Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2021-2022).

The salient barrier to large-scale EV adoption is "range anxiety", i.e., i) long charging time, ii) relatively smallx000D
range of distance coverage per charge iii) and lack of necessary or readily-accessible charging infrