would be available for US dealers to keep in stock. Dealers will have demonstrator models on hand, and will have the option of ordering e-trons for their own inventory. However, in spite of Audi’s attempts to put a positive spin on the decision, the special-order strategy seems likely to keep sales volumes low, considering the “drive it off the lot” mentality that prevails at most dealerships.

In Europe, things could start happening faster. Production has already begun, although deliveries have been delayed due to issues with the vehicle’s software and possibly with battery provider LG Chem. The German news magazine Bild reported that the Korean company may be planning to raise its prices as much as 10 percent, although the wording implied that this was merely a rumor.

The Audi plant in Brussels has an initial capacity of about 1,000 e-trons per week, and the company says it has received 10,000 pre-orders from European customers. Another encouraging sign is that Audi has been advertising the e-tron in the mass media. TV ads running in England show off the new EV’s off-road capabilities, and a billboard in Berlin cocked a snook at Tesla, calling the e-tron a “Musk-Have.”

For the American market, Audi will offer three trim levels: Premium Plus, starting at $74,800; Prestige ($81,800); and a limited First Edition of only 999 units ($86,700). Unlike Tesla and GM, the Volkswagen Group is far from reaching its 200,000-unit sales cap, so buyers can count on getting the full $7,500 federal tax credit. North American deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2019.

The new generation of EVs is here, and Audi has promised that the e-tron will be just the beginning.

The e-tron Sportback is to go on sale in 2019, followed by the e-tron GT in 2020.

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PLUGSTAR AIMS

TO BREAK THE DEALERSHIP DEADLOCK

By Charles Morris

A

s anyone who follows the EV scene has surely noticed, auto dealerships are widely considered to be a major bottleneck on the road to EV adoption. Sales staff tend to be poorly informed about plug-in vehicles, and many dealerships make little effort to present them to buyers as an option. In the worst cases, salespeople steer prospective EV buyers to gas-powered models, or even advise them not to buy the electric models sold by their companies.

PlugStar, a subsidiary of the non-profit organization Plug In America, is dedicated to breaking this bottleneck, providing EV-specific training to dealers and their sales staff, and recommending best practices to dealerships that want to sell more EVs.

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THE VEHICLES The first question you may be asking is: Why is a third-party outfit needed? Isn’t this something that automakers should be doing for themselves? Well, they should, and some are trying, but several studies of the issue have found that their efforts simply aren’t sufficient. This isn’t an unprecedented situation - in times of rapid technological change, interested parties sometimes have to take proactive steps to help a technical transition along, instead of waiting for the market to catch up. And after all, it’s quite common for companies to bring in third-party vendors to provide training or other services that the companies can’t or won’t provide in-house for whatever reason.

If you’re the skeptical sort, your second question might be: What’s the point? Dealers are surely a bunch of old-fashioned gearheads who scoff at EVs and are still hoping they’ll go away, right? Well, while some auto dealers may fit this caricature, there are some 18,000 new car dealerships in the US, so sweeping generalizations about their motivations probably aren’t worth much. After hearing what the principals of PlugStar have to say, we’re convinced that most auto dealers would be happy to embrace the new technology and make some money selling EVs, but they need help acquiring the necessary skills to do so.

Charged spoke with PlugStar Program Director Eric Cahill, and East Coast Trainer and Program Assistant Tom Moloughney (who is also a consultant for the EV industry and a writer who has penned many articles for InsideEVs and other publications).

What’s PlugStar doing?

PlugStar got started in December 2016, and since then it has completed several pilot projects in California and one in the Greater Boston area, covering around 100 dealerships in all. Now the company is proceeding with a project in New Jersey, which will represent a second and more substantial iteration of the program.

“In the first few pilots, we were providing training and some limited assets for dealerships that are selling EVs,” Eric Cahill told Charged. “We were working pretty much with the hand-raisers, the dealers who had expressed a willingness to part with a couple of their salespeople and allow us to spend half a day training them to be EV specialists for the dealership.”

For the first generation of its dealership training program, PlugStar developed a PowerPoint presentation that includes between 100 and 200 slides. “It’s pretty comprehensive, and covers a lot of topics to help the

was the basis of “ That the notion that there needed to be a whole fleet of resources available to dealers that they just aren’t getting from the automakers.

”

client advisors understand plug-in vehicle customers and cater to their needs,” says Tom Moloughney.

PlugStar designed its program, and continues to refine it, based on extensive conversations with auto dealers. Cahill worked on a couple of studies, including one funded by the California Energy Commission, that involved visiting dealerships to interview salespeople, sales managers, owners and principals “to understand what the pain points were for the dealership.”

“Sales folks are very forthcoming, generally,” Cahill told us. “Once they got to talking, I was able to catalog a lot of low-hanging fruit - easy things that the dealership could be doing to improve their EV sales. It was kind of a cross-section of best practices. I was talking across makes, covering Chevy, Ford, Nissan and even Tesla, and getting an idea of how this stuff works on the ground. That was the basis of the notion that there needed to be a whole fleet of resources available to dealers that they just aren’t getting from the automakers.”

Many of the OEMs do have internal training programs for EV sales, but some are more comprehensive than others. “BMW does a really good job at it,” says Moloughney. “They have a team that travels around the country and has regional training sessions, and each dealer has to have one or two BMW-certified salespeople. I think of all the OEMs, they may have done the best job at investing in training to get their client advisors up to speed. I was part of one of their training programs in the past, which is why Plug In America reached out to me to get involved in PlugStar.”

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As more car buyers are becoming aware of EVs, the need for dealers to be knowledgeable about them is growing. “The early adopters came in and knew exactly what they wanted, but as we’re moving towards more of the mainstream [buyers], they need a little bit more handholding,” Moloughney explains. “What the PlugStar program is doing, hopefully, is shortening the sales process. The client advisors will be better informed, and they’ll have literature at their desks that they can quickly scroll through if they don’t know the answer to a question off the top of their head.”

Plug In America also maintains a consumer-facing web site (https://plugstar.zappyride.com) that buyers can use to inform themselves about plug-in vehicles before they go to a dealership. The idea is to shorten the sales cycle, as Moloughney explains. “The customer will come to the web site and look at all the different EVs that are for sale, and then we can recommend local dealers that are PlugStar-certified. The customer can cross-shop different cars, and then they can say, ‘I think I want to look at a Nissan LEAF and a BMW i,’ and then we’ll say, ‘these are the dealers we recommend you go to because they understand electric vehicles.’”

Who’s paying for it?

Plug In America gets funding from a wide variety of sources, including philanthropic organizations, foundations, utilities and automakers. The PlugStar program has been getting funding from different organizations for each of its specific projects. The utility SDG&E funded the Southern California training program, and a DOE grant provided funds for the Boston program.

“Ideally we’d love to see this program adopted nationally or at least at the state level,” says Cahill.

“To have it in one region and not another is not ideal, but right now, we’re at the regional level because that’s

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early adopters “ The came in and knew

exactly what they wanted, but as we’re moving towards more of the mainstream [buyers], they need a little bit more handholding.

”

where utilities are responsive.”

The upcoming New Jersey program will be the first one to get some of its funding from the auto dealers themselves. ChargEVC, an industry consortium supporting electrification, and NJ CAR, the state dealer association, will be funding the program management, including printing and clerical work. However, as Moloughney explains, “the actual cost to do the training is going to be passed on to the dealers, and that’s going to be the first time, because in the pilot programs we offered the training for free. Now that we’ve had some experience and we’ve trained maybe a hundred dealers, we can say, ‘Look, we’ve done a certain amount of training in three different states now and here’s the value that we offer to you.’”

Electric utilities have been a major source of funding, and Cahill expects that to continue. “The utilities have an economic incentive to get behind electric vehicles, especially here in California, because of the various mandates and laws that require them to,” he says. “We’ve had interest from Georgia, Washington, Oregon and Colorado utilities as well.”

THE VEHICLES “There’s also the utility business case that they’ve got essentially unused electricity at night, and electric cars can actually monetize that energy,” says Cahill. “For the utilities, it’s not just a simple case of selling more electricity - in fact they have electricity that’s being generated and going to waste. You have your baseload power plants - coal, natural gas, nuclear, or whatever - and those are always spinning right through the wee hours of the morning. It’s just not being used. Electric cars essentially put that wasted energy to use and provide an additional revenue stream that wasn’t there before.”

Another attraction for utilities is the potential in the not-too-distant future to use vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology to help stabilize the grid. “Utilities can use electric cars during the day to help them do peak shaving, to store energy, and to deploy that energy during the peak hours, store energy cheaper, and when renewables are doing the work, and then put that energy to work during peak,” says Cahill. “That means less capital outlays on new plants and equipment.”

Cahill sees a parallel with the rapid spread of air conditioning in the 1950s. “The charter of utilities is to keep their customers happy. They want to make sure that their infrastructure is able to grow with the demand for electric cars, so they don’t have situations where you’re getting brownouts or it’s overloading a transformer and the whole neighborhood goes down.”

Why dealers hatin’ on EVs, anyway?

“Dealers have gotten a lot of negative feedback about selling EVs, and a lot they deserve, but having talked to dozens and dozens, I’ve come to realize they really don’t have anything against EVs, it’s just that they’re there to make money,” said Moloughney. “EVs have posed a problem for them, and we’re hoping to solve the problem.”

Moloughney debunks a couple of common bugaboos. Do dealers discourage EV sales because they’re afraid of losing revenue on service? “No. The sales person doesn’t care about the service. It doesn’t matter to them if the dealership makes a penny on service.”

Surely there’s some kind of conspiracy. Are dealerships in bed with the oil companies? “They’re not. These are independent dealerships. They’re not trying to slow down electric car adoption or promote oil. They’re just trying to sell cars and put food on the table.”

A few dealerships are doing quite well selling EVs, and not all are in California. In Charged’s home city

come to realize “I’ve [dealerships] really

don’t have anything against EVs, it’s just that they’re there to make money. EVs have posed a problem for them, and we’re hoping to solve the problem.

”

of St Petersburg, Florida, Maher Chevrolet is pushing Volts and Bolts - the dealership claims to be the biggest Volt seller in the Southeast. Moloughney doesn’t find this surprising. “The crazy thing is that there’s probably another Chevy dealership within four or five miles of him that doesn’t sell a fifth of the plug-in cars that he does. That proves the point. The cars will sell if the dealership is prepared, is serious and is dedicated to selling them. Every market we go into, we’ll find one or two dealerships that are just killing it. One Chevy dealership I know is moving like 30 Volts a month.

There are other dealers a couple miles away that sell one a month. They’re in the same market. They have the same customers. What’s going on?”

What indeed? Unsurprisingly, the main reasons most dealers aren’t selling plug-ins seem to have to do with time and money. “Electric vehicles take longer to sell because the customers have a lot of questions and they’re more apprehensive about it - and in a dealership, time is money,” says Moloughney. “If you’re working on commission, would you rather sell a car that takes you five hours to close the deal, or one that takes an hour and a half?”

Also, in some instances there are lower margins.

“Many of the early wave of electric vehicles were compliance cars,” Moloughney explains. “The manufacturers had to sell them, but they were losing money on each one, so they had smaller margins. Now that’s going to change as more and more electric vehicles come to the market.”

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THE VEHICLES In many cases, the client advisors can’t answer basic questions, so the sales process for an EV can be a case of the blind leading the blind. “Many customers’ first question is ‘What do I do if I run out of charge?’ If that client advisor’s never driven an electric car, and really hasn’t done his research, his answer might be, ‘Well, you’re out of luck.’ They know little more than the customers do. So you’ve got somebody coming in asking nonsensical questions, and you’ve got a person there trying to sell a car and make a living. You know how much easier it is to say, ‘Why are you wasting your time with that LEAF? Come over here, I’ve got this Versa, it’s $8,000 less, and you know where to get gas.’”

“Another big problem is turnover in dealerships,” Moloughney continues. “Most dealers have three or four salespeople that have been there for a long time, and 10 people that are transient - they work there for a couple months, and then they move on to something else. So even if they really train the sales people on electric vehicles, in a couple months, they have a whole new wave of people, and they just can’t keep up with it.”

PlugStar’s consumer web site is designed to help answer some of the common questions early in the sales process. “We have a blog that answers basic questions about living with an electric car. What do you do if you run out of charge? How long do the batteries last?

If the consumer can get all that information from us before they go to a dealership, we’re stacking the deck in our favor.”

“The dealers are kind of out on a limb having to sell these things,” adds Cahill. “The ZEV mandate requires automakers to sell them, but essentially, it’s the dealers who are selling them. Many of them get these EVs, at least some of them feel that they’re kind of dumped on them, and they’re not given the necessary tools to sell them.”

As Elon Musk perceived long ago, traditional auto dealerships are unsuited to selling EVs for several reasons. “When you try to introduce a disruptive product into a mature industry, you’ve got to do some things differently in order to get customers comfortable with the idea of switching from one platform and its ecosystem over to your platform,” says Cahill.

Cahill sees parallels with the history of the consumer electronics industry. “Back in the 80s and 90s, Microsoft and IBM essentially owned over 90% of the market. Apple struggled mightily trying to compete with Windows machines, because they were half the

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Most dealers “ have three or four

salespeople that have been there for a long time, and 10 people that are transient they work there for a couple months, and then they move on to something else.

”

price, and they were being sold through consumer electronics stores and other retail outlets. I think this is what motivated Jobs to do the factory store concept, where they have a lot more control over the experience.

It was about branding, about establishing the association between the Apple brand and that kind of clean, user-intuitive aesthetic.

“Tesla kind of took a page right out of that playbook.

Electric cars are a disruptive product. You’re asking the customer to make some substantial changes in how they interact with the product, like charging a car as opposed to going to a gas pump, relying on charging infrastructure that is still very immature.

“That’s why automakers and their dealer networks struggle, because these are organizations that aren’t used to introducing a disruptive product. The last time they introduced a disruptive product was almost a century ago.

“You can certainly appreciate some of the benefits of the franchise model, but that model is optimized to deliver products that people are largely familiar with.

When you’re introducing an electric car, you’re talking about fundamentally different technology. On the sales channel side, it’s hard to switch from a model where you’re selling based on volume to a model where your primary goal is just to get customers comfortable with something new.

“The franchise sales channel was designed for a mature market. We have demand and it’s all about just

moving metal. Electric cars are the antithesis of that.

It’s more about exposing customers to the technology, and less about moving volume. That’s one of the big gap areas for your typical dealership.”

Be all that as it may, the legacy automakers are stuck with their legacy dealerships. The OEMs don’t have the option of trying some other sales channel. They have to sell a 21st-century product using a 20th-century sales channel, and PlugStar’s mission is to help bridge that gap.

How much influence do the OEMs have?

Observing the OEMs’ on-again, off-again efforts to push their EVs, one gets the impression that there are pro-EV and anti-EV factions in the executive suites, and that these can shift over time with internal politics. Moloughney, who has done consulting work for several major OEMs, is convinced that this is true.

“There are people that really believe that [electrification] is the future, and they press the company to accelerate their plans, and there are other people that say, ‘Well, we’re not really quite sure...let’s hedge our bets.’ I think you’re going to find that in every company.”

Big Auto knows the transition to EVs is coming, but the companies aren’t exactly looking forward to it.

Over the past few months, executives at several major automakers have conceded that they expect electrification to be a money-losing proposition for their brands.

Global automakers are in the bizarre position of slowly but steadily improving their EV offerings, while working behind the scenes to water down or eliminate the government regulations that are forcing them to produce EVs in the first place. That being the case, breaking the dealership bottleneck is not likely to be a priority for automakers, although that could change once battery costs come down and consumer demand picks up. But is this a problem they could solve, even if they wanted to, or is it beyond their control?

“There’s not a lot they can do,” says Moloughney.

“They can’t punish the dealers as much as they can offer carrots.” One dealer that sells a tremendous number of Chevy Bolts told Moloughney, “I want trucks and SUVs, and Chevy wants us to sell these Bolts, so the more Bolts I sell, the more trucks they give me.

It’s directly tied to my inventory. If I keep hitting my numbers and selling the plug-in cars that they want me to sell, they give me the SUVs and trucks that I want.”

He said, “We’re very aggressive. We try to train the dealers, but now we see that you’re going to help us, so

THE HORROR STORIES Yes, this is a positive piece about helping dealers do a better job selling EVs, but we know you’re all itching to hear some of the horror stories.

One salesperson at a Chevy dealer told Moloughney that, when the Volt was new on the market, he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to buy a $40,000 car that seemed comparable to the $20,000 Cruze. He said, “We had such poor luck selling them, but GM kept sending them to us with each month’s allotment. So we had to tell them, stop, we won’t take any more.” The dealership parked the Volts in the back of the lot, blocked in by other vehicles.

“So there were a dozen Volts in the back of the lot covered in dust. They weren’t charged and if somebody asked to test-drive one, they’d say, “Well it’s blocked in, it’s going to take about 40 minutes for us to get one of them out.

You know what? Why don’t you just try a Cruze instead?”

“That was early on. After we did the dealership training, he talked about this, and said, ‘I can now really understand why people want electric cars.’ As part of the training, we talk about the different types of customers.

Some are there for environmental reasons, some are for energy security. We go through all that. He said to me, ‘I get it now. I think that’s going to help me sell these cars, because I understand why someone would want one.’”

Cahill tells the story of a utility executive who had done his homework and found an electric car at a local dealership in the exact color and trim line that he wanted.

“When he went to the dealer, the dealer said, ‘We don’t carry EVs.’ So that customer was ready to buy this particular car, and the dealer didn’t even know that he had it on his lot at that moment.”

we’re going to send four or five of our sales people to your training. I want to sell more Volts because our allotment is tied to how many electric cars we sell.”

“We’ve had representatives from most of the larger OEMs at our training sessions already,” says Moloughney. “We’ve invited them, and they’ve come, to their credit, and many of them have given us some pointers.

We’ll host a dealer training session, and we give them an intake survey and an exit survey. We ask for com-

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THE VEHICLES

ments: What did you like? What would you like to read more about?

“We’ve been honing this program now for 18 months, and the OEMs have given us feedback, for example: ‘You’re spending too much time on batteries,’ or: ‘You need to spend more time on incentives, because I think our dealers are having problems explaining the federal tax credit and local incentives.’

“So we’ve used tons of data and feedback we’ve got from the OEMs, as well as the client advisors, and have gradually refined this program to the point where we are now. They’re actually very welcoming. We’re doing some of their job for them, and not charging them anything for it. So they’ve been quite helpful, and happy that we’re out there doing this.”

What are best practices for selling EVs? After two years of listening to OEMs, dealers, buyers and other interested parties, PlugStar has developed a list of best practices, which forms the core of its training materials. So what should dealers who want to sell EVs be doing?

The main thing is to make the dealership environment welcoming for EV buyers. “We recommend having charging on-site, and having electric vehicles in their dealership loaner program,” says Moloughney.

“We recommend that they have a prominent place on their showroom floor reserved for an electric car, and have the car plugged into a charging station, so when people walk by, it gets their attention. ‘Oh, this car has a plug in it!’ That opens up a conversation. Maybe they’re not coming in for an electric car now, but they start thinking about it.

“We also recommend that they have at least two sales people trained as EV specialists. We’d like the whole dealership to be trained, but that might not be possible.

So we recommend that they always have at least two

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people on hand who can answer anyone’s questions about electric vehicles. The worst thing you can do is say, ‘We don’t have that answer. We’ll call you tomorrow.’ If you don’t have someone on hand who can answer that question about batteries, about charging stations, about the difference between a Tesla plug and a LEAF plug, you’re going to lose the sale.”

“The minimum requirement for our program is to designate at least two people from your staff, preferably one per shift, who are going to be your EV specialists - your geniuses, your gurus, whatever you want to call them,” says Cahill. “These are folks who have the right talking points for common questions they will get from customers interested in electric cars. Always make sure you’ve got somebody there, so you’re not saying, ‘Well, that guy’s gone today,’ or ‘He’s out to lunch.’”

Moloughney explains that PlugStar tailors its program to each specific state and region. “We thoroughly explain every electric vehicle incentive that the state offers. Also, part of the program talks about the economic value of driving electric - we dive into the actual electricity costs in each area, and we provide that to the client advisors so they can do quick calculations when a customer comes in. They can say, ‘Oh, you live in Brookline? Well in Brookline, your electricity cost is $0.15 a kilowatt-hour.’ So they can quickly do back-ofthe-napkin math, and inform the customer how much it’ll cost to drive that car 10,000 miles a year.

“That’s a powerful tool that the client advisors didn’t have up to now. If a customer asked the sales person, ‘How much will this cost me to charge?’ they would get a blank stare back. But our PlugStar-certified client ad-

visors can give them an answer in a minute. ‘You live in this area? This is what your utility charge is.’

“That’s a lot of work on our side, because we have to contact all the utilities. Some states have 10 different utilities. We have to find out what they’re charging, and if they have time-of-use plans.”

One of the customer “pain points,” as Cahill puts it, is trust, which sales people can earn by displaying knowledge about the product. “As you know, customers, especially early adopters, are predisposed to distrust car dealers. If sales people know nothing about EVs, that destroys trust. Assigning a couple of folks to be the specialists help to build that trust.”

One pain point for dealers is that early-adopter customers often coming in knowing more than they do.

“They’ve done their homework, so it’s a stark contrast.

[Sales people] feel kind of incompetent, which undermines their confidence, and the two go hand in hand - competence and confidence. And the sales person really needs to feel confident. They’ve got to have the knowledge to feel competent about it, and the problem with electric cars in dealerships is they might only start out by selling two or three a month. That’s just not enough to reinforce the knowledge and the expertise in the EV ecosystem.”

Product knowledge is critically important, but it’s not the whole story. Cahill sees training as one leg of the proverbial three-legged stool - a successful program needs all three legs, and the first one is a commitment from the dealership. “You’ve got to set some minimum standards, and ask dealers to step out and make a commitment to meet these additional standards.”

“The other key leg of the stool is you have to give them the training, the tools, and the support that they need to do the job,” Cahill continues. “These are volume-based businesses, so one of the key things that your tools can do is allow them to keep turning metal.

It’s all about the sales cycle, so the more our program can shorten their sales cycle, the more welcoming they’re going to be.

“And, of course, we have to give them these assets across a number of different media. You need to have print materials, online materials, smartphone-friendly tools or apps - a mix of all the stuff. Training manuals that they can take back and use as reference. Crib sheets - a quick one-pager that they can use to quickly reference something. Those are the kind of assets that we provide.

The minimum “requirement for

our program is to designate at least two people from your staff, preferably one per shift, who are going to be your EV specialists.

”

“The third leg of the stool is the rewards piece. You need to give them money, you need to give them sales leads, and you need to give them recognition - a pat on the back to show them that you appreciate the fact that they’re stepping out and taking risk.

“We’ve built a lead generation platform that is dedicated to electric cars. It’s been built from the ground up to cater to the new considerations that electric car shoppers face. Many of the third-party car shopping sites, where people go to start their shopping journey, are pretty clunky with regard to electric cars. EVs are kind of bolted on as a vehicle category in the same way that SUVs and trucks are kind of bolted on.

“The site has to be able to cater to these kinds of early adopter considerations, and mainstream buyer considerations as well, since what you’re ultimately trying to do is get them over that chasm between the early adopter and the early majority.”

And of course, everyone - especially car dealers likes a little extra money. One criticism of the existing system of tax credits and rebates is that it doesn’t give the dealers any incentives. The state of Connecticut recently tested a program called CHEAPR, which offered a cash rebate “on the hood” instead of a tax break, and earmarked a portion of the rebate for the salesperson.

“I think the idea of cash on the hood is a good one,” says Cahill, “because ultimately what you’re trying to do is lubricate a deal. If you want an electric car to be sold, put some money into the deal. Maybe some or all of it ends up in the dealer’s pocket, maybe some of it ends up in the consumer’s pocket, but the bottom line is the deal gets done. An electric car gets sold and everybody’s happy.”

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Volvo invests in mobile charging company FreeWire Volvo has acquired a stake in San Francisco-based mobile charging company FreeWire Technologies via the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. While Volvo does not plan to own charging or service stations directly, it says the investment reflects its support for user-friendly charging options as electric mobility continues to grow.

“To support wider consumer adoption of electric cars, society needs to make charging an electric car as simple as filling up your tank,” said Zaki Fasihuddin, CEO of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

With its fast charging technology, FreeWire aims to do just that. The company’s charging stations use low-voltage power rather than traditional high-voltage connections, enabling charging through existing power outlets.

“FreeWire’s fast charging technology will simplify the experience for customers of electrified Volvos,” said Volvo’s Chief Digital Officer Atif Rafiq. “We aim to make the future of sustainable electric cars more practical and convenient.”

Volvo isn’t the only company to partner with FreeWire; BP invested $5 million in the company earlier this year, and plans to offer mobile charging options at its gas stations.

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North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers have developed a medium-voltage fast charger (MVFC) that they say offers 60% less power loss than conventional systems, is only a tenth the size, and delivers similar charging times. Armed with this technology, the team is working towards a multi-vehicle charger capable of even faster charging.

Current 50 kW chargers require a heavy distribution transformer (1,000 kg) that steps down medium-voltage line current to 480 V. This is then rectified to DC with a separate charger unit (200 to 600 kg). These heavy components must be installed on large concrete slabs.

NCSU’s unit weighs approximately 100 kg in total, less than your average football player. The dramatic reduction is size and weight was made possible by the use of wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, which aid in directly converting medium-voltage utility line current to EV-friendly DC. Weight issues aside, current 50 kW chargers are, at best, 93% efficient, according to NCSU. In tests, NCSU’s MVFC proved to be at least 97.5% efficient, a 4.5% bump.

The next step will be a multi-vehicle charger with power outputs of 350 kW per vehicle. To make this multiport system possible, the team will connect a utility line to a solid-state transformer, which will feed a local DC microgrid that can power several cars at a time.

“Our 50 kW MVFC weighs only around 100 kilograms and can be wall- or pole-mounted,” says NCSU Associate Professor Srdjan Lukic. “The MVFC does the work of both the transformer and the fast charger, taking power directly from a medium-voltage utility line and converting it for use in an electric vehicle battery.”

Photo courtesy of NCSU

Photo courtesy of Volvo

NCSU develops compact 50 kW fast charger with 97.5% efficiency

Photo courtesy of FLO

Duke Energy pilot supports charging infrastructure in South Carolina Duke Energy has proposed a three-year, $10.4-million pilot initiative to support the installation of charging stations in South Carolina. The pilot is comprised of four programs with the overarching goal of understanding the impact increased EV adoption will have on the electrical grid: • Residential EV Charging Program - Provides rebates for up to 400 residential customers to install Level 2 charging equipment. Customers must agree to utility management of home charging during specified hours.

