CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine - Issue 45 SEP/OCT 2019

ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE ISSUE 45 | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 | CHARGEDEVS.COM

2020

p. 56

The PHEV adds more power, more torque and better performance, with little mention of a plug.

LINCOLN AVIATOR GRAND TOURING

ADVANCES IN POWER PCBS

CABLE SIZING AND SELECTION FOR EV SYSTEMS

GROUND-BREAKING GLUE RESHAPES MOTOR DESIGN

AC FAST CHARGING FOR MEDIUM DUTY EVS

p. 26

p. 32

p. 38

p. 76

THE TECH CONTENTS

26 A closer look at advances

26

in power PCBs

32 Cable sizing and selection

for EV systems

38 Ground-breaking glue EuroGroup Laminations says its new gluing technology will improve motor efficiency and reshape electric machine design.

38

current events 12

Researchers create air-stable, waterproof wax coating for lithium metal anodes

14

14

OXIS Energy to produce Li-S battery cells for Bye Aerospace New gate-driver system enables paralleling of up to four SiC power modules

16

ZF launches electric two-speed drive

Hyundai’s Active Shift Control reduces shifting time for hybrids UK encourages homegrown EV tech with £500-million loan guarantee for Jaguar

18 BMW doubles battery production capacity at its South Carolina plant 19 Continental showcases full hybrid with 48-volt drive system 20 Bosch developing cloud-based service to help prolong battery life 22 Donaldson launches two-stage protective vent for battery packs

18

Canada launches $4.5-million challenge to accelerate battery innovation

23 Battery startup Intecells closes Series A funding round 24 MAHLE’s new EV thermal system is designed to cut winter range loss

THE VEHICLES CONTENTS

56 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring

56

The PHEV adds more power, more torque and better performance - with little mention of a plug.

90 What will an all-electric city look like?

current events

46

44 The most powerful Porsche Cayenne is a plug-in hybrid 45 Colorado adopts California zero-emissions vehicle mandate 46 Proterra launches program to help OEMs build EVs for commercial fleets

Volvo Penta showcases electric terminal tractor

48

Bye Aerospace tests eFlyer 2 prototype with 90 kW Siemens motor AstraZeneca pledges to transition its 16,000 vehicles to EVs

49 Milan to purchase up to 250 Solaris electric buses 50 Lightning Systems receives OK to sell its all-electric Ford F-59 in California 52 Ford’s collaboration with Rivian is just one of three paths to electrification 54 Alexander Dennis launches double-deck range extended hybrid bus

48

Ports of Auckland buys electric tugboat

IDENTIFICATION STATEMENT CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine (ISSN: 24742341) September/October 2019, Issue #45 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.

54

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68 EV Connect and GM aim to enhance Bolt drivers’ charging experience

Enel Group folds eMotorWerks into Enel X brand

69 Electrify America to deploy commercial robotic chargers

69

InstaVolt begins deploying next-generation 125 kW chargers across UK

70 Canada invests $4.6 million to add 92 fast chargers to nationwide network

Tritium to become sole supplier of rapid chargers for UK’s DRIVE ENERGI

72 BMW to bring wireless charging pilot program to US

Automated Tritium 175 kW chargers to serve terminal tractors

74 Shell installs first ABB fast charger in Singapore

Electrify America to offer 2 years of free charging to LiveWire owners

72

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A couple of years ago, at a time when the Volt, the LEAF and the Model S were pretty much the only viable plug-ins on the market, I wrote in this space that there was a second generation of modern EVs on the horizon - vehicles that would offer 200 miles of range.

Today that second generation is well established. The Chevy Bolt, Nissan LEAF Plus and Tesla Model 3 all have plenty of range for the average driver, and automakers have proven that they can offer compelling EVs at mid-market prices (although none has yet shown that they can make a significant profit on them). Meanwhile, with comprehensive fast charging networks (Electrify America, EVgo, and, in Europe, Ionity) rapidly rolling out, the infrastructure issue is being brought under control.

Plug-in vehicle sales are steadily growing, but, outside of a few hypercharged hotspots, EVs are still far from being a mainstream product. What’s badly needed now is a third generation, offering not more driving range but more choices, and especially, options in the form factors car buyers crave.

For better or for worse, sedans look like yesterday’s product in the US. Ford and GM both announced last year that they were killing off sedans in the North American market and focusing on larger crossovers, SUVs and trucks.

Analysts attributed the move to the higher profit margins and the growing popularity of larger vehicle models. EVs won’t truly take off until they can address this stylistic shift.

Early entrants from the major automakers have come with luxury price tags (the Audi e-tron and Jaguar iPace) and/or limited availability (the Kia Niro EV). Buyers need more affordable electric options in every market.

Viable electric pickup trucks are also on the horizon. Both GM and Ford have confirmed that they’re working on electric trucks. But when it comes to EV projects from major automakers, who knows where they will lead?

It’s likely the companies won’t truly commit until an electric outsider starts taking big bites off their Silverado and F-150 plates.

Given the market shifts, it’s no surprise that the next two launches from Tesla will be the Model Y crossover and the yet-to-be-named pickup truck.

And with the versatile possibilities of an electric pickup, it’s possible that buyers will swarm to trucks from Tesla or Rivian (the startup with the most promise to actually deliver a production EV since Tesla).

However, affordability is a big challenge. Rivian will sit squarely in the luxury truck market with a starting price of $69,000 ($72,500 for its SUV built on the same platform). Elon Musk recently said on the Ride the Lighting podcast, “We don’t want [our pickup truck] to be really expensive. I think it’s got to start at less than $50,000 - it’s got to be like $49,000 starting price max.

Ideally less. It just can’t be unaffordable.”

If the past is any indication however, only a handful of Tesla trucks will ever find their way to buyers at this “target” price. A Tesla pickup truck will surely be at the top of the market as a luxury vehicle.

The answer to all these problems: continuing to lower EV systems costs.

Automakers need healthy profits from EVs to market more models at full force, and cheaper Teslas are something everyone wants. So, engineers, get back to work!

Christian Ruoff | Publisher

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Associate Publisher Laurel Zimmer Senior Editor Charles Morris Associate Editor Markkus Rovito Account Executives Jeremy Ewald Zach Stone

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

Contributing Writers Paul Beck Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Charles Morris John Voelcker

Publisher Christian Ruoff

Contributing Photographers Nicolas Raymond Christian Ruoff Cover Images Courtesy of Ford Motor Company Kelly Ruoff Special Thanks to Sebastien Bourgeois

Technology Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Graphic Designers Tomislav Vrdoljak

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

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THE TECH

Photo courtesy of ZF

Researchers create air-stable, waterproof wax coating for lithium metal anodes

ZF launches electric twospeed drive German parts maker ZF has launched a two-speed electric axle drive system for passenger cars. The drive, which integrates an electric motor with a shift element and power electronics, is compatible with standard-sized and compact cars. The modular design enables it to be scaled up for sports vehicles, according to the company, allowing manufacturers to select between emphasis on efficiency or performance.

To increase the system’s performance rating, ZF developed an electric motor with a maximum power rating of 140 kW coupled with a two-stage shift element. The two-speed drive extends range by up to five percent, according to ZF. The system can connect to a vehicle’s CAN communication bus for added shift strategies designed to conserve energy depending on topography and distance to the nearest charging station.

Bert Hellwig, Head of System House at ZF’s E-Mobility division, said, “Until now, with electric motors, vehicle manufacturers have had to choose between high initial torque and a high top speed. We are now resolving this conflict and the new drive will be compatible for performance and heavier vehicles – for example for passenger cars towing a trailer.”

12

Lithium metal is a promising new material for battery electrodes, thanks to its high specific capacity and low voltage, but safety issues caused by dendrite growth and instability in air caused by its high chemical activity currently limit its large-scale use as an electrode material.

Lithium metal is highly sensitive to moisture and oxidative components in the air. To combat this issue, battery developers have created insulating products like lithium hydroxides to protect the lithium metal from water and air, but so far these materials have all resulted in deterioration of the battery’s electrochemical performance.

Now a research team at China’s Tianjin University, led

by Professor Quan-Hong Yang and Professor Wei Lv of Tsinghua University, has developed a wax-PEO coating for lithium metal surfaces. With the coating, the researchers say the lithium metal anode is both waterproof and air-stable and boasts a low battery decay rate.

Wax is coated on the surface of lithium metal, and serves as an inert sealing material. The coating retards the etching of the electrolyte onto the surface. At the same time, homogeneously distributed plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) guarantees uniform lithium-ion conduction at the interface and inhibits the growth of lithium dendrites.

In testing scenarios, the surface of the wax-coated lithium remained unchanged in a high relative humidity of 70% over 24 hours. During these tests, the battery achieved capacity retention of 85%. The researchers report that the coated lithium metal anode remains stable for as long as 500 hours in symmetric cells, and the lithium sulfur batteries assembled with the coated lithium metal anode show a capacity decay rate of 0.075% per cycle for 300 cycles. Researchers also report that no combustion or capacity decay occurred when the lithium came in direct contact with water.

The team says the work demonstrates that its wax coating is an efficient package technology for lithium metal anodes which is easily scalable and applicable to other sensitive electrode materials.

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Power Integrations’ new gate-driver system enables paralleling of up to four SiC power modules

OXIS Energy to produce Li-S battery cells for Bye Aerospace

Photo courtesy of Bye Aerospace

Battery manufacturer OXIS Energy is partnering with electric aviation pioneer Bye Aerospace to produce Li-S battery cells for Bye’s future aircraft. The cells will be designed to have the higher energy density required for such aircraft. The project is scheduled to launch in September 2019.

Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO of OXIS Energy, said, “Aviation is one of OXIS’s target markets. A key measure of OXIS’s suitability is to be able to consistently produce cells in excess of 400 Wh/kg, which are already undergoing evaluation. OXIS expects to achieve 500 Wh/kg by early 2020. Our Li-S cells and battery systems are ideally suited for aviation. They are over 50 percent lighter than the current Li-ion cell and battery systems.”

George Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace, said, “Bye Aerospace is working with OXIS on the Li-S battery cell characteristics to significantly improve our eFlyer 4 and future air taxi aircraft designs’ performance.”

14

Photo courtesy of Power Integrations

Photo courtesy of OXIS Energy

THE TECH

Power Integrations, a manufacturer of gate-driver technology for medium- and high-voltage inverter applications, has introduced the SCALE-iFlex gate-driver system for IGBT, hybrid, and silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFET power modules with blocking voltages from 1.7 to 4.5 kV. The system consists of a central Isolated Master Control (IMC) and one to four Module-Adapted Gate Drivers (MAGs). The IMC provides a 4.5 kV blocking voltage. PI is manufacturing a range of MAGs to service a variety of technologies across 1,700 V, 3,300 V and 4,500 V voltage classes.

The company says its SCALE-iFlex gate-driver system enables easy paralleling of dual power modules and provides flexible system scalability with minimum development effort. The MAG is placed adjacent to the modules’ control terminals and the IMC performs all necessary communication between the MAGs and the user’s MCU handling functions, such as PWM commands, short-circuit and under-voltage failure reporting, and NTC and DC-Link voltage measurement.

“The SCALE-iFlex gate-driver system is optimized for the latest 1,700 V to 3,300 V rated power modules from all of the leading module manufacturers,” said Product Manager Thorsten Schmidt. “The system provides the ultimate in reliability for demanding applications such as wind turbine inverters, industrial drives and the main propulsion and auxiliary inverters for railway applications.”

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Photo courtesy of Hyundai

Photo courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover

THE TECH

Hyundai’s Active Shift Control reduces shifting time for hybrids Hyundai has developed a new feature called Active Shift Control (ASC) for its electric motors. By monitoring gearing shifts 500 times per second and adjusting the transmission rotation speed, ASC reduces gear-shift times by 30 percent, which should enable efficiency gains.

In order to improve fuel economy, conventional hybrids lack torque converters. This results in longer shift times to ensure smoother gear changes. ASC allows the vehicle’s electric motor to control gear shifts by applying new software logic to the Hybrid Control Unit (HCU), which helps synchronize the rotational speed of the transmission with that of the engine. When synchronized, shift time is reduced from 500 to 350 milliseconds, according to Hyundai.

ASC will first be featured in the upcoming Sonata Hybrid.

Kyoung Joon Chang, VP of Hyundai’s Powertrain Control System Group , said, “The development of the world’s first ASC technology incorporates precise motor control [in] automatic transmissions. It will not only save fuel but also provide a more fun driving experience for our customers.”

16

UK encourages homegrown EV tech with £500-million loan guarantee for Jaguar Land Rover At a recent roundtable with CEOs and other leaders in the car and energy industries, former UK Prime Minister Theresa May outlined the government’s commitment to the country’s struggling auto industry and called for the UK to stay at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of EVs. May confirmed that Jaguar Land Rover will receive a £500-million loan guarantee from government export credit agency UK Export Finance. This will support the company’s design and manufacture of the next generation of EVs and its export activities.

The meeting is part of a range of actions by the government to support the auto industry. The UK has already invested £274 million in the Faraday Battery Challenge and made earlier investments through the Automotive Propulsion Center.

At the roundtable, attendees agreed to establish a Green Mobility Transition Board, which will formally bring together government, industry and environmental groups to coordinate efforts to speed up the adoption of ultra-low-emission vehicles.

The Prime Minister set out a number of new commitments aimed at making EV ownership more convenient, including: • Plans to fit every new home with an EV charging station • Plans to regulate chargers to require smart technology that facilitates off-peak charging • New rapid and higher-powered chargepoints to provide “pay as you go” debit or credit card payment options by spring 2020

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THE TECH

BMW has doubled production capacity of high-voltage batteries at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The battery facility now produces new fourth-generation batteries for the plug-in hybrid models of BMW’s new X5 and its future X3, both of which are also produced in Spartanburg.

In the past four years, the plant’s battery assembly team has produced a total of more than 45,000 batteries. BMW says the new assembly line can handle different types of fourth-generation batteries to serve the growing range of EVs locally. The automaker plans to employ more than 120 people in battery production at Plant Spartanburg by the end of the year.

BMW built its first PHEV, the X5 xDrive40e, at Plant Spartanburg location from 2015 to 2018. It began pro-

Photo courtesy of BMW

BMW doubles battery production capacity at its South Carolina plant

duction of the new X5 PHEV, the xDrive45e, in August.

Production of the X3 xDrive30e will start in December.

“We have invested around ten million US dollars in a new battery assembly line and expanded the area to more than 8,000 square meters. This means we could double the number of batteries produced if needed to meet market demand,” said Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President at BMW.

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Continental showcases full hybrid with 48-volt drive system Continental has introduced a 30 kW, 48-volt high-power drive system for full hybrid vehicles, which it says is cheaper than the high-voltage systems used up to now.

Until now, manufacturers have typically used 48-volt systems in “mild hybrid” vehicles, in which the electric motor doesn’t drive the vehicle directly, but only assists the ICE. Full hybrid vehicles can drive on electricity alone, but typically need high voltages – up to 800 volts. Continental says its engineers have developed a 48-volt hybrid system that boasts features similar to those of a high-voltage electric drive and can drive vehicles without help from an ICE. The 48-volt high-power system is comprised of an electric motor, integrated power electronics, and a battery. Continental says it reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by around 20% compared to similar ICE vehicles.

In the latest stage of development, Continental engineers repositioned the 48-volt system from in front of the ICE on the crankshaft to behind it, between the combustion engine and transmission (P2 hybrid). The key component in the system is a new water-cooled electric motor with a peak output of 30 kW, double that of previous versions. Continental says that electric-only driving is possible up to a speed of 80 to 90 km/h.

The company also says the 48-volt system delivers a lower cost than high-voltage systems, as it requires less insulation protection and electrical components are smaller and cheaper. The system is also more compact because it requires smaller gaps between the individual components.

“With the new hybrid system, we are making the most of what is currently technologically possible for a 48-volt system,” said Stephan Rebhan, head of Technology and Innovation at Continental’s Powertrain business.

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Bosch developing cloud-based service to help prolong battery life

In an attempt to prolong EV battery life, Bosch is developing new cloud services that supplement individual vehicles’ battery-management systems. The company calls the new service Battery in the Cloud. Its first customer is DiDi, a gargantuan Chinese mobility provider, which is equipping a pilot vehicle fleet with Bosch battery services in the city of Xiamen.

Rapid battery charging, high numbers of charge cycles, an overly sporty driving style, and extremely high or low ambient temperatures are all sources of stress for batteries. Bosch’s cloud-based services are designed to recognize and counter these stress triggers.

All battery-relevant data, such as ambient temperature and charging habits, is first transmitted in real time to the cloud, where machine-learning algorithms evaluate the data. The cloud services use this real-time data to optimize the recharging process and to provide drivers with driving tips on how to conserve battery power. Bosch says these measures can reduce the wear and tear on the battery by as much as 20%.

The smart software also uses the swarm principle, in which algorithms use data gathered from an entire fleet, not just from individual vehicles, to analyze battery performance and health. Bosch say swarm intelligence is the key to identifying more of the stress factors for vehicle batteries, and to identifying them more quickly.

Bosch says Battery in the Cloud also optimizes the recharging process itself. The software can calculate an individual charge curve for each recharging process, regardless of whether it takes place at home or elsewhere. This allows the charger to recharge the battery to the optimum level. The solution optimizes for both fast and slow charging and controls electricity and voltage levels during the recharging process. “Bosch is connecting EV batteries with the cloud,� said Bosch Board Member Markus Heyn. “Its data-based services mean we can substantially improve batteries’ performance and extend their service life.�

Photo courtesy of Bosch

THE TECH

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Photos courtesy of Donaldson

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

THE TECH

Donaldson launches two-stage protective vent for battery packs Vehicle filter specialist Donaldson has launched its Dual-Stage Battery Vent, which the company says provides protection from pressure, heat, and contaminants.

The battery vent’s first stage equalizes pressure, while providing protection from water, dirt, and automotive fluids. The second-stage venting kicks in if rapid pressure and heat build-up occur. During this stage, the vents fully open and allow gases to escape in order to avoid damage to the remaining battery cells.

The Dual-Stage Battery Vent attaches directly to a housing via a quarter-turn bayonet installation. Donaldson designed the vent without a valve, rubber flap, or other mechanical device.

Donaldson GM Nathan Malek said, “Our new Dual-Stage Battery Vent is designed to meet the unique requirements of automotive battery packs: the need to protect the battery pack housing from excess over- or under-pressure under normal conditions, and the need to expel large amounts of gases quickly if a thermal runaway event begins within the battery pack.”

22

Canada launches $4.5-million challenge to accelerate battery innovation The Canadian government has announced a new $4.5-million challenge aimed at accelerating made-in-Canada battery innovation to better position the country in the global market.

The Charging the Future Challenge will help accelerate the most promising Canadian battery innovations from lab to market. During the 18-month challenge, five finalists will pitch their concepts to a jury of experts to win up to $700,000 each to develop their battery prototypes.

Ultimately, the most promising battery breakthrough will receive a $1-million grand prize.

The Challenge is one of six clean-tech challenges that are part of the Impact Canada Initiative. Natural Resources Canada designed the challenges to attract a diverse range of problem-solvers to generate breakthrough clean-tech outcomes. NRCan is investing $75 million over four years in several challenges, including Women in Cleantech, The Sky’s the Limit, Power Forward, Crush It!, Indigenous Off-diesel Initiative and Charging the Future.

Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, said, “The Charging the Future Challenge provides an opportunity to showcase Canadian capabilities and spur innovation in a lucrative industry. With global demand for batteries growing, I challenge all Canadian innovators in the battery chain to apply.”

Battery startup Intecells closes Series A funding round Battery manufacturing equipment startup Intecells has closed a Series A funding round led by Walden International and atmospheric plasma technology company Plasmatreat. Founded in 2017, Intecells is a joint venture between Plasmatreat and Architected Batteries Unbound, which licenses battery electrode fabrication technology and cell integration using atmospheric plasma. The startup will use the funding to reduce battery production costs and improve performance, according to Plasmatreat.

Plasmatreat CEO Christian Buske said, “We want to break free from the constraints of conventional battery design and existing production processes to develop a technology [to] significantly increase battery performance and make production more efficient.�

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MAHLE’s new EV thermal system is designed to cut winter range loss Automotive supplier MAHLE has developed a compact heat pump system (Integrated Thermal System, or ITS) that it says can increase winter cruising range for EVs by up to 20%.

Electric vehicles don’t produce the waste heat that ICE vehicles do, so most EVs today rely on direct resistive heating by electric heaters to heat the cabin and battery in winter.

MAHLE warns that this extra load on the drivetrain battery in cold temperatures can reduce the cruising range of a fully charged EV by up to half.

The company’s ITS combines various thermal components into one system. Central to its architecture is a semi-hermetic refrigerant circuit composed of a chiller, a coolant-cooled condenser, a thermal expansion valve, and an electric drive compressor. The ITS uses R1234yf as a refrigerant, and conventional vehicle coolant as the medium for heat transport between the cooling circuit and the various heat sources and sinks in the vehicle.

In field tests with a compact EV, MAHLE says its ITS reduced the loss of cruising range, especially at cold ambient temperatures. Equipped with conventional electric heating, the EV started with a cruising range of 100 kilometers. When the vehicle was equipped with the ITS, the cruising range increased to 116 kilometers.

MAHLE says that in addition to the low cost and environmental benefits, the ITS is flexible and can be adapted to many vehicle architectures. The company is currently running tests on ITS-equipped vehicles in its climatic wind tunnel, and is working with American OEMs on implementing additional performance and cost optimizations.

“With the ITS from MAHLE, we can improve cruising range by between 7% and 20%, depending on the design, which drastically reduces the loss of cruising range in wintertime in particular,” says Laurent Art, Director of Advanced Engineering at MAHLE.

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POWER PCBS

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By Jeffrey Jenkins

n just the last few years there have been some major improvements in printed circuit board technology that are especially relevant to power electronics.

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Arguably the most important of the recent advances is the development of new board substrates that can withstand higher temperatures, along with metal cores for improved heat transfer, and the ability to selectively plate thicker copper onto specific traces, pads or planes for increased current-carrying capability only where it is needed. Getting the most out of these advances will require a deeper understanding of how boards are made in general, as well as working with board vendors and assemblers more closely than might normally be the case for plain vanilla designs.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are made from a wide variety of materials, but the most popular format when high reliability, insulation strength and temperature rating are required (but high RF performance isn’t) is FR-4, in which the substrate is a woven fiberglass cloth impregnated with epoxy. When the substrate is fully cured with copper foil laminated on the top and bottom (or just the top), then it is called a core; if the epoxy is not cured and there is copper on just one side, then it is called a prepreg, and is intended to be hot-pressed against a core to form a multilayer board. For example, a 4-layer board is typically constructed by hot-pressing a prepreg onto either side of a core. The pressure and heat cause the uncured epoxy in the prepreg to bond with the core and complete the crosslinking process that cures it. Most of the time you don’t have to worry too much about the exact details of how a board is made, but two notable exceptions are when you need predictable trace impedance (mainly in RF and high-speed digital), or a high dielectric strength between layers, because the ultimate thickness of the prepreg tends to be thinner than the core, and it is less consistent from board to board.

The two things that most limit the upper temperature rating of a PCB are the difference in coefficients of thermal expansion, CTE, between the copper and the substrate which must be accommodated by the adhesive that joins the

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THE TECH two - and the type of substrate.

For example, the fiberglass cloth 1 Layer Aluminum Metal Core PCB substrate in FR-4 can withstand Cu: 35 μm, Board Thickness: 1.6mm far higher temperatures than any electronic component, but the epoxy resin can’t; thus, the temperature rating is entirely determined by the epoxy. The standard epoxy used in FR-4 has a glass transition temperature, Tg, of 130° C, which is where it goes from being stiff to substantially more flexible and, even worse, also experiences a dramatic increase in its CTE. Prolonged operation near, much less above, Tg will eventually result in board failure from cracked traces, vias being pulled apart, inter-layer shorts and even complete delamination of the copper from the substrate. Despite the fact that leaded solder requires heating to 225° C during infrared reflow soldering to fully wet the joints, problems with standard 130° C Tg FR-4 rarely occurred. When the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives went into effect back in 2006, however, most electronic devices and subassemblies bound for the European Union had to switch over to lead-free solder, which invariably requires a higher reflow temperature - typically 255° C - and produces less reliable joints to boot. This mere 25° increase in reflow temperature was enough to trigger a massive increase in board/joint failures from straying too close (or even above) Tg, so new epoxy formulations were developed (1/32") to 1.6 mm (1/16") - and is most commonly alumithat increased Tg to 170° C. The poorer wetting and overnum or copper. Since the metal core provides substantial all joint reliability of lead-free solder remains, so several rigidity, a very thin dielectric layer can be used between it product categories - including vehicles - are exempt and the copper trace layer(s) to provide electrical insufrom having to use it, and in this case the higher Tg can lation at a much higher thermal conductivity than the be used to advantage in allowing for prolonged operaequivalent thickness of fiberglass and epoxy in standard tion near or above 100° C, something which can allow FR-4. The end result is a dramatic increase in thermal the higher-temperature-rated SiC and GaN semiconducconductivity from a typical value of 0.25 W / m-K (watts tors to be used more nearly to their full potential. per meter-Kelvin) for FR-4 to as high as 3 W / m-K for a Metal core (more formally known as Insulated Metal single-sided metal core board. Note, however, that much Substrate) PCBs take a different approach to thermal of this benefit in improved thermal conductivity is lost in management by improving the thermal conductivity of going to a double-sided board. Another potential gotcha the board itself. This enables the board to transfer heat is that the core itself is obviously electrically conductive, from components to the ambient more efficiently, reducso it is more difficult to ensure good electrical isolation ing the size of additional heatsinks or even eliminating between it and component through-holes or vias. Some them entirely. As the name implies, a metal core board board manufacturers stack all the alternating layers uses a metal plate as the core of the board rather than of copper and dielectric film on one side of the core to fully-cured FR-4. The metal plate is much thicker than maintain the low thermal resistance between the core and the copper foil used for the traces - typically 0.8 mm

Metal core PCBs take a different approach to thermal management by improving the thermal conductivity of the board itself.

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a heatsink and sidestep the via/ hole insulation issue, but this comes at the expense of a higher thermal resistance between a heat-generating component (which will be on the outermost layer, of course) and the core.

Thus, metal core PCBs are probably best reserved for relatively simple power electronics devices which don’t have to worry too much about signal integrity issues or maintain tight control over parasitic inductances and capacitances (such as LED lights, for one notable - and likely most popular - example).

Boards that can withstand higher temperatures or shed heat more efficiently are certainly welcome improvements to power electronics engineers, but the big Kahuna is the ability to carry more current for a given trace width, and that is what heavy (and “extreme”) copper PCBs deliver. The most common thickness of the copper in the finished board is 1 ounce per square foot, which corresponds to 35 um, respectively (or 1.378 mils per ounce weight). The ampacity of a trace is a function of area, allowed temperature rise, and whether it is on the surface or internal to a board. For external traces an empirically derived equation found in the PCB design directives document, IPC2221A, is most commonly used: Ampacity = 0.048 * dT0.44 * (1550 * A)0.725 Where dT is temperature rise in° C and A is area in mm2. A typical allowed temperature rise is 10 to 20° C, so an 8 mil (0.2032 mm) wide “signal level”

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For designs based around power semiconductor modules, going with the top end of heavy copper can allow the PCB to act as a laminated bus structure with the usual benefits of dramatically lower stray inductance and easy assembly. trace on the external layer of a 1 oz board can handle around 0.75 to 1 A (DC or RMS), which is kind of impressive, really, for such a dinky trace. Bumping that up to 6.35 mm (250 mils) - which would be a typical width going to a pad on a TO-247 package semiconductor - only increases the ampacity to around 12.4 A, however, which rather starkly illustrates what a losing battle it is to rely only on trace width for ampacity.

Hence the motivation behind the development of heavy and extreme copper boards, where “heavy” is typically defined as 4-20 oz / s.f. (0.140.7 mm thick) while “extreme” is anything above that (typically 100 oz / s.f., though one vendor goes up to 200 oz / s.f., or 7 mm thick!). For boards that mainly have TO-220 or TO-247 power devices, going up to 10 oz (0.35 mm) copper is most reasonable, as that boosts the ampacity of a 0.25" trace to 65.8 A, which is about as much as a TO-247 package device can handle, anyway. For designs based around power semiconductor modules (IGBT or MOSFET half-bridges and the like), going with the top end of heavy or even to extreme copper can allow the PCB to act as a laminated bus structure with the usual benefits of dramatically lower stray inductance and easy assembly (with a concomitant reduction in labor cost).

There are three ways to increase the thickness of the copper on a PCB: using a thicker foil for the blank board in the first place; plating additional copper onto the post-

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PCB sample from Epec Engineered Technologies featuring 2oz, 10oz, 20oz, and 30oz copper features on the same layer.

Cross Section of PCB Outerlayer After Etching

etched board; or plating additional copper onto just the traces and pads which actually carry high current. The first approach rapidly becomes untenable with increasing copper thickness: starting with a blank copper foil 0.7 mm thick (to say nothing of 7 mm!) then etching it down to the substrate to form individual tracks would take an uneconomically long time, and also result in severe undercutting of the traces. Consequently, plating more copper onto the already drilled and etched board would seem to be the preferred process, though the main caveat here is that copper will also deposit onto the side walls of the traces and plated-through holes, reducing the spacing between traces and potentially closing up the holes.

Hence more generous “trace/space” rules are required with heavy and extreme copper boards.

A related issue is that the minimum size for pads, traces and vias increases with finished copper weight, until it

Photo courtesy of Epec Engineered Technologies

www.epectec.com

becomes impossible to accommodate smaller components (reliably, anyway). However, both of the aforementioned issues are ameliorated, if not eliminated, by selectively plating heavy copper onto only those traces which need it. Now a board can have, say, 10 oz copper for the power circuitry and 1 oz Cu for the support circuitry that needs to be in close proximity, such as gate drivers, feedback signal conditioning, etc. This sounds like an ideal solution, except for three major issues: neither PCB CAD software, solder paste stencil printers, nor pick-and-place machines have ever had to contend with different copper thicknesses on one board before. Depending on the CAD software and P-n-P machine it might be possible to kludge your way around this, but there’s no good way to use a standard stencil printer to apply the solder paste, which means applying it dot by dot, one pad at a time. A final downside is the price of selective heavy copper (and, to a lesser extent, standard heavy/extreme copper): at least one board vendor warns that the cost might be unpalatable for all but military and aerospace applications, which is generally a huge red flag for the rest of us.

Still, the potential reduction in assembly labor (except for solder paste application), along with improved heat dissipation and tighter integration of power and support circuits could (eventually) outweigh the higher cost of selective heavy/extreme copper to the point that it is compelling even for the infamously costsensitive, such as automotive suppliers.

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CABLE SIZING AND SELECTION FOR EV SYSTEMS

By Paul Beck

Why Champlain Cable backs irradiation cross-linking for high-voltage EV cable insulation

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hen you think of what makes up an EV, cables and wires probably aren’t the first components that come to mind. But these conduits comprise the electrical cardiovascular system that makes a vehicle function - from the battery to the motor and all the stops in between.

Both wires (single conductors) and cables (bundles of conductors) must be chosen with care for any electrical system - EVs especially. How much current must the wires support? Is it constant or intermittent? What type of insulation is needed? What’s the temperature around the wires, and is there any air flow? How many cables are running together? Are they creating elec-

An EXRAD cable cut and stripped in a Schleuniger CoaxStrip 6580 stripping machine.

Photo courtesy of Schleuniger

tromagnetic interference that could disrupt sensitive electronics? How long should the cables last? The list goes on.

The answers to these questions will determine the type of cable needed for an EV application. Even in this context, the solution may vary: a consumer EV will have different requirements than an electric bus will, for instance. Either way, in the automotive realm, weight is critical. After an EV’s powertrain and chassis, cable and wire harnesses are among the heaviest components. If you can reduce the size and weight of your wire and cable harnesses, you can improve the range of your vehicle.

Cable considerations Richard Antic of cable manufacturer Champlain Cable points out one of the primary considerations for an EV cable system: the heat it must withstand over the expected life of the electrical system.

“OEMs are balancing the performance of the cable with the heat that’s going to be generated over the life of the vehicle,” Antic told Charged. “And there are different factors

OEMs are balancing the performance of the cable with the heat that’s going to be generated over the life of the vehicle. to consider across different EV/HEV platforms.”

Exposure to heat weakens cables over time, so the usable life of a cable system is determined, in part, by the cumulative heat exposure to which the cables are exposed. As Antic puts it, the higher the temperature, the faster usable life is withdrawn from the cable. You can think of cable life like a savings account. Say a brandnew cable starts with $1,000 in the bank. Low thermal exposure withdraws money slowly, perhaps pennies at a time, whereas higher thermal exposure withdraws money dollars or tens of dollars at a time. Eventually, the cable has lost too much of its original properties, and is more

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Different cables have different temperature ratings depending on the insulation material used.

Cables with polyvinylchloride (PVC) insulation are typically rated for 90° to 105° C. Insulation made from elastomers like thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and many cross-linked polyethylenes (XLPE) are rated up to 125° C. Irradiation XLPE is rated up to 150° C. At the top of the charts, both silicone and cross-linked fluoroelastomers (XLFEs) are rated at up to 200°.

Heat exposure that exceeds a cable’s rated temperatures will start making larger withdrawals from its “savings account.”

But it’s not just a matter of looking up the temperature rating and selecting the matching cable. Each insulation material comes with its own tradeoffs. For example, although it can withstand extremely high temperatures, XLFE is often too stiff to use in EV/ HEV battery cables. Conversely, silicone, while very flexible, may not have the thin diameter, mechanical strength or battery acid resistance required; or perhaps outgassing is a concern. TPU has great water resistance, but its thermal life, dielectric and cutting/stripping properties may not make it the optimal choice. PVC on the other hand, is inexpensive and flexible, but its thermal ceiling is generally too low for many EV/HEV applications.

Choosing a cable Cable sizing is determined by a number of factors, including current draw and temperature rise created by the current as it runs through the conductor; cable temperature rating; and as other thermal factors such as air flow, other sources of heat, etc.

“Every customer, when they’re designing their system, eventually understands what their power requirements are going to be,” explained Antic. “Let’s say it’s a city bus.

You’re designing around a worst-case scenario. So you calculate the power based on the drive system and the weight of the bus with all the passengers and luggage on board. And what happens if you’re in Phoenix heat? What happens if you’re going up a mountain, drawing maximum power? The OEM will eventually get their footprint of what their power needs are going to be, which is the

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It’s not just a matter of looking up the temperature rating and selecting the matching cable. Each insulation material comes with its own trade-offs. first piece of the puzzle.”

When working to determine a cabling solution, companies like Champlain Cable typically use industry standards such as IEC 60287 (Calculation of the continuous current rating of cables) as a starting point.

Champlain also references additional standards such as ISO-6722-1 (Dimensions, test methods and requirements for copper conductor cables) and ISO-19642-5 and -9 (Road vehicles - Automotive cables), and often supplements design decisions with physical simulations, testing cables with the necessary current and heat requirements to ensure they perform as required.

“On occasion, we have built test fixtures to simulate a customer’s cable routing,” Antic said. “We even perform

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Images courtesy of Champlain Cable

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The irradiation cross-linking process uses a stream of electrons to remove a hydrogen atom along the polymer chain, causing the reacted site to link to another such site, transforming a thermoplastic material into a thermoset material.

testing in ovens to simulate hot zones, and then we apply current through the cables and measure temperature rise over time. We test different scenarios to help validate temperature/ampacity modeling.”

Irradiation cross-linked polyethylene Champlain Cable’s solution for EV cable insulation is irradiation crosslinked polyethylene, or XLPE, using the brand name EXRAD. Polyethylene is a polymer consisting of a chain of one carbon atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. Base polyethylene is a thermoplastic, meaning it will soften or melt when excessive heat is applied. However, it can be made into a physically robust thermoset via compound formulation and a process called irradiation cross-linking.

“It’s a simple molecular reaction, but it takes a complex machine and exacting processes to get it done right,” Antic explained. “The cable is bombarded with high-energy electrons, and a molecular reaction takes place that links the molecules of material together, and once they link together, they cannot unlink. It is a permanent change.”

Antic uses the analogy of a tower of wooden Jenga blocks. Regular polyethylene is like a Jenga tower - it’s stable at first, but if you pull out enough blocks (apply enough heat) the whole thing crashes down. However, it’s a different story if the Jenga blocks refuse to be pulled apart.

“We randomly ‘nail’ the Jenga blocks together under the irradiation beam, and you can’t pull them out anymore. They don’t release. They’re stuck in place. That’s essentially what irradiation cross-linking does to the molecules of insulation.”

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When polyethylene is bombarded with high-energy electrons, some hydrogen atoms are knocked out of place.

This allows two carbon atoms to bond together, creating what’s called a C-C cross link. These cross links are like nails in the Jenga blocks, holding the tower in place.

“Once irradiation is complete, a number of things have happened,” Antic said. “The temperature profile has improved. If there’s excess heat, it won’t melt. The cut-through, pinch, crush and abrasion resistance are improved, the dielectric strength gets stronger, and fluid resistance improves. All the attributes you want a highvoltage EV cable to have.”

Cutting cables down to size The physical properties of irradiation cross-linked polyethylene cables help EV system designers achieve one of their key goals: weight reduction. Because irradiation XLPEs can withstand higher heat than PVC, TPU, or 125° C XLPE insulations, Champlain says they can be used in conjunction with less copper. And because of its high physical strength, thinner walls can be used to insulate the conductor. The bottom line is that irradiation XLPE

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Because irradiation XLPE’s can withstand higher heat than PVC, TPU, or 125°C XLPE insulations, Champlain says it can be used in conjunction with less copper. cables can be both smaller, highly flexible, and - the real prize - lighter than other cabling solutions.

“We assisted with a weight reduction project with [an automotive OEM] by providing data that proved to them they could move from a larger size, 125° C cable to a smaller size, 150° C cable” Antic said. “That’s one of the many optimization opportunities we try to bring to bear.

So the cable was changed from 125° to 150°, and from a 35 square-millimeter [cross section] down to a 25 squaremillimeter. For EVs, every ounce you drive out of the vehicle is just a little bit more range.”

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GROUNDBREAKING

GLUE EuroGroup Laminations says its new gluing technology will improve motor efficiency and reshape electric machine design. New results show as much as 44% core loss reductions for the same steel and lamination thickness.

By Michael Kent

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any design decisions in the EV industry are still driven by range. Engineers remain focused on delivering system efficiency improvements, because it directly translates into delivering more range without increasing the size and cost of the battery pack.

In the field of electric motor design, automakers are continually pushing suppliers to achieve the next level of torque, speed and efficiency. To get there, engineers are incorporating new steel formulations, manufacturing techniques and the latest and greatest motor designs and topologies.

At the heart of the motor are soft magnetic materials called electrical steels. They’re typically manufactured by steel mills in cold-rolled strips, then stamped into precisely-shaped thin laminations, which are stacked together to form the stator and rotor of a motor.

EuroGroup Laminations is a company that focuses on the production of high-tech stators and rotors to power a variety of applications, including the booming EV industry. The company works with all the major automakers and has a truly global reach, with facilities across the globe.

One of the group’s partners in Japan, Kuroda Precision Industries, has developed a groundbreaking system using glue to firmly fasten laminations together, making it possible to automatically stack the metal sheets inside the die and maintain excellent magnetic properties.

The new technique, called GlueFastec, is ideal for working with very thin lamination steel.

In the EV industry, there is a trend toward using thinner and thinner laminations, because the thinner you make the electrical steel, the better the magnetic characteristics of the core pack. However, these tightening specs have presented significant engineering challenges in manufacturing, as highspeed stamping and stacking of thin materials required process innovation.