• EV School Bus Charging Station Program - Provides financial support to purchase around 30 electric buses. The program will examine usage patterns of electric school buses, test their bidirectional power flow, and study the potential to use bus batteries during disaster recovery.

• EV Transit Bus Charging Station Program - Provides financial support to transit agencies for up to 30 electric bus charging stations.

• DC Fast Charging Station Program - Installs 30 DC fast charging stations across South Carolina, which Duke will own and operate.

“Lack of charging stations is commonly cited as a barrier to purchasing an EV,” said Lang Reynolds, Duke Energy’s Manager for Electric Transportation Initiatives.

“That’s why our proposed pilot programs are designed to install a foundational level of fast charge infrastructure and better understand the effects of increasing adoption of electric transportation.”

ChargePoint and FLO partner to enable EV roaming across North America

ChargePoint and FLO, two of the largest charging networks in the US and Canada, respectively, have formed a roaming partnership designed to provide EV drivers with a seamless charging experience across North America.

Much as mobile phone roaming enables user-transparent connections between cell networks, ChargePoint and FLO members can now access public chargers on both networks with no need to register for multiple accounts or incur additional fees.

Drivers can simply use their existing network account to locate a charging station, start a session via the ChargePoint or FLO mobile app, and begin charging.

The participating networks have agreed to levy no additional fees, and all transactions and taxes are handled on the back end according to each country’s tax laws. At launch, more than 33,000 public charging spots will be available on both networks.

This roaming agreement is based on the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) protocol, which enables network operators to exchange key information needed to provide roaming services, such as charging station location, status and rate. OCPI also streamlines billing settlement, while ensuring the privacy of driver account information.

“As electric mobility continues to gain traction, it is essential that industry leaders work together to optimize the charging experience,” said Louis Tremblay, CEO of FLO. “This collaboration furthers our engagement to offer the best experience in the EV charging ecosystem, and will ultimately convince more people to choose electric mobility.”

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Zapinamo’s new Hubz line of charging stations uses battery storage to reduce charging time UK-based Zapinamo has developed a new charging system that uses battery storage to “power boost” a domestic electric grid connection and reduce charging time.

According to Zapinamo, a typical home charger adds 4 miles of charge in 30 minutes, whereas the new Hubz unit can add 50 miles in 30 minutes.

“From a low-power grid or renewable energy supply (say a 7 kW feed) we uplift it using a Power Boost system to 50 kW, 100 kW or even 350 kW and beyond,” says Zapinamo.

The Hubz product range is a modular system, designed to expand its capabilities as typical charging power levels increase.

The Hubz base unit can use a “community energy model” to distribute energy among several chargers.

The Streethubz unit is designed for commercial depots, where its energy storage capability can boost charging rates without the need for costly substation upgrades.

The Parkhubz unit is ergonomically designed to fit into the corner of a parking spot, taking up a minimal amount of space.

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Photo courtesy of Nissan

Photo courtesy of Zapinamo

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Nissan uses bidirectional charging tech to power North American facilities Bidirectional charging technology (vehicle-to-grid or vehicle-to-building) has the potential to help reduce utility costs by using EV batteries to store energy and release it at times of peak consumption.

Now Nissan, in partnership with Fermata Energy, a vehicle-to-grid systems company, has launched a pilot program that uses LEAFs equipped with bidirectional charging capability to partially power the automaker’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee and its design center in San Diego.

The Nissan Energy Share pilot program will continuously monitor a building’s electrical loads, looking for opportunities to draw power from the LEAF’s battery during more expensive high-demand periods. This constant monitoring, called demand-charge management, could lower electricity costs for EV fleet operators, and reduce the burden of peak loads on local utilities.

Nissan has grand plans for an ecosystem called Nissan Energy, which will leverage bidirectional charging to provide benefits for vehicle owners and utility customers.

“As the only vehicle on the market utilizing bidirectional charging, the Nissan LEAF proves exceptionally useful while on the road and also while parked,” said Brian Maragno, Director, EV Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America. “As a pioneer in the EV space, we’re thrilled to continue to show new, meaningful technologies that leverage the LEAF’s growing capabilities.”

Hubject partners with MOEV to enable seamless charging Charging interoperability pioneer Hubject has partnered with Los Angeles-based startup MOEV, a provider of chargers and cloud-based energy management software.

The two companies will integrate their respective platforms in order to offer consumers a full-service charging resource.

Hubject’s Intercharge platform enables EV drivers to easily find, access and pay for charging stations from diverse charging networks with one account, one card, one app, and one bill.

Among MOEV’s products is a quad charger that uses an AI algorithm to charge 4 EVs simultaneously using a single electrical circuit. EV drivers can utilize a MOEV quad charging station at several locations in California including La Kretz Innovation Campus in downtown Los Angeles.

“Inclusion on a widely adopted platform such as Hubject is a great added value to EV drivers, making charging easy to find and use,” said Dr. Rajit Gadh, Scientific Advisor at MOEV. “[MOEV is] working on innovative, consumer-friendly answers to EV charging challenges, making them a great fit for the Hubject community,” said Paul Glenney, North American CEO of Hubject.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Tesla Model 3 to get CCS Combo 2 plug in Europe

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Can this be true? Is Tesla, which prides itself on doing things its own way, going to adopt the same DC fast charging plug used by ordinary EVs? Yep. The company has confirmed that Model 3 vehicles sold in the European market will come with a CCS Combo 2 charge port. An adapter for Models S and X is in the works.

Fast charging stations are cropping up all over Europe.

Ionity, a joint venture of several automakers, aims to install some 400 highway charging stations across the continent by 2020. Of course, Tesla drivers can use such third-party networks in addition to Tesla’s own Supercharger network, but at the moment this requires an expensive CHAdeMO adapter, which has some drawbacks and isn’t yet compatible with Model 3.

Now Tesla will eliminate the issue by giving Model 3 a standard CCS port and retrofitting European Supercharger stations with dual cables, so that they can charge Teslas equipped with either CCS or the Type 2 Mennekes connector now used by European Tesla vehicles.

“In advance of Model 3 rollout in Europe, we will be retrofitting our existing Superchargers with dual charge cables to enable Model 3, which will come with a CCS Combo 2 charge port, to use the Tesla Supercharger network,” a Tesla spokesperson told Electrek. “Model S and Model X customers will continue to have full access to the network and a CCS Combo 2 adapter will soon be available to purchase, if desired.”

Photos courtesy of Tesla

Google Maps – you may love it or hate it, but you probably use it. Now Google has made its omnipresent app more useful by adding EV charging stations to its database.

With a quick search, users can now pull up charging stations within the app and view each station’s port types, counts and charging speeds, as well as information about facilities available at each charger location. Google Maps also displays crowdsourced information including photos, ratings and reviews of charging stations, and station owners have the option to include a link to more information.

Tesla and ChargePoint stations will be featured in the app around the world; US users can expect to see SemaConnect, Blink CarCharging and EVgo stations on their maps as well. Chargemaster and Pod Point stations will be available on Google Maps in the UK, and Australia and New Zealand will have access to Chargefox charging stations.

Photos courtesy of Google

Google incorporates EV charging stations into Maps

Photo courtesy of ABB

Mitsubishi Electric’s energymanagement system uses EVs to manage power generation

ABB invests $10 million in new e-mobility research center Swiss electronics giant ABB is building a new global headquarters and R&D center that will focus on its EVSE products. The $10-million, 3,600-square-meter facility will be built on the TU Delft Campus in the Dutch city of Heertjeslaan, and is due for completion in June 2019.

The complex will house up to 120 people, and will be fitted with simulators designed to ensure that ABB chargers are compatible with all types of vehicle. ABB says it can conduct 95 percent of all necessary tests with a digital copy of vehicles loaded into the simulator.

For extreme weather testing, which can’t be performed on the simulator, the facility will include environmental rooms in which EVSE systems can be subjected to a temperature range of -40 to +40 degrees C, as well as extremes of humidity.

The facility will also have testing areas large enough for an electric public transport bus to drive inside.

ABB plans to make the building itself 100 percent sustainable - a geothermal plant will provide heating and cooling, and rooftop solar panels will provide power.

“The facility will allow us to increase the pace of product testing and development, ensuring we can deliver innovative products to market faster than ever,” said Frank Muehlon, Managing Director for ABB’s EV charging business. “The most important factor in driving technological advances is talent, and we couldn’t ask for a more inspiring location than on the TU Delft Campus, where we will be surrounded by the next generation of electrical and industrial engineers.”

Mitsubishi Electric has developed an energy-management system capable of scheduling EV charging, discharging energy back into the grid, and optimizing the operation of PV and other power-generation systems according to the fluctuating unit price of electricity sold on the grid. A demonstration of the technology is underway at the company’s automotive factory in Changshu, China.

The cost of power from the grid fluctuates throughout the day based on electricity demand. By coordinating the charging and discharging of EVs parked at a user’s facility with solar or other power-generation systems, periods of high energy costs can be avoided. The company says this is made possible by using “a multi-directional power conditioning system (PCS) to reduce or shift the use of grid power during peak hours.” The PCS optimizes schedules for charging and discharging EVs by calculating minimized power costs.

In simulations using a scaled-down 1:10 model of a 1,000-employee factory, typical power demand, and EV usage, power costs in the case of using 10 EVs were found to be 5 percent less than in the case of using no energy-management system.

The EV operation plan and charge/discharge schedule are regularly optimized through the use of a “one-day plan” that is calculated several times each day to establish the charge/discharge schedule for the next 24 hours, a “correction plan” calculated every several minutes to refine plans for the next several hours, and a “control command” calculated every several seconds. Concurrently, the system continuously monitors the amount of electricity purchased from the grid and the state of charge of EVs parked on the company’s campus.

Conventional energy-management systems correct plans when PV power generation or power demand deviate significantly from the projected one-day plan.

However, since these systems do not make allowances for factors such as delays in EVs arriving at the company or undercharged EVs, purchasing power during peak hours sometimes becomes unavoidable, resulting in higher costs to the company. Mitsubishi Electric’s system regularly monitors the status of EVs connected and refines the charge/discharge schedule every few minutes.

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The European Patent Office has approved a patent for San Diego-based Envision Solar’s EV ARC product line.

Envision recently announced the issuance of a Chinese patent for its EV ARC product and a US patent for its Transformer ARC product. The company’s EV-Standard and UAV ARC are in advanced stages of development, and patents are pending.

The EV ARC and EV ARC HP are portable solar-powered charging stations that fit inside single parking spaces without reducing available parking. According to Envision, the EV ARC generates enough clean solar electricity to power up to 225 miles of EV driving in a day, while the EV ARC HP DC fast charging system can power up to 1,100 miles per day.

EV ARC products feature on-board energy storage.

Because they require no trenching, foundations or installation work of any kind, they can be deployed in minutes and can be easily moved to new locations.

“Our core US business is going from strength to strength and we fully intend to take advantage of what we believe are meaningful international opportunities,” said CEO Desmond Wheatley. “Our patented EV ARC is now covered in China and Europe – two of the fastest-growing markets for EVs in the world. I’m confident that EV-Standard, UAV ARC and our other developing products will enjoy equal success.”

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Photo courtesy of Envision Solar

Envision Solar earns European patent for EV ARC portable solar charging station Energy Web Foundation releases blockchain-based toolkit to enable EV charging with clean energy The Energy Web Foundation (EWF) has introduced a new software toolkit for EV charging that enables the verification and tracking of green attributes associated with electricity generation and consumption.

The EV charging toolkit is an extension of EWF’s existing EW Origin blockchain-based toolkits. It’s focused on automatically charging EVs with clean energy and determining the avoided carbon emissions based on the timing of charging. It supports renewable energy certificates (RECs), guarantees of origin (GOs), and other certificates that underpin renewable energy markets.

“Green energy and electric vehicle charging are a natural fit for each other as we move toward a low-carbon, electrified energy future,” says EWF’s Jens Griesing. “The new EV charging toolkit will allow application developers to build blockchain-based solutions that enable EV drivers to charge their vehicles with clean energy, and to confidently know the emissions-reduction benefits of their e-mobility.”

EWF has teamed up with e-mobility solution provider Wirelane to demo the EV charging toolkit at the upcoming European Utility Week in Vienna. Wirelane’s user interface shows how kilowatt-hours of electric vehicle charging are paired with renewable energy certificates and avoided marginal emissions are securely tracked on the Energy Web blockchain.

Photo courtesy of Clippercreek

Porsche dealers will have to share the cost of fast chargers

California utility PG&E proposes new commercial EV charging rates Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) recently submitted a proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create new commercial plug-in vehicle charging rates. Right now, fleet operators often pay higher rates to charge their EVs than regular business customers do. PG&E is proposing a subscription-based model that will let customers choose the quantity of power they’ll need, similar to the way a mobile customer chooses a data plan.

Steve Malnight, PG&E’s Senior VP for Energy Supply and Policy, said the proposal is a step in the right direction. “Expanding the use of electric vehicles is essential for California to achieve its bold climate and clean-air goals. As EV adoption has continued to grow in California, PG&E has recognized the need to create pricing plans that enable customers to take advantage of this clean technology. Charging an electric vehicle is different than powering a building. EV charging will be simpler, more affordable and more consistent under this proposed plan.”