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The new technique, called GlueFastec, is ideal for working with very thin lamination steel.

R&D undertaking Since 2016, Eurotranciatura México - another of the company’s subsidiaries, located in Santa Rosa Jáuregui, Mexico - has been charged with the study and development of Kuroda’s GlueFastec to decrease losses in electric motors across a range of applications.

EuroGroup Laminations funded unique R&D laboratories in its Queretaro, Mexico, facility devoted to measuring core loss, with physical test benches and proprietary simulation programs.

Core loss in a magnetic core is associated with two factors: hysteresis loss due to iron grain damage and mechanical stress; and eddy current losses (also called Foucault current) due to short circuits between laminations that oppose themselves to magnetic flow.

Some published research has shown that “iron loss accounts for 34% of total losses in induction motors and up to 59% of total losses in high-speed permanent magnet motors,” as Andreas Krings writes in a 2014 doctoral thesis. That research, completed at the KTH School of Electrical Engineering in Stockholm, showed that “at higher speeds, iron losses due to the fast-changing magnetic fields become the major loss component.”

These findings underline the importance of the EuroGroup initiative, and the company says its

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Figure 1: Typical losses in different electrical machines working at different sizes and speeds

The work reveals improvements, dependent on design, ranging from 15% to 44% core loss reductions for the same steel and lamination thickness.

R&D effort has paid off with a new generation of electric motor designs, both in the fast-growing EV sector and in the traditional industrial motor industry.

The R&D project’s first results, obtained in 2017, demonstrated a 15% decrease in core loss when an interlock core stacking method (one common production technique) is replaced with GlueFastec technology.

The latest results, soon to be published in a peerreviewed journal, compare three production methods: interlock versus glue in EV stators; cleated versus glue in industrial stators; and interlock-welded versus glue in EV stators. The work reveals improvements, dependent on design, ranging from 15% to 44% core loss reductions for the same steel and lamination thickness.

Figure 2 shows three conventional stacking methods that hold steel laminations together: interlocking,

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Welding

Figure 2: Conventional core lamination stacking methods (sketches and photographic or metallographic images)

cleating and welding. Metallographic images reveal iron grain damage as well as reduction in size and homogeneity, while inter lamina contacts (short circuits) are shown in sketches and photography.

Reducing mechanical stress while maintaining high-speed assembly EuroGroup says that GlueFastec technology can further improve motor efficiency as it allows high-speed stamping and assembly of thin materials, without adding further mechanical stress.

“Other glue techniques for an iron core have been around for many years,” Mario Villalon, Technological Innovation Director for Eurotranciatura México, told Charged. “However, one of the big innovations of GlueFastec is the cure time. Other glues take a very long

Images courtesy of EuroGroup

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WWW.RUBADUE.COM | +1 970.351.6100

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MANUFACTURING CUSTOM ENGINEERED WIRE & CABLE PRODUCTS FOR OVER 40 YEARS

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Figure 3: Core loss comparison at ƒ=800 Hz of interlock-welded (green) to glue (blue) EV stators, showing a core loss reduction of 44% at magnetic flux density Bmax=1 Tesla

One of the big innovations of GlueFastec is the cure time. The key to our technology is that it cures so fast that you can integrate it into the blanking process. time to cure. They need to be placed in an oven and cured for hours.

The key to our technology is that it cures so fast that you can integrate it into the blanking process.”

EuroGroup explains that, unlike traditional gluing processes, which are inconsistent with mass production of electrical machines, GlueFastec adhesive is applied in the blanking process and cures at room temperature in less than 3 minutes, with sufficient adhesion to be handled within the blanking process.

This process is proving to be ideal for very thin laminations, because the glue can bond stacks together without deforming the delicate stampings of electric steel. “In other processes that are traditionally used for core manufacturing, mechanical fixtures are used for stacking methods that hold the laminations together,” explained Villalon. “Those methods will stress the lamination in a mechanical sense. So when the laminations are too thin, you start to see deformations that you will not be able to control. But using this new glue and stacking method, you never stress the lamination - that’s a big advantage of using it.”

The company’s research shows that consistency of dimensional ac-

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Now we’re working very hard to employ it in new designs and production. We’ve already won some very important contracts with GlueFastec, and we’re moving very fast. curacy is improved, and in addition to creating an insulating layer, which contributes to significantly decreasing magnetic losses, GlueFastec was found to reduce acoustic noise by up to 5 times when compared to interlocking, as well as reducing vibration and increasing water resistance.

Figure 3 shows a typical result obtained when the core loss of interlock-welded versus glued EV stators was compared at a frequency of 800 Hz and magnetic density of 1 Tesla.

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Real-world implications With the global EV market expected to reach $912 billion by 2026 (according to Polaris Market Research), these efficiency gains could translate into a great business. EuroGroup says every automaker that is producing EVs is keen to learn more about GlueFastec, because EV designers could use the improvements to increase EV range, use fewer batteries for the same range, or increase vehicle performance.

Outside the EV industry, EuroGroup is also optimistic about the ability for GlueFastec to increase efficiency and lower power consumption for consumer products, aid industrial motors in meeting increasing efficiency standards, and offer motor designers the ability to achieve the same performance while using lower-grade steels.

Images courtesy of EuroGroup

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EuroGroup innovation teams as part of the customer’s design team.

Electric drivetrain designers must address many parameters, including electrical efficiency, noise, vibration and mechanical integrity. EuroGroup says that the inherent concept of GlueFastec is ideally suited to help meet all of those demands.

To support its global partners, the company has developed a multi-discipline systemic approach to clarify the benefits of the GlueFastec core’s magnetic efficiency on a caseby-case basis.

“We spent the last year sharing the research results with our partners and customers.

The concept of GlueFastec when employed in the original design concept has benefits not only associated with core loss,” said Villalon. “Now we’re working very hard to employ it in new designs and production. We’ve already won some very important contracts with GlueFastec, and we’re moving very fast.”

The company has established state-of-the-art laboratories to allow new electric machine designs to take advantage of core loss improvement. The company’s worldwide network is using a systemic approach to produce more efficient magnetic iron cores in one single process step, automatically, and fully integrated with industry 4.0 connectivity.

Photos courtesy of Porsche

THE VEHICLES

The most powerful Porsche Cayenne is a plug-in hybrid The PHEV variants of the new Porsche Cayenne, the Turbo S E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid Coupé, are the most powerful versions of the luxury automaker’s popular SUV. The PHEVs draw 500 kW from a four-liter V8 engine coupled with an electric motor that is integrated into the eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission. Both the standard and coupé models accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 295 km/h (183 mph). In comparison, the Cayenne Turbo, which features the four-liter V8 without an electric motor, accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of 286 km/h.

The Cayenne’s electric motor is located between the engine and the transmission. The engine and motor are interconnected via a separating clutch inside the hybrid module, referred to as the Electric Clutch Actuator. In E-Power driving mode, the electric motor can, on its own, propel the vehicle up to a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) and for up to 40 kilometers. Drivers can also utilize the electric motor in the other modes for an additional power boost.

The 14.1 kWh Li-ion battery is installed underneath the trunk floor.

Owners can charge the battery in 2.4 hours with the standard 7.2 kW onboard AC charger when using a 400-volt connection with a 16-amp fuse.

Charging takes six hours with a conventional 220-volt home charger.

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Colorado adopts California zero-emissions vehicle mandate Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) voted 8-1 to approve the state’s adoption of the zero-emissions vehicle mandate. Colorado became the 11th state to join California’s ZEV program.

According to the state’s Air Pollution Control Division (yes, this is a separate agency from the AQCC), automakers will be required to make ZEVs 4.9% of the cars sold in Colorado in 2023, and this figure will increase to 6.1% by 2030.

Governor Jared Polis pushed for the adoption of the ZEV mandate mainly to address the state’s dismal air quality. The Denver metro area is the 12th most polluted city in the nation, according to the American Lung Association, and has been out of compliance with federal air-quality standards since 2008.

Commissioner Tom Gonzales, the lone anti-adoption vote on the AQCC, said he knows something must be done about air pollution, but he’s concerned that the ZEV policy doesn’t address the impact on auto dealerships. “They get these cars, they hopefully will sell and that’s great.

But what if they don’t? That’s where I get concerned…Is this enforceable?”

The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association opposed the measure, citing the issue of consumer choice. Almost 80 percent of vehicles sold in the state this year have been pickups and SUVs. “EVs haven’t made inroads in this category, so options aren’t there for consumers,” said Executive Director Tim Jackson.

Governor Polis addressed the issue of limited EV choices: “In one of my first executive orders as governor, I asked for the Department of Public Health and Environment to increase the choices Coloradans have when it comes to purchasing electric cars by increasing the number of models available in our state, and we got it done within a few short months. It’s only the beginning. Colorado must continue to reduce smog and increase consumer choice.”

In July, major automakers made a deal with the state to allow them to earn credits for EVs sold before the regulation comes into full force in 2023. They can also use a limited number of credits earned in other states.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers hailed the compromise, saying, “We are extremely appreciative that the Polis administration worked with automakers and other stakeholders to find an innovative alternative regulatory proposal that will implement the ZEV program in Colorado.”

“There’s value to compromise and bringing the automakers on board,” said Garry Kaufman, Director of the Air Pollution Control Division. “A lot of the challenges now are how to go to the next step, and those are really going to require the automakers’ active participation.”

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Proterra launches program to help OEMs build EVs for commercial fleets California-based electric bus maker Proterra has launched a new program, Proterra Powered, to help automakers manufacture their own electric fleet vehicles.

Proterra designs and manufactures battery systems, electric drivetrain technology, and standardized, heavy-duty charging systems for commercial vehicle applications. As part of Proterra Powered, the company will provide OEMs with the electrification hardware as well as design consulting, engineering services and integration, service support, training, and charging infrastructure implementation.

Proterra has already partnered with Daimler, Belgian coach maker Van Hool, and British bus maker Alexander Dennis to introduce battery-electric vehicles powered by Proterra technology. Proterra and Thomas Built Buses, a US-based school bus manufacturer, have unveiled a new electric school bus, the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley.

Proterra CEO Ryan Popple said, “As more OEMs adopt EV technology for their vehicles, Proterra is uniquely positioned to be the best electrification partner because of our years of experience testing and evolving our battery system, drivetrains and charging systems through the deployment of our Proterra Catalyst transit vehicles, with vehicles on the road all across North America.”

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Photo courtesy of Volvo Penta

Photo courtesy of Proterra

THE VEHICLES

Volvo Penta showcases electric terminal tractor At a recent port and terminal technology trade show in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Volvo Penta showcased an electric terminal tractor retrofitted with an electric driveline that borrowed technologies from Volvo’s electric buses and trucks.

Volvo Penta has been active in establishing its presence in the EV industry, aiming to offer electrified power solutions by 2021. In February, the company announced it would provide the electric driveline for Austrian manufacturer Rosenbauer’s first electric fire truck and the propulsion system for Gothenburg’s electric ferry.

Volvo Penta CTO Peter Granqvist said, “We are seeing that certain electric applications are reaching a point where they are providing a lower total cost of ownership than diesel engines. Material handling is a promising segment for electrification due to its high machine utilization and greater accessibility to charging. We therefore decided to create a proof of concept for this segment in order to [incorporate] market feedback into our development.”

He added, “Our approach going forward will center around close collaboration with OEMs and operators.

With deep application knowledge, our solutions will be fit for purpose and adapted to customer needs. We take a full systems supplier approach, using our global aftermarket service network to take responsibility for the full system installation.”

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THE VEHICLES

AstraZeneca joins EV100 initiative, pledges to Bye Aerospace tests eFlyer 2 prototype with 90 kW Siemens transition its 16,000 vehicles to EVs motor E-plane startup Bye Aerospace has begun flight tests of its two-seat eFlyer 2 prototype, equipped with a new 90 kW Siemens SP70D production motor.

The new motor weighs 57 pounds and features a 90 kW peak rating (120 hp) and a continuous power rating of 70 kW (94 hp). In addition to the new motor, Bye Aerospace added an additional battery pack, an updated cowling, a new spinner, and a charging port. The company is also evaluating a new three-blade developmental propeller from Hartzell.

Colorado-based Bye hopes its eFlyer family of aircraft, beginning with the 2-seat eFlyer 2, will be the first FAA-certified all-electric planes to serve the flight training and general aviation markets.

“During the prototype eFlyer 2 flight tests that began on July 17, the new Siemens production motor met or exceeded expectations in all performance indicator areas,” said Bye Aerospace CEO George E Bye. “These important tests are validating the eFlyer’s operating economy, efficiency, and performance while producing no CO2.”

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Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will join EV100, The Climate Group’s business initiative on electric vehicles. Through the initiative, AstraZeneca pledges to transition its fleet of 16,000 vehicles to EVs. AstraZeneca is the 50th business and first global healthcare company to join EV100, which now includes companies representing $900 billion in annual turnover and 2.8 million employees, according to The Climate Group. AstraZeneca expects its switch to EVs to displace 80,000 metric tons of CO2 annually beginning in 2030.

Helen Clarkson, The Climate Group CEO, said, “When a pharmaceutical company says we need to go electric to help everyone breathe clean air, every business with a fleet needs to listen. This is a great example of a company addressing the global climate and air pollution crisis.”

Katarina Ageborg, AstraZeneca’s EVP of Sustainability and Chief Compliance Officer, said, “Recognizing the link between a healthy environment and human health, we believe that by investing in electric vehicles and emissions-reduction initiatives, we can help reduce the burden of respiratory diseases and other air pollution-related conditions.”

Photo courtesy of Solaris

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Milan to purchase up to 250 Solaris electric buses ATM Milano, the transit operator of Milan, Italy, has announced that it will phase out diesel buses by 2030 and use â‚Ź194 million (around $216 million) to purchase up to 250 electric buses, beginning with 40 from Polish producer Solaris. Delivery is scheduled to begin in June 2020.

ATM Milano has selected Solaris’s Urbino 12 model. The 12-meter, 240 kWh buses have space for 26 seated passengers and a total capacity of 82 people.

ATM Milano already has 25 electric Solaris buses in operation.

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Lightning Systems receives OK to sell its all-electric Ford F-59 in California Colorado-based Lightning Systems, a developer of zero-emission drivetrains for commercial fleets, has received an Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its Ford F-59 platform, confirming that the vehicles have met emissions and efficiency standards and can be legally sold in the state.

The latest Lightning Electric powertrain for the Ford F-59 chassis is available for all F-59 variants. Lightning Systems offers the platform in 80-mile and 110-mile range versions. The vehicle produces a peak power of 180 kW, a torque rating of 1,071 Nm (790 lb-ft), and a top speed of 65 MPH (software limited).

According to Lightning, charging takes about 2 hours (80-mile range) or 2.5 hours (110-mile range) with the DC fast charging option (using standard CCS Combo charging).

As a fleet vehicle, Lightning System’s Ford F-59 will be eligible for incentives through CARB’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Fleets receive the voucher discount at the point of sale while HVIP-approved vendors and dealers process the required documentation. Eligible California customers can receive up to $100,000 in HVIP voucher amounts to go towards the price of the F-59.

“Our customers have been asking for this platform because the Ford F-59 chassis is economical, high quality, and widely used by our customers in delivery truck and food truck applications,” said Lightning Systems CEO Tim Reeser. “We can now offer the platform with significant savings to our California customers by taking advantage of the HVIP vouchers currently available.”

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Photos courtesy of Rivian and Ford

THE VEHICLES

Ford’s collaboration with Rivian is just one of three paths to electrification The American automakers’ plug-in programs may seem to have stalled, but both GM and Ford have exciting things bubbling beneath the surface, which are expected to burst forth sometime in the next couple of years.

Ford has said it plans to invest $11.5 billion to introduce 40 electrified vehicles by 2022, of which 16 will be pure EVs (the perennial skeptic notes that some of these may be sold only in China). A recent article in MotorTrend reports that the company is pursuing three different paths to this goal, working on its own EV architecture while also cooperating with Volkswagen with an eye to the European market, and with startup Rivian on plans for pickups and SUVs. “They’re all teaching us different things, and the platform rationalization may come years later,” Ford CEO Jim Hackett told MotorTrend.

Michigan-based Rivian has generated a lot of buzz with impressive prototypes of an electric pickup and SUV, which the company hopes to bring to production in late 2020. Ford has invested $500 million in Rivian, and plans to use the company’s “skateboard” chassis, which includes the battery pack, electric motors and other electric powertrain components, as the basis for a new

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vehicle. “Rivian is a really special thing that’s teaching us about merging not only the powertrain, but the architecture that the ECUs [electronic control units] and other things connect to,” Hackett told MotorTrend. “So think of it as architecture for the operating system of the vehicle.”

Ford may develop its own body for the new model, which Hackett hinted would be an SUV, but Rivian will probably assemble the entire vehicle. “It would be counterproductive for us to try and make what they have capacity to do in the beginning here, because they’ve got a factory in Illinois that meets a lot of our criteria,” Hackett said.

Meanwhile, Ford has made a deal with Volkswagen to use the German automaker’s new MEB platform to build a small front-wheel-drive EV for the European market, starting in 2023. “The small cars on MEB are not for North America,” Hackett told MotorTrend. Ford hopes to sell 600,000 MEB-based vehicles in Europe over six years.

Ford is also proceeding with its in-house electrification plans. The company says it will eventually offer hybrid options for all its major product lines. It has teased a Mustang hybrid as well as a pure electric SUV with Mustang styling, slated to appear in 2020. An F-150 hybrid is also due in 2020, and a fully electric F-Series pickup is in the works. In a recent video, a prototype electric F-150 towed 10 double-decker rail cars with a load of 1.25 million pounds, as a group of hard-core truck guys rode along and made impressed noises.

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Alexander Dennis launches double-deck hybrid bus with extended electric range British bus and coach manufacturer Alexander Dennis has launched the Enviro400ER Electric Range, a double-deck hybrid bus that can run up to three miles in electric mode. Built in partnership with BAE Systems, the Enviro400ER’s lithium nickel manganese cobalt battery has a capacity of 32 kWh. Arthur Whiteside, Managing Director of UK Sales at Alexander Dennis, said, “Improving air quality is on everyone’s agenda and Alexander Dennis supports these efforts with the market’s widest range of low- and zeroemission buses. Our new Electric Range option offers a highly cost-effective way of introducing zero-emissions capability with no need to change operational practices.”

Ian Wilson, Director of Business Development at BAE Systems, said, “Our proven Electric Range hybrid technology provides an innovative and practical solution that is used in thousands of buses worldwide. This system delivers low-emission operation wherever there is emerging demand for clean air zones, without the complication and expense of charging infrastructure.”

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Photo courtesy of Ports of Auckland

Photo courtesy of Alexander Dennis

THE VEHICLES

Ports of Auckland buys electric tugboat Ports of Auckland has purchased an electric tugboat called the Damen RSD-E Tug 2513. The boat features a 70-ton bollard pull, estimated lifespan of 25 years, and an initial price tag roughly double that of a diesel tugboat, according to Tony Gibson, CEO of Ports of Auckland.

However, the operating cost of an e-tug is expected to be less than one third that of a diesel tug, saving Ports of Auckland some $12 million over the life of the boat.

Gibson said the Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 can perform three to four hours of work on a single charge, which takes about two hours.

“In 2016 we set ourselves the goal of being zero-emission by 2040,” Gibson said. “However, setting that goal created a tough challenge. We have a lot of heavy equipment, like s, and in 2016 there were no zero-emission options.”

James Shaw, New Zealand’s Minister for Climate Change, said, “People who say we have to wait for the technology to emerge before we can set ourselves bold goals have got it round the wrong way. Many of the challenges we face with climate change will require solutions that aren’t yet on the market. Ports of Auckland and an increasing number of other businesses across New Zealand are showing that won’t stop them finding ways to meet our goals on greenhouse gas emission reductions.”

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THE VEHICLES

Photo courtesy of Lincoln

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2020

LINCOLN AVIATOR GRAND TOURING The PHEV adds more power, more torque and better performance - with little mention of a plug.

SEP/OCT 2019

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THE VEHICLES

Photos courtesy of Lincoln

By John Voelcker

I

t’s a brutal truth: in key coastal markets like California and the Northeast, the Lincoln brand has all but vanished from any discussion of luxury vehicles. In fact, Lincoln execs admit it outright.

Like crosstown rival Cadillac, Lincoln has struggled to break the hammerlock hold on hearts and minds enjoyed by the German trio of Audi, BMW and MercedesBenz, along with Lexus, Volvo and a few other brands.

Note that luxury makes now sell as many utility vehicles in the US as they do traditional sedans, so SUVs now outweigh those sedans in importance and profits.

However, Ford has had a good long think about what Lincoln should be, and its first new utility vehicle has now emerged from that process. It’s the Aviator, a midsize three-row luxury SUV that sits below the hulking Navigator in the lineup, and revives a name that the brand used briefly a decade ago.

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For the first time, Lincoln is offering a plug-in hybrid version of one of its vehicles.

The Aviator shares brand-new underpinnings with the latest Ford Explorer, though Lincoln engineers take pains to detail some of the hundreds of changes made to the suspension, powertrain, and dozens of other mechanical aspects so the Lincoln would be suitably luxurious. And, for the first time, Lincoln is offering a plug-in hybrid version of one of its vehicles. This version of the Aviator has no Explorer counterpart in the US (A plug-in hybrid Ford Explorer is built in their shared Chicago assembly plant, mind you, but it’s intended only for European buyers. It can’t be ordered in North America.)

THE VEHICLES

Photos courtesy of Lincoln

Plug? What plug?

There’s just one problem with the Aviator Grand Touring, as the plug-in model of the new SUV is known: Lincoln doesn’t plan to say much about the plug to actual buyers - if anything at all.

The word “plug” didn’t appear in product information or marketing materials shown to editors on an August launch drive event. A fact sheet did have a single photo showing a charging cord plugged in. The test vehicles we drove came with fully charged batteries, but did not include portable charging cords - and Lincoln staff said not a word about recharging, plugging in, or how any of that might be accomplished. Those are usually standard parts of any plug-in hybrid launch.

Instead, Lincoln presents the battery, electric motor and power electronics solely as a way to add more power, more torque and better performance. The Grand Touring is essentially offered as a pricier, higher-performance engine option on the mid-range and top trim levels of the Aviator.

A template for future Lincoln styles The Aviator is the first all-new Lincoln sport utility in several years, so it offered designers a chance to show off what the reborn brand intended to be. The design-

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The word “plug” didn’t appear in product information or marketing materials shown to editors on an August launch drive event. ers of the larger truck-based Navigator that preceded the newer vehicle could only add a limited number of Lincoln styling cues to the basic shape and package of the equally massive Ford Expedition.

The Aviator shares no sheet metal with the square-cut Ford Explorer. Commendably, it steps back from the massive, hulking Navigator in style, with a roofline that

descends toward the rear, and a sloped tailgate. The front end, with the latest grille that ties together all new Lincolns, is restrained and elegant. It won’t make other drivers nervous when it looms in their rear-view mirrors, which we think is a good thing.

Inside, a large horizontal screen sits above a low dash with chunky, chrometrimmed vents and switchgear. Most controls sit in the angled console below, with a row of paddles for gear selection between them. Front seats are well-bolstered, comfortable, and almost infinitely adjustable. The second row is suitably comfortable, and while the third row will accommodate full-size American adults who can climb back into it, it’s better suited to children and athletic teens.

The top trim level, known as Black Label, offers a quiet profusion of stitched leather upholstery, wood trim if you want it, and more features

THE VEHICLES than we can even begin to list. The top-of-the-line massaging seats alone would require a couple of paragraphs to describe properly.

The overall effect is quiet, confident American luxury, to adapt language often used by Lincoln executives. The brand isn’t trying to out-German the German makes, but to offer an alternative. The result is quietly appealing, without the bling of top Cadillacs or the slightly severe mien of an Audi or BMW.

Big SUV, big power Both Aviator powertrains use a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, driving either the rear or all four wheels through a 10-speed conventional automatic transmission. The difference in the plug-in hybrid Grand Touring model is that a 75 kW (101 hp) electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. (Lincoln stresses that 90 percent of the transmission’s parts are shared between the two variants.)

The plug-in Aviator is powered by a 13.6 kWh lithiumion battery pack under the right-hand rear cabin floor and seat, containing 96 pouch cells from LG Chem. That pack is liquid-cooled and heated as necessary, unlike the air-cooled batteries in Ford’s earlier hybrid vehicles.

The Lincoln marketing staff sped quickly through charging times and didn’t specify a rating for the onboard charger, though it’s likely 6.6 kW. A conventional Level 2 charging station will take 3 to 4 hours to recharge a depleted battery, and it’ll be 6 to 10 hours on a household 120-volt circuit.

Lincoln scored a bit of a PR coup in August with the peak performance ratings for the Grand Touring: a combined 494 hp (at 5,500 rpm) and 640 lb-ft of torque (at 2,250 rpm). Those are big numbers, certainly better than the standard Aviator’s 400 hp and 475 lb-ft.

Oddly, though, the extra weight and general complexity of the Grand Touring didn’t particularly aid the sense of faster acceleration. We think either version will be just fine for the affluent suburban families who will be the likely buyers of Aviators.

18 miles of range or so As for other specifications, Lincoln execs expect the battery range to receive an EPA rating of around 18 miles. But they didn’t offer estimates of its efficiency in all-electric mode, which the EPA measures in MPGe, or Miles Per Gallon Equivalent: the distance a vehicle can travel electrically on the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline. We saw an indicated 14 miles of range

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Photos courtesy of Lincoln

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from our full battery, though to be fair to Lincoln, the heat reached 104° F during the test. That required more energy to keep the interior air-conditioned - and the Aviator has a large interior.

Out of that 14 indicated miles, we got 11 miles in pure electric mode before the engine switched on.

All Aviators offer five drive modes: Normal; Conserve, effectively an eco setting to reduce fuel consumption; Excite, which keeps the engine running at higher speeds in lower gears for faster performance (and enhances the engine sound so occupants know it); Slippery, for conditions of low traction; and Deep Conditions, which on air-suspension Aviators increases ground clearance and aggressively monitors torque to each wheel. The vehicle automatically activates a Tow/Haul mode when it detects a trailer.

The plug-in hybrid adds two more drive modes. Pure EV keeps the SUV in all-electric drive up to at least 70 mph, though its acceleration isn’t nearly as fast as the combined gas/electric mode; and Preserve EV not only retains battery energy but adds to it, using engine charging on overrun to a maximum of about 70 percent of capacity.