PG&E, in accordance with the California Clean Energy & Pollution Reduction Act, plans to greatly increase Californians’ access to charging. It wants to install 7,500 chargers at buildings and residences all across North and Central California, and plans to expand to larger fleet charging and public fast charging stations in the coming year.

Back in March, a Porsche exec said that the brand expected to make a profit from its planned network of fast chargers, a comment that was met with much skepticism in the EV industry. Now the company is sending a rather different message, saying that its US dealers will be expected to pony up between $300,000 and $400,000 each to defray the cost of installing high-speed chargers.

Porsche has developed its own 800-volt charging system, and plans to deploy a network of 700 charging stations in North America in time for the launch of the Taycan electric sedan in early 2020.

Some 200 of those chargers are to be located at Porsche’s 190 dealerships. Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer acknowledged that this will be “quite a heavy investment,” which will take retailers some time to recoup. “It’s typical, if you’re an entrepreneur, that the investment doesn’t pay off within the first one-two-three years,” Zellmer told Automotive News.

Porsche plans to invest more than €6 billion ($6.9 billion) on vehicle electrification by 2022. “We expect by 2025, roughly 50 percent of our products to be electrified, either with a fully electric engine or with a plug-in hybrid,” said Porsche Sales Chief Detlev von Platen.

Klaus Zellmer says dealers must invest if they hope to get into the EV game. “You need to establish the tech prerequisites to show what the car can do, which first for customers is charging.”

Dealerships have proven to be a major bottleneck along the road to EV adoption, and a lack of chargers is often cited as one of the problems. “We have to make sure that these cars are properly charged upon demo,” said Philadelphia Porsche dealer Robert DiStanislao.

“You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Dealers will be expected to install at least two 350 kW chargers at each location, along with a buffer battery.

Todd Blue, who runs three California dealerships, conceded that the cost will be painful for some lower-volume dealers, but said that Porsche may consider letting smaller dealerships lease chargers through Porsche Financial Services.

“More than likely we’ll be subsidizing these ports,” agreed DiStanislao, who is a member of the Porsche Dealer Board of Regents.

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CRACKING THE CODE ON EV-READY BUILDING CODES The best ways for cities and states to encourage consumers to switch to EVs

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

By Matt Frommer - Transportation Program Senior Associate at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)

magine that you just bought a new condo and, since you care about saving the planet while saving yourself money, you’re also thinking about buying a new EV. You check your new parking lot for an electrical outlet, only to find that there isn’t one. With persistence, you ask the property owner about installing an EV charging station in the parking lot for communal use, but after reviewing the building plans together, you discover that the property does not have the electrical capacity and pre-wiring infrastructure (such as conduit) to support an easy and low-cost installation. You’re concerned that without access to home charging, you won’t have a place to charge your new EV, and so you surrender and buy another gas-powered car. This scenario is one of the major challenges for many consumers thinking about buying an EV, but it is solvable, and has been overcome by several communities across the Southwest with EV-ready building codes.

I

What are EV-ready building codes?

EV-ready building codes are one of the most effective and low-cost strategies for states and local governments to encourage consumers to buy or lease electric vehicles. At their most basic, the codes establish EV infrastructure requirements for new construction projects, including the electrical capacity and pre-wiring to make possible the future installation of EV charging stations. States and municipalities around the country have developed their own EV-ready building codes

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to accommodate local EV market trends and to meet community-specific climate goals.

Why do we need EV-ready building codes?

The US plug-in vehicle market is accelerating rapidly - it has had 52 straight months of year-over-year sales growth. Over the first nine months of 2018, the EV market grew 70 percent compared to the same period in 2017. Encouraged by these trends, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced plans to encourage growth in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already booming EV market, and some estimate the state could have nearly a million EVs on the road by 2030. Every governor in the Southwest has signed the REV West MOU, which commits the state to a number of actions including â&#x20AC;&#x153;identify[ing] and develop[ing] opportunities to incorporate EV charging station infrastructure into planning and development processes, such as building codes, metering policies, and renewable energy generation projects.â&#x20AC;?

To support the monumental transition from gaspowered to electric vehicles, communities across the Southwest will have to install millions of charging stations in both the private and public domains.

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For a parking lot with 10 total spaces and two charging stations, the estimated EV infrastructure costs amount to $920 per charger during new construction, versus $3,710 per charger for a retrofit.

Approximately half of all vehicles in the US belong to residents of single-family or duplex homes with access to dedicated off-street parking spaces, such as a garage or driveway, which could be used for overnight charging. These new homes are built to last for decades, so they should be ready to accommodate emerging technologies, including the capacity to charge EVs. The other half of vehicles today do not have reliable access to a dedicated off-street parking space at an owned residence, so the EV market needs to move beyond single-family detached homes and expand

charging access to multi-family dwellings, workplaces and commercial properties. EV-ready building codes support this expansion, and can save consumers thousands in installation costs.

Studies have shown that charging infrastructure is significantly less expensive to install during new construction than it is to retrofit to an existing building.

For a parking lot with 10 total spaces and two charging stations, the estimated EV infrastructure costs amount to $920 per charger during new construction, versus $3,710 per charger for a retrofit, largely because of trenching, demolition, and additional permitting costs.

What are the EV-ready code options?

State and local governments around the country have led the way on EV-ready building codes, with requirements that have been adapted to best fit the needs of each community. Three basic options for EV infrastructure requirements are detailed below.

For one- and two-family dwellings with dedicated off-street parking, EV-capable or EVSE-ready outlet provisions are required for at least one parking space per residence. For multi-family dwellings and com-

mercial properties, EV infrastructure requirements are applied as a percentage of total parking spaces (e.g. 5 percent of total parking spaces are to be EV-capable for parking lots with over 10 parking spaces).

Where do EV-ready measures belong in the building code?

EV-ready code language is often introduced as a part of the municipal building code amendment process, which typically takes place every three to six years. The International Residential Code (IRC) applies to new one- and two-family residential projects with access to an off-street parking space in a garage or driveway. The majority of IRC EV-ready building code amendments call for EV-capable infrastructure, but some jurisdictions, such as Boulder County, Colorado, have chosen to require an EVSE-ready outlet.

New multi-family residential and commercial construction projects must comply with the most current version of the International Building Code (IBC).

These code requirements typically apply an EV-capable percentage to the total number of parking spaces. The more progressive IBC amendments, such as the one in

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Palo Alto, California, require 5 percent of new parking spaces to have an installed Level 2 EV charging station.

An alternative to the building code amendment process is to pass an ordinance, which can be proposed at any time and considered for approval by a city council or county commissioners. Whereas building codes define the technical details for new construction projects, ordinances govern the use of property by land use and occupancy type.

With an EV-ready ordinance, municipalities can vary the percentage of EV-charging spaces by type of occupancy (business, hotel, hospital, golf course, etc).