In old-fashioned EPA fuel economy terms, the plug-in hybrid’s projected rating is 23 mpg combined. That’s only a 10- to 15-percent improvement on the standard Aviator’s ratings of 21 mpg combined with rear-wheeldrive, or 20 mpg if you want all four wheels powered.

The Grand Touring comes with a tow rating of 5,600 pounds, a respectable number but substantially below the conventional vehicle, which is rated at 6,700 pounds.

Behind the wheel Lincoln proudly noted that cabin and cargo space is essentially identical between the gasoline and plug-in hybrid versions, and both versions carry the same spare tire. The weight difference, however, is substantial about 700 pounds, according to Program Manager John Davis.

That difference is apparent on the road and behind the wheel. All Aviators “drive small,” which is to say they’re easy to place and don’t feel as large as they actually are.

That’s helped by the generous glass area, good outward visibility, and the low cowl.

The test route outside Asheville, North Carolina, contained a pleasant set of twisting mountain roads, which demonstrated the Aviator’s composed nature and ample power when pushed. However, in the pre-production vehicles we drove, the gasoline version provided smoother

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Photos courtesy of Lincoln

THE VEHICLES

Lincoln proudly noted that cabin and cargo space is essentially identical between the gasoline and plug-in hybrid versions, and both versions carry the same spare tire. power response and handled coherently for a large SUV. In the Grand Touring version, some power transitions among the engine, motor and transmission were evident - perhaps made more so by the vehicle’s exceptionally good suppression of noise and vibration, which drew attention to the occasional gentle lurch from below. It’s the great challenge of single-motor hybrid systems: the e-motor can power the vehicle, or act as a generator to charge the battery, or be locked to let the engine power the transmission directly. But unlike the continuous variability of a two-motor system like the ones Ford has used to date, switching among those modes requires a transition. And making the last few percent of those transitions imperceptible is very, very hard - as Hyundai, Kia, and most of the Germans learned in their early single-motor systems.

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THE VEHICLES

Photos courtesy of Lincoln

Go for the air The Grand Touring’s extra 700 pounds of weight is obvious when driving it back-to-back with the gasoline version. While the lighter car seemed exceptionally composed, the plug-in hybrid model was occasionally inconsistent on corners that combined camber changes, power transitions, and bumps or potholes. A bit of finetuning may still take place before the Grand Touring hits the streets a few months after the gasoline version.

The ride is best with the optional air suspension, which uses predictive sensing on high-trim models to compensate in advance for choppiness over some types of road-surface imperfections. It works, and we’d recommend it to Aviator buyers. The steel-spring version we drove over lumpy roads conveyed far more road irregularities into the cabin. As always, the largest-diam-

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The Aviator may be the best vehicle Lincoln has offered in decades. And offering a plug-in hybrid version brings it neckand-neck with competitors from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. eter tires are the noisiest. Lincoln even fills its 21- and 22-inch tire options with acoustic foam to quiet them.

The 2020 Lincoln Aviator hasn’t yet been tested by either the NHTSA or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, so no crash-safety ratings are available. As a family utility vehicle, however, it would be surprising if it achieved anything less than top ratings from one or both organizations.

Lots of features Standard safety equipment includes forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, active lane control, blind spot detection, and automatic headlights. The Lincoln Co-Pilot 360 suite of features adds adaptive cruise control with traffic-jam assist, lane centering, active parking assist, and automatic reverse braking when needed.

This isn’t the review in which to run down all available equipment, but Lincoln confidently says it matches or beats the competition in luxury and comfort features.

Prices for the Standard version start just below $53,000, including delivery, and a top-of-the-line AWD Reserve model runs about $75,000.

The Grand Touring powertrain is available on the Reserve and Black Label trim levels, but not on the bottom-line Standard trim which Lincoln expects to be only a tiny fraction of overall Aviator sales. It adds roughly $10,000 to the price, though direct comparisons are tricky because Grand Touring versions of either trim level come with more features.

The Aviator may be the best vehicle Lincoln has offered in decades. And offering a plugin hybrid version brings it neck-and-neck with competitors from BMW, MercedesBenz and Volvo, and brings Lincoln into the modern era of electrification.

If any shopper ever learns about it, that is.

Autonomous vehicles require batteries with lasting power.

Visualization of the temperature profile in a liquidcooled Li-ion battery pack.

The stage of the load cycle, potential, local concentration, temperature, and direction of the current all affect the aging and degradation of a battery cell. This is important to consider when developing autonomous vehicles (AVs), which rely on a large number of electronic components to function.

When designing long-lasting batteries that are powerful enough to keep up with energy demands, engineers can turn to simulation.

The COMSOL MultiphysicsÂŽ software is used for simulating designs, devices, and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research. See how you can apply it to optimizing battery designs for self-driving cars. comsol.blog/autonomous-vehicle-batteries

Photo courtesy of eMotorWerks

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

EV Connect and GM aim to enhance Bolt drivers’ charging experience EV Connect and GM will partner to improve the charging experience of Chevrolet Bolt drivers by providing real-time charging station data, including updates on the status of chargers. The data will be used in future versions of the myChevrolet app.

Jordan Ramer, founder and CEO of EV Connect, said, “For society to fully realize all the benefits of EVs, we have to reduce range and charging anxiety by giving drivers access to charging and information about chargers, no matter where they travel.”

Doug Parks, GM VP of Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs, said, “To achieve our vision of a world with zero emissions and to improve the EV driver experience, we are working towards a frictionless customer solution for EVs and chargers.”

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Enel Group folds eMotorWerks into Enel X brand Energy company Enel Group has folded its EV charging subsidiary eMotorWerks into its energy services business unit Enel X. Enel X will now offer the EV charging app JuicePass and eMotorWorks’s smart charging products, including: • JuiceBox EV charging station • JuiceNet IoT cloud software • JuiceConnect software, which enables smart charging control when integrated with software from car manufacturers Preston Roper, Head of Enel X e-Mobility in North America, said, “Smart charging can ensure grid balancing as well as cost-effective integration of clean energy into the grid. With our smart EV charging solutions, the growing demand for electricity resulting from increased EV adoption can be met with renewable energy supply in a way that balances the grid while further decarbonizing the power and transport sectors.”

Photo courtesy of InstaVolt Photo courtesy of Electrify America

Electrify America to deploy commercial robotic chargers Charging network operator Electrify America and fleet charging company Stable Auto are launching a robotic charging pilot for self-driving vehicles in San Francisco.

The pilot will aim to charge autonomous EVs without human intervention using robots attached to 150 kW DC fast chargers. Vehicles can park anywhere within a designated parking space and the robot will automatically make the connection.

The charging facility, which is scheduled to open in early 2020, will be Stable’s first commercial autonomous charging site.

Stable will oversee the project, providing its robotic technology and scheduling software. Electrify America will evaluate the hardware, network, operations and billing of Stable’s charging systems, and will provide two 150 kW DC fast chargers for initial development.

Rohan Puri, co-founder and CEO of Stable, said, “Our models have shown dramatic improvements to fleet utilization and operating cost-per-mile when fleet vehicles are paired with automated infrastructure in strategically chosen locations.”

InstaVolt begins deploying next-generation 125 kW chargers across UK UK charging network operator InstaVolt is now installing the new ChargePoint Express 250 high-powered chargers, which boast a 125 kW charging capacity. The first charger is now in the ground in Hampshire, and new stations will follow across the UK throughout the summer.

InstaVolt says its existing network of 50 kW rapid charging stations will continue to charge the majority of vehicles on the road at their maximum capacity. However, for vehicles that can handle higher charging rates, the new chargers have the potential to halve charging time and add 125 miles of range in just 15 minutes.

The network operator hopes the new chargers will be popular with drivers of larger battery EVs just starting to hit the market, such as the Mercedes Benz EQC, Jaguar I-PACE and Audi e-tron, which are capable of charging at up to 110 kW, 100 kW and 150 kW, respectively.

The ChargePoint Express 250 high-powered chargers can share power dynamically between two units, so two cars can still charge simultaneously at any dual-station location. As battery technology evolves, InstaVolt can upgrade the stations to deliver even faster rates of charging.

InstaVolt will roll out the ChargePoint Express 250 chargers across the UK over coming weeks and months.

In some cases, InstaVolt will retrofit chargers at existing sites.

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Canada invests $4.6 million to add 92 fast chargers to nationwide network The Canadian government has announced a $4.6-million investment in Petro-Canada to build 92 fast chargers in its coast-to-coast network. The first completed station, in Nova Scotia, will be part of a larger network of more than 50 Petro-Canada locations, each with two charging units on site.

This investment is part of the Government of Canada’s $182.5-million investment to build a coast-to-coast charging network and support other zero- and low-carbon demonstration and deployment projects. Over 500 fast chargers have been built or planned for this year, with hundreds more expected over the next two years.

As part of its 2019 budget, Canada is investing a further $130 million in charging infrastructure and funding a new incentive, worth up to $5,000, for Canadians who purchase or lease a zero-emission vehicle.

“Our government is making historic investments in green infrastructure, helping us to move from traditional fuels to cleaner choices that will power our future while lowering costs for families,” said Parliament Member Bill Casey. “With more electric vehicles on our roads, we will reduce pollution and create strong and sustainable communities.”

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Tritium, a manufacturer of fast chargers, has signed a deal with BOX ENERGI to be the sole supplier of rapid chargers for the DRIVE ENERGI charging network currently in development in the UK. DRIVE ENERGI aims to install 2,500 charging locations by 2025 - at least 100 sites are to be live by the end of January 2020. Each site will feature up to two Tritium Veefil-RT 50 kW DC Rapid Chargers and a number of AC chargers.

The network will include both public charging stations and private charging solutions, which will cater to fleets.

Tritium will assist in the installation of the chargers and supply 24/7 support for the network, including onsite support.

Tritium recently opened E-Mobility Innovation Centers in Brisbane and Amsterdam. The new and upgraded facilities will allow the company to ramp up its R&D and increase production levels. The DRIVE ENERGI network is slated to be Tritium’s largest deployment of Veefil-RT 50 kW DC Rapid Chargers for a single network.

“We chose to work with Tritium because its technology is proven and its chargers are reliable, robust and trustworthy,” said James Moat, CEO of DRIVE ENERGI. “These chargers are not only the fastest and most advanced in their class, but incredibly easy to use and, with the world’s smallest physical footprint, to deploy as well – particularly in our cities and high-density areas where space is increasingly limited.”

Photo courtesy of Tritium

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Raymond

Tritium to become sole supplier of rapid chargers for UK’s DRIVE ENERGI

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Electromagnetic Solutions

BMW to bring wireless charging pilot program to US BMW plans to bring its Induction Charging Pilot Program to the US. The company launched the program in Germany in 2018.

BMW’s Wireless Charging allows for automated charging via an induction GroundPad when a CarPad is fixed to the underside of the vehicle. The system has a charging power of 3.2 kW, which is capable of fully charging the BMW 530e iPerformance PHEV in about 3.5 hours at an efficiency rate of around 85 percent.

The program is available for 200 residents in California. Applicants can begin by completing an online questionnaire found at: www.qmerit.com/bmwwireless

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Photo courtesy of Stäubli Electrical Connectors

Photo courtesy of BMW

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Automated Tritium 175 kW chargers to serve terminal tractors at Port of Long Beach EV charging equipment manufacturer Tritium will supply and install 33 DC high-power chargers at the Port of Long Beach, where they will power a fleet of electric-drive terminal tractors operated by SSA Marine.

Tritium’s Veefil-PK 175 kW DC High Power Chargers will charge 33 terminal tractors automatically and simultaneously. The chargers will be equipped with a Quick Charging Connector made by Stäubli Electrical Connectors.

The chargers are slated to be installed by the end of 2019, and vehicle deliveries are scheduled to begin in October 2020.

The project was made possible through a $50-million grant to the Port of Long Beach from the California Air Resources Board’s Zero and Near Zero Emission Freight Facility (ZANZEFF) program, which funds emissions reduction initiatives at freight facilities.

“The rollout of both the vehicles and the chargers at the Port of Long Beach will demonstrate the ability to reduce emissions while providing reliable and clean solutions to the port,” said Jeff Wolfe, Tritium’s Americas President. “The move towards the electrification of transportation is inevitable. SSA Marine is taking the initiative by seeing not just the environmental benefits of electrification, but the benefits to the bottom line as it reduces its reliance on diesel fuel.”

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Shell installs first ABB fast charger in Singapore Shell subsidiary Greenlots has installed an ABB DC fast charger in Singapore, the first of 10 to be installed at Shell stations in the country over the next few months.

Singapore has ramped up its efforts to establish an EV infrastructure in anticipation of increased demand. In October, it attracted Dyson to open an EV factory site in the country. Though currently headquartered in Los Angeles, Greenlots was founded in Singapore over a decade ago.

Greenlots CEO Brett Hauser said, “Greenlots and Shell have been exploring synergies since we were acquired earlier this year. This project demonstrates our collective commitment to enable electrified transportation around the world, specifically in Singapore, where Greenlots was founded, and bolsters Greenlots’s expansion in Southeast Asia. Supporting Shell’s EV charging network in Singapore is a logical extension of the work we’ve been doing there to provide charging solutions at home, at work, for fleets and on the go.”

Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB’s global business for EV Charging Infrastructure, said, “With more than 11,000 DC fast chargers sold across 76 countries worldwide, ABB plays a leading role in the development of sustainable mobility with its innovative and digital technologies and has participated in a growing number of projects around the world and in Singapore. This latest project will further accelerate Singapore’s transition to a future mobility ecosystem that is safer, cleaner and more accessible.”

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Photo courtesy of Electrify America

Photo courtesy of ABB

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Electrify America to offer 2 years of free charging to Harley LiveWire owners Charging network operator Electrify America has partnered with Harley-Davidson to provide owners of its first all-electric motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, with the per-minute equivalent of 500 kWh of complimentary charging over two years. Harley first teased an all-electric motorcycle in 2014. As of press time, deliveries of the LiveWire were scheduled to begin in August.

“At Harley-Davidson, we are taking significant steps to lead in the electrification of motorcycling, including supporting the development of global charging infrastructure,” said Harley-Davidson Vice President Luke Mansfield.

Anyone who purchases a LiveWire manufactured between August 2019 and July 2021 can enroll and manage their charging plan through the Electrify America mobile app. Harley-Davidson customers will be able to use Electrify America’s network of ultra-fast EV chargers in highway and metro charging stations planned in 42 states and the District of Columbia. For better ease of use, Harley-Davidson will also integrate Electrify America charging locations into its own app.

Electrify America has begun implementing its Cycle 2 National ZEV Investment Plan, which it first published in February 2019. The company expects to install or have under development approximately 800 total charging stations with 3,500 chargers by December 2021. Over the 30-month investment cycle, it will expand to 29 metros and 45 states, including two cross-country routes.

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Photo courtesy of Liberty PlugIns

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

AC FAST CHARGING The right fit for medium-duty EVs

By Paul Beck

W

hat’s the largest mass transit system in the United States? Is it the public transit network? Nope. Commercial airlines?

Guess again. Passenger rail? Not even close. Here’s a hint: the vehicles are colored yellow. Give up? It’s school buses, and in terms of sheer numbers this fleet is 2.5 times larger than all other forms of mass transit combined. And therein lies a big, dirty problem.

According to a 2018 study by the US Public Interest Research Group, 95% of the nation’s roughly 500,000 school buses are diesel-fueled.

Numerous studies have documented the negative impact breathing diesel exhaust has on respiratory diseases like asthma. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency has classified diesel exhaust as a likely carcinogen. These negative effects are especially pronounced in children.

But change is on the way. The entire medium-duty vehicle market, which also includes delivery vans and other commercial vehicles, is on the edge of an electric precipice. The cost savings and environmental benefits of electrifying these vehicles can no longer be ignored.

“The medium-duty plug-in vehicle industry is definitely in the midst of a strong surge,” Will Barrett, Director of Sales for EV charger manufacturer ClipperCreek, told Charged.

This surge may pair well with an EV technology that many in the US seem to have forgotten about: high-power AC charging.

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Photos courtesy of Liberty PlugIns

THE INFRASTRUCTURE

AC charging that operates at the upper limits of the J1772 connector specs can provide up to 19.2 kW of power. While that’s significantly less than most DC chargers, it’s perfect for school buses and other medium-duty EVs. While ultra-fast DC charging is grabbing all the headlines in new highway corridor projects, high-power AC charging may be the perfect fit for school buses, delivery trucks, and other medium-duty fleet vehicles.

The wheels on the bus “Public charging is now almost wholly defined as installing DC fast chargers along heavily travelled corridors,” said Forest Williams, a strategic marketing consultant for charging solution provider Liberty PlugIns. “DCFC is the

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silver bullet for range anxiety.”

However, while EV drivers and public charging networks are rapidly embracing ultra-fast DC fast charging, Williams is telling medium-duty EV fleet operators that there may be a better solution. He calls it AC fast charging, or AC charging that operates at the upper limits of the J1772 connector specs. With an output current up to 80 A, Level 2 AC fast chargers can provide 19.2 kW of power. While that’s significantly less than most DC chargers, Williams argues that it’s perfect for school buses and other medium-duty EVs. “Level 2 chargers with 80 A of output can recharge a big Type D bus with a 150 kWh battery in around 9 hours, perfect for overnight charging,” Williams explained.

The salient fact about school buses, delivery vans and many other medium-duty fleet vehicles is that they’re predictable. A school bus drives relatively short distances (typically less than 75 miles) at moderate speeds, makes frequent stops to pick up or drop off passengers, then returns to a centralized depot. Delivery vans operate in a similar fashion.

“This is an ideal profile for the application of electric

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

Pretty much all the EVSPs never developed Level 2 chargers with more than 40 amps output because they figured the public really wants DC fast chargers.

A push for EV fleets In 2017, the state of California allocated 75 million dollars to the California Energy Commission’s School Bus Replacement Program. This money, offered to public schools throughout the state, aims to replace old diesel-powered school buses with electric alternatives. Thanks to this program, the funding for 243 electric buses was awarded to schools throughout California.

Residents of Colorado are also pushing to electrify the more than 4,000 school buses powered by diesel in their state. In 2018, the Colorado government set aside $18 million to replace approximately 450 state vehicles, including school buses, with electric or alternative fuel vehicles.

Fittingly, the money came from Colorado’s share of the Volkswagen settlement for cheating on diesel emissions tests.

Package delivery companies are also turning to electrification. In 2018, Ingka Group, the parent company of furniture giant IKEA, announced plans to use EVs for all its last-mile deliveries as early as 2025. Earlier this year, the company revealed that it has already met this goal in its Shanghai operations. One of the most popular delivery companies in the world, however, has been far less proactive. In 2018, Amazon announced it had purchased 20,000 Mercedes-Benz vans for its new private delivery fleet. None of the vans were electric. However, Williams predicts that soon, Amazon and other delivery companies may not have this option.

“Regardless of the name on the van, all of these vans

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WattZilla DUO: Dual 80 A, 240 V

Photo courtesy of WattZilla

drive technology and what we’re calling AC Fast Charging, or ACFC, is absolutely adequate and many times less expensive than installing a DC fast charger,” Williams said.

are running around doing last-mile delivery, re-stocking all of the local bodegas, the local neighborhood clothes stores and restaurants,” said Williams. “Pretty soon, cities are going to mandate that those switch to electric.”

ACFC hardware Although AC fast charging seems to be the perfect fit for medium-duty EVs, it’s a niche that’s been ignored by most EV charging hardware providers and network operators.

“Pretty much all the EVSPs never developed Level 2 chargers with more than 40 amps output, because they figured the public really wants DC fast chargers,” Williams explained. “If you’re talking about 15-30 minutes of charging at a rest stop or travel plaza on the way to grandma’s house, they’re right. Who wants to sit in a gas station for several hours?”

“But if you’re a medium-duty delivery van,” he continued, “you’ve got all night to charge up. Quick charge times are of little benefit, especially when you consider the enormous costs to install and supply even one DC fast charger.”

Two EVSE companies in the US that have not ignored

ClipperCreek CS-100: 80 A, 240 V

Photo courtesy of ClipperCreek

It’s a massively lower cost solution compared to DCFC and we’re being contacted daily by school districts in California.

this niche are ClipperCreek and WattZilla.

In fact, high-power AC charging has been the core focus of Massachusetts-based WattZilla, which offers products that can charge up to four EVs at 80 A simultaneously.

“We sell to a lot to electric school bus users,” WattZilla’s Frank Gangi told Charged. “Also, we’ve had a lot of recent activity with mining companies that buy electric underground mining vehicles. That whole industry is switching over to J1772, and we sell a ton of 80-amp chargers to those folks.”

California-based ClipperCreek also offers a few AC fast charger options. The company’s CS-100 is an 80 A charger with a J1772 connector that can output up to 19.2 kW (in commercial applications, ClipperCreek’s Will Barrett explains, these chargers typically operate at a lower voltage, and deliver about 17 kW).

“We definitely agree that the higher-power Level 2 AC charging solutions can be a really good fit for a lot of medium-duty applications,” said Barrett.

ClipperCreek also offers the HCS-80, a 64-amp AC charger. It has a smaller footprint and lower cost than the

CS-100 models, though it delivers less power. Notwithstanding, Barrett says it’s still a practical and popular option for many medium-duty EVs. Both ClipperCreek and Wattzilla also have three-phase AC charging products that can increase the power output to levels that approach the lower end of DC fast charging options. However, three-phase AC requires a different, larger connector than the popular J1772 connection.

“There are a couple of medium-duty vehicles out there that utilize that three-phase AC charging,” said Barrett. “We can get up into a power range that’s similar to lower-power DC fast charging (28 to 33 kW), but at a much more compelling price point from a hardware standpoint.”

Forest Williams points out two other ACFC options: BTCPower manufactures a 70-amp AC charger with a 16.8 kW output, and Sun Country Highway offers a 70/80-amp selectable AC charger called the SCH100.

However, with these four companies, the list of J1772 AC fast charger providers in North America is nearly complete. Williams suggests that, in the coming years, that list may grow: “I suspect that over time, schools and delivery van people would like to have more options.”

Don’t miss the bus Williams is betting that the early adopters of electric school buses, delivery vans, and other medium-duty EVs will understand the advantages of AC fast charging. In his work with Liberty PlugIns, he’s noticed that demand for AC fast charging is on the rise.

“It’s a massively lower-cost solution compared to DCFC and we’re being contacted daily by school districts in California who just received grants for two, three, four or five buses. Next year it will be the independent last-mile delivery fleets competing for Amazon’s delivery contracts in the wake of FedEx’s recent decision to end its relationship with Amazon.”

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE

V2G

VALUE PROPOSITIONS Fermata Energy is focused on building financially viable solutions for vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-building tech

By Charles Morris

D

avid Slutzky, an accomplished entrepreneur, has an eclectic background. In addition to having founded several successful companies, he’s served as a local elected official as well as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Clinton White House and the EPA. He’s been teaching at the University of Virginia for some time, on the Commerce, Architecture and Engineering faculties.

Slutzky founded vehicle-to-grid pioneer Fermata Energy in November, 2010. Other members of the Fermata team include Tony Posawatz, a former GM exec who was responsible for bringing the Chevrolet Volt to production, and later served as CEO of Fisker Automotive; and David Sandalow, an energy policy expert who held senior positions at the White House, State Department and DOE. Fermata has been in the news lately for a couple of reasons. In November 2018, the company partnered with Nissan to launch a pilot program that uses LEAFs equipped with bidirectional charging capability to partially power the automaker’s North American headquarters in Tennessee and its design center in

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San Diego. In January, Fermata scored a $2.5-million investment from TEPCO Ventures, the investment arm of Tokyo Electric Power. In July, Nissan’s announcement that it was using vehicle-to-home (V2H) technology in Japan, and would soon offer it to customers in Australia, brought more attention to Fermata (although the company isn’t directly involved in either of these initiatives).

The missing link

“I founded Fermata Energy for two specific reasons,” Slutzky told Charged. “I wanted to accelerate the adoption trajectory for electric vehicles, and to accelerate the transition to renewables on the grid. I quickly figured out that those two are intertwined in a beautiful way.”

“The real obstacle to adoption of EVs at this point is that they’re more expensive,” says Slutzky. “But cars are parked most of the time. If they could earn money while they’re parked such that the total cost of ownership of an EV were to become less than that of an ICE vehicle, that [would get] interesting really fast. So how

Photo courtesy of Fermata Energy

could EVs make money while they’re parked?”

In an interesting bit of serendipity, the answer to this question could also answer another question: What’s the biggest obstacle to the adoption of renewables on the grid? “It’s not the cost of generating the electron,” says Slutzky. “Creating an electron with wind and solar is clearly cheaper than nuclear, and certainly cheaper than coal at this point. It’s the absence of energy storage on the grid that prevents scaling of renewables.”

Some years ago, Slutzky read an article that said that if you electrified a quarter of the vehicles on the roads of America, you would have energy storage roughly equal to the entire output of the US power grid in those batteries. That’s when the light went on, so to speak.

He saw that vehicle-to-grid technology could be a focal point that enabled EVs and renewable energy to complement each other. “I founded Fermata Energy specifically to enable electric vehicles to earn money while they’re parked by providing energy storage to the grid.”

The threefold path

To make this symbiotic relationship work, three components are required. “You need a bidirectionally enabled vehicle, you need a bidirectional charging capability, and you need software to facilitate the interplay among the vehicle, the charger and the revenuegenerating opportunities,” says Slutzky. “There really weren’t any bidirectional vehicles when I started the company, there weren’t any bidirectional chargers, and the software needed to be written. We were starting

V2Everything The term vehicle-to-grid (V2G) refers to the concept of using vehicle batteries to provide services to the electrical grid, whereas the related concepts of vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-building (V2B) are about using the batteries for more local applications, such as storing solar energy and releasing it at night; smoothing out consumption to avoid utility demand charges; or providing a backup in case of power outages. Some use yet another acronym, V2X, which includes all the various variations of the concept. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll mostly stick with the term V2G in this article.

You need a bidirectionally enabled vehicle, you need a bidirectional charging capability, and you need software to facilitate the interplay among the vehicle, the charger and the revenue-generating opportunities. from scratch to put those three things together. So we spent a few years trying to develop a relationship with somebody who would make a bidirectional vehicle.”

Slutzky’s initial plan was to work with Gordon Murray, the famous designer of Formula One racing cars and the McLaren F1 supercar. “We worked with Gordon and some other people for a couple of years to try to get somebody to build a replacement vehicle for the US Postal Service - those long-life vehicles that are way past their useful life - and replace them with a bidirectional electric vehicle. That was our first strat-

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THE INFRASTRUCTURE egy. When we discovered that the Nissan LEAF had become bidirectional in 2013, we kind of pivoted as a company. We’re ultimately vehicle-agnostic, and are working with other OEMs, who will eventually bring bidirectionally enabled vehicles to the US market, but for now, happily, there’s the LEAF - Nissan really does get it.”

The LEAF provides the first piece of the puzzle - the second piece is the bidirectional charger. “It has to be off-board,” says Slutzky. There were none available when Fermata began its quest, so the company built its own. However, it is now working with several charger manufacturers. “Hopefully they’ll make them better, cheaper and faster than ours, but they don’t necessarily know how to make money off of them, that’s not what their business is. Ultimately we’re charger-agnostic in much the same way we’re vehicle-agnostic.”

“The third thing we needed was software, and in order to get that, we ended up acquiring a team that had in a previous life developed the software backbone for Duke Energy’s microgrid program,” says Slutzky. “That team is particularly strong at having different types of power electronics equipment talk to each other and operate seamlessly, which is what we felt we needed.

So we’ve acquired that team, and that will always be in-house.”

Fermata now has the three pieces of the puzzle in place - the next challenge will be bringing them together to produce income. “Our real strength as a company is having spent seven years studying how you make money with this technology,” Slutzky explains.

“That’s really our secret sauce, since we understand pretty deeply what we call the monetization pathways for vehicle-to-grid.”

“I was at the Roadmap 12 conference out in Portland last month and we talked with board members from the California Energy Commission, and the California Air Resources Board, and when we showed them a live demonstration of what we’re doing, they were like, ‘Wow, we had our own studies that said you can make hundreds of dollars a year, and you’re showing that you can make thousands of dollars a year, and that you’re actually about to be commercial and doing it.’”

“So I think a lot of people just don’t realize how far vehicle-to-grid has come. It’s about to become a significant scalable opportunity. I’d like to believe that Fermata Energy’s at the front of that, although there are other V2G companies that are trying to do the same thing, different versions.”

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I think a lot of people just don’t realize how far vehicle-to-grid has come. It’s about to become a significant scalable opportunity.

What’s the frequency?

There are different types of customers that an EV can provide value to - one possibility is providing frequency regulation services to grid operators. Fermata is with a member of PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that serves some 14 states in the Mid-Atlantic region. “PJM has a mature market where you could provide frequency regulation services and be compensated for them,” says Slutzky. “Fermata is a curtailment services provider for PJM, and we can take a bunch of electric vehicle assets and aggregate them and earn money by responding to a signal from the grid.”

“The problem is, it’s not a great market, it’s poorly structured, and it’s heavily correlated to the price of natural gas, which has been going down over the years.

So you can make maybe 1,000-1,500 bucks a year with a LEAF doing frequency regulation.”

If you want something done right...

In 2016, Fermata bought four chargers and began a demonstration V2G project in Danville, Virginia.

“They were 30 kW bidirectional chargers that weren’t fully certified, and they weren’t really a scalable product at the time,” says Slutzky. “So we learned how to do frequency regulation, but we figured out pretty quickly that there really wasn’t a good charger solution [available].”

“We looked at every charger manufacturer across the globe, and we found this small company in Blacksburg, Virginia, a spinoff from Virginia Tech, which had developed a design for a bidirectional DC fast charger using silicon carbide. It was really state-of-theart - most of these bigger car chargers are the size of a refrigerator, and the bottom half of that refrigerator is the transformer. These guys had developed a charger with a transformer that was about the size of a Kleenex box - very interesting leading-edge technology. So we entered into a contract with them to develop a charger for us. Then a little while later we just acquired them,

Photo courtesy of Fermata Energy

Just last month, on a really hot day, we shaved $183 off the customer’s electric bill in about 15 minutes. because it was a good match.”

“So, through our charger subsidiary, we’ve been developing a bidirectional DC fast charger for the US market,” Slutzky continues. “A 15 kW version of it is going to be fully UL-approved and certified and on the market late this year. Very quickly on the heels of that will be our 25 kW version, which is mostly done now. We just wanted to get something through UL as quickly as we could. UL’s tricky - we’re learning how to do certifications for a bidirectional charger in the US, we’re doing a lot of things that nobody’s done before, and we wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing.”

Shaving and saving

Fermata has several of its chargers running at demonstration sites. One of these is being used for behindthe-meter demand charge management - an entirely different application than frequency regulation. “Just last month, on a really hot day, we shaved $183 off the customer’s electric bill in about 15 minutes,” says

Slutzky. “And we can do the same thing at other customers’ sites very effectively. If this were a California location, and it had the 25 kW charger, it would have been able to earn about $9,000 a year doing what it was doing.”

This particular installation is doing localized peak shaving for a small facility, but such a system can also do utility-level peak shaving. “We can participate in critical peaking events. There are a series of what we call monetization pathways that we’ve developed over the years for this technology that we know how to do well. We’re doing some of them at this demonstration site in Danville, but just doing behind-the-meter demand charge management we can make some pretty good money. So that’s what Fermata is focused on.”

Getting the word out

Fermata has figured out how to do behind-the-meter demand charge management effectively, but Slutzky says, “It’s ultimately the utilities that are going to be where the value is. The real value of vehicle-to-grid is going to be providing a number of services to utilities and the grid.”

Word of what Fermata has to offer is starting to spread. “We initially thought that we would have to get a sizeable number of EVs aggregated into a single system, and be able to demonstrate that we could provide a couple of megawatts of power, to even begin a conversation with the utilities,” says Slutzky. “But as soon as the Nissan announcement happened at the end of November, and then the announcement that TEPCO had invested in Fermata to bring this technology to Japan, we quickly got calls from utilities all over the country. We’re now working with a dozen or so US utilities to do vehicle-to-grid work. Those are going to be among our early deployments to work through dif-

SEP/OCT 2019

85

THE INFRASTRUCTURE ferent cases to figure out how this can work for them.

They know that there’s value here, and together we’re figuring out how to make that work financially.”

“After our first deployments in late 2019 and early 2020, we’re going to operate aggressively in the workplace-charging space. And then it isn’t a big step from there to go to the end of the cul-de-sac with individual consumers. You need to reach a critical mass of EVs in your network to be able to meaningfully serve non-commercial customers. We will be able to do that within a couple of years.”

Fermata aspires to be “the Android of vehicle-togrid. We want to be the guys that figure out how to make money, put all the vehicles together, offer them to the different grid-facing customers, then create a big monetary pie and share it with the customer and with all the stakeholders.”

Will V2G hurt your battery?

When Charged has covered V2G tech in the past, we’ve gotten reader comments along these lines: “I own a LEAF [or a Tesla] and I’m scared to death of losing battery capacity as it is, so no thanks!” It’s a valid concern - will using V2G tech affect battery life?

It depends, Slutzky tells us. “There are some uses of a battery that could have degradation impacts, and there are other uses that have less impact. There’s even a study that was done in the UK that looked at behindthe-meter demand charge management and frequency regulation, and they conjectured that under some circumstances you could even extend the life of the battery.”

Savvy EV owners know that topping up a vehicle to a 100% state of charge can adversely affect battery life.

Some EVs’ onboard charging systems make it easy to charge to, say, 90%, and others don’t. A V2G system, however, could keep every vehicle on the network at an optimal state of charge.

“If you’re part of a managed system of vehicle-to-grid operation, that operator is going to keep your battery below 100% state of charge, except when you let the operator know that you’re going to want to drive it,” says Slutzky. “Over time people will learn that [in regards to] vehicle-to-grid activities, the ones that are harder on the battery, we won’t do anything that doesn’t earn 10 times the value of any potential battery degradation.

And most of what we do doesn’t degrade the battery in a meaningful way at all.”

86

All of those are revenuegenerating pathways that we’re experts in and we can monetize.

But there are others.

A V2G scenario

What will Fermata’s system look like in the real world?

“Typically the customer will own the vehicle, we will provide the use of a Fermata charger, and then we’ll operate the charger in a fashion that coordinates with the customer,” says Slutzky. “We have a very important guiding principle - we know that a customer buys an EV so that they can drive it. We don’t want to tell them, ‘You can’t drive it because we’re going to use it to make money,’ or ‘You can’t drive it because we’ve drained your battery. Sorry.’ We’re very careful to work with the vehicle operator so that we let them know [for example] ‘You could make this much money at two o’clock on Thursday or you could drive it. It’s up to you.’ We will operate the vehicle-to-grid activity in conjunction with the duty cycle requirements determined by the customer.”

There are several different value propositions that could be appropriate for different customers. “The customer could participate in the frequency regulation market and get a check for doing that, or if they are at a workplace they might get paid by their employer to help the employer reduce their building load peaks, or they might get some money for helping a utility reduce its peaks. All of those are revenue-generating pathways that we’re experts in and we can monetize. But there are others.”

“For example, backup power is something that’s been actively developed in Japan. Nissan was doing that years ago and TEPCO is fascinated by that [application]. They invested in us to bring this technology to Japan. A residential customer could get paid by making their vehicle available while they’re not driving it.

Over time we’ll be able to add more and more revenue opportunities to this business. I don’t know how much value an individual customer’s going to be able to capture, but it’s all better than a current EV, because the current EV can’t make a dime. And an internal combustion engine vehicle never, ever will. It’ll always be a cost center.”

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By Charles Morris ities and countries around the world are proposing to ban ICE vehicles. The UK means to eliminate petrol cars after 2040; Denmark and Iceland plan other block or so features a pair of dedicated EV charging to go electric by 2030; Norway by 2025. Paris and Amsterspots, with signs making it clear that ICE vehicles will be dam both plan to banish dinosaur burners by 2030. This towed. On my recent visit, I saw few of these spaces unused. raises the question: What will a city served only by electric The city currently has some 3,000 charging stations, but transportation look like? some estimate that it will need over 16,000 by 2025.

The electric city will probably have fewer private cars, Oslo and Amsterdam have the advantages of being at least in the center. The current wave of bans is aimed at medium-size, compact cities with centralized municireducing emissions, but cities have been working to reduce traffic for decades. London pioneered the congestion charge, pal governments. London, on the other hand, may have a tougher time getting its residents charged. It’s a vast and New York is set to impose one beginning in 2021. Cities on every continent have steadily expanded pedestrian zones. patchwork of former villages governed by fractious local Anti-traffic advocates recently won a major victory in Ma- councils. However, the political will to electrify is strong.

The transit agency Transport for London plans to have 300 drid. In 2018 the city banned all non-resident cars from the fast chargers deployed by 2020 (and is also rapidly electrifycenter. In May, a new, more right-leaning city government ing the city’s bus and taxi fleets). Some councils have also was elected, and began dismantling the ban. Some saw the launched charging networks. In fact, the city is becoming a beginning of a brown backlash that would strike down prolaboratory for urban chargposed car bans across Europe. ing - a startup called char.gy However, thousands protested is installing chargers in lamp the repeal, and finally a judge The density that makes posts, and BP and Shell have forced the city council to reindeployed DC fast chargers at state the ban. private cars a plague in city selected petrol stations.

Only a hard-core auto centers also poses a problem Infrastructure providers fetishist could deny that have belatedly learned that the global anti-traffic trend for electrification. maintaining public chargers has made city centers more is a major ongoing expense, pleasant - quieter, cleaner and more walkable, with more space for parks and public spaces. and my London friends fear that any project financed solely by a local council will sooner or later fall victim to budget However, even in dense cities, private cars aren’t disappearcuts. One premature project in London did end in tragedy ing. New York City has the lowest rate of car ownership in - the contract was vague about who would pay for maintethe US, but 45% of households in the city own a car (only nance, so when the chargers started breaking, the network 22% in Manhattan). was abandoned.

The density that makes private cars a plague in city How should an electric city’s charging network be mancenters also poses a problem for electrification. In suburban aged and financed? A multi-party partnership would seem areas, EV ownership is a breeze - install a charging station to be the best model: cities need to devise comprehensive in your garage or driveway, and away you silently go. In electrification strategies and, as with any municipal service, inner cities, however, few drivers have garages, and many secure sustainable sources of financing (it’s hard to predict don’t even have assigned parking spaces (in London, 78% of how much revenue user fees will generate). Various other residents have no private parking). Someday, autonomous players, including local utilities, transit agencies and fleet vehicles and fast wireless charging may make this a moot owners, need to be involved as well, and private companies point, but for the foreseeable future, the electric city will need to have a lot of public charging. Arguably, almost every will probably handle services such as maintenance and billing. parking space will need to have a charger (ICE vehicles Charging infrastructure is far from the only challenge won’t need parking spaces if they don’t exist). electric cities face. How will they secure adequate renewSome cities will find this harder to implement than othable energy generation and storage? They can mandate ers. Oslo has a head start, because in Scandinavia, people EVs, but how can they ensure that citizens have a decent have been plugging in their cars for years - not to charge their batteries, but to heat their engines so they’ll start in the selection of models to buy? What about specialized vehicles (fire trucks, ambulances, refuse trucks)? Municipal leaders morning. Electrical outlets are plentiful at parking facilities. around the world will be watching the early adopters in Amsterdam is becoming a showcase electric city. The picturesque canals are lined with parking spaces, and every Norway, the Netherlands and the UK closely.

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Photo courtesy of JCT 600/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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