List of municipalities and states with EV-ready building codes A number of states, municipalities, and community improvement districts in the Southwest and across the country have introduced EV-ready building codes for new construction over the last decade, including Denver, Boulder, Boulder County, and Aspen in Colorado.

To help make sense of existing codes and simplify the options for your community, SWEEP has created a short EV-Ready Building Code Primer, covering residential and commercial building codes, samples of residential and commercial municipal ordinances and cost-effectiveness comparisons, available at www.swenergy.org.

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States, municipalities, and community improvement districts across the country with EV-ready building codes for new construction Municipality

State

Year

Location

One or two-family dwellings

Multi-family unit dwellings

Commercial

Boulder County

CO

2015

IBC / IRC

EVSE-Ready Outlet

EVSE-Ready Outlet: 2% of parking

City of Boulder

CO

2017

IBC / IRC

EVSE-Ready Outlet

EVSE-Ready Outlet: 10% of parking (25+ spaces)

Atlanta

GA

2017

Ordinance

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 20% of parking

California

CA

2010

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 3% of parking (17+ spaces)

Aspen

CO

2017

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 3% of parking

Lakewood (proposed)

CO

2018

Zoning Ordinance

City and County of Denver

CO

2017

IBC / IRC

EV-CAPABLE

Fort Collins

CO

IRC

EV-Capable

San Francisco

CA

2017

Ordinance

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 100% of parking

EV-Capable or Outlet: 10% of parking

Palo Alto

CA

2017

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable, Outlet, or Installed

EVSE-Ready Outlet or Installed: 100% of parking

EV-Capable: 25% of parking, EVSE-Installed: 5% of parking

Salt Lake City

UT

2017

IBC / IRC + Zoning Ordinance

EVSE Installed - 1 for every 25 spaces

Washington

WA

2015

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable for 5%, Panel capacity for future EVCS at 20%

New York City

NY

2013

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable: 20% of parking

Vancouver

BC

2009

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 20% of parking

Los Angeles

CA

2014

IBC

EV-Capable or EVSE-Ready Outlet

EV-Capable: 5% of parking

Hawaii

HI

2012

IBC / IRC

EV-Capable: 1% of parking

Oakland

CA

2017

Ordinance

EVSE-Ready Outlet: 10% of parking, Panel Capacity: 20% of parking, EV-Capable: 90% of parking

Oregon

OR

2017

IBC

Montgomery County

MD

2014

Ordinance

EV-Capable: 5% of parking (10+ spaces)

For new development with 10+ spaces: 5% EVCS installed + 10-15% EVSE Infrastructure

EV-Capable

EV-Capable: 5% of parking (50+ spaces) EVSE-Installed: 2% of parking (50+ spaces)

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ClipperCreek ....................................... 51 Clippercreek.com

Littlefuse ............................................. 47 littlefuse.com/electric-vehicle-charger

Wacker ................................................ 45 wacker.com/emobility

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Sunshine State buses go electric

By Charles Morris

outhern California and South Florida would seem to have little in common beyond the balmy weather.

However, when it comes to electric buses, the Sunshine State is catching up. The Miami-Dade County Commission recently voted to electrify 50% of its transit fleet by 2035.

Adjacent Broward County is considering a commitment to purchase 100% electric buses by 2030. Gainesville is moving towards a resolution to electrify its transit fleet by 2035. Tallahassee’s transit agency has 4 Proterra electric buses in service, and recently confirmed plans to purchase at least 15 more.

Charged’s home town of St Petersburg recently put two BYD e-buses into service - they will be part of the city’s free e-looper service, which serves the hip and trendy downtown area.

The electrification initiative was very much a team effort.

Part of the funding came from a $1-million Low and NoEmission Grant from the US DOT (the city has also secured a second million-dollar grant to purchase 6 e-buses by 2020).

The University of South Florida donated the space for an en route 150 kW. Charging takes place via inductive charger (from Utahtwo parallel 40 kW CCS charge based WAVE). The Florida DOT ports. Charging time ranges from We want a bus that is as close has pledged $900,000 over three 2 to 4 hours. BYD Regional Sales as possible to everything else years, and the county and local Manager John Hatch explained to utility Duke Energy each ponied us that the bus’s AC charger gives that we have. We have diesel up some funds as well. it V2G capability, which a DC and hybrid buses, and with the Transit agency PSTA considsystem can’t offer, as well as the introduction of electric vehicles, ered its purchase carefully, testing ability to export power to help in buses from several manufacturers, hurricanes or other emergencies. we want a seamless transition. including Proterra and Complete BYD manufactures most of the Coach Works (CCW). There were components in-house, including a couple of reasons that BYD the motors, DC-DC converter, won the sale, but one of the most important was the level of and inverters. “We build just about everything,” said Hatch. customization offered. “BYD gave us the most options,” Joseph Inside the rear motor bay are two inverters, one for each of Cheney, PSTA’s Deputy Director of Fleet Operations, told the in-wheel motors, and two small radiators. The batteries Charged. “We want a bus that is as close as possible to everyare water-cooled to around 72 degrees, and there’s a separate thing else that we have. We have diesel and hybrid buses, and cooling system for the inverters. with the introduction of electric vehicles, we want a seamless Naturally, the BYD e-bus has all the latest public transit transition.” The BYD bus’s control panel is almost identical to goodies, including a wheelchair ramp, a bike rack and surveilthe ones PSTA’s drivers are familiar with. lance cameras. Inside the bus is a terminal that maintenance In hot and humid St Pete, air conditioning is a critical compersonnel can tap into to run detailed diagnostics on all the ponent, and BYD allowed PSTA to stick with its favorite AC components, including each individual battery cell. system. “We like Thermo King air conditioning, we don’t want Cheney foresees a greatly simplified maintenance regime. anything else,” said Cheney. The BYD bus delivers at least 150 “It’ll be on the same schedule as all of our buses. We bring miles of range even with the AC cranking. them in every 5,000 miles, which equates to about once a Cheney was also impressed with BYD’s 12-year battery warmonth.” With no engine, transmission or filters, there’s reranty, and with the support that BYD offered. Included in the ally little to maintain. The cooling and power steering are deal was “an unlimited amount of training - whatever we need closed systems, so the fluids don’t need to be topped up, just to get our technical staff up to speed to learn this particular inspected. “It’s more of a visual check,” says Cheney. “Check bus and all the different systems on it.” the diagnostics to make sure that your electrical systems are BYD’s K9S 35-foot bus has 350 kWh of battery capacity, working fine, check your suspension, body panels. You’re divided among three packs - one on the roof and two in rear going to cut down on a significant amount of costs with your compartments accessible from either side. The bus is driven consumables, your oils, your filters. It’ll be on the same schedby two wheel-mounted motors on the rear axle, each rated at ule but I wouldn’t anticipate a lot of cost.”

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7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9 May 2019

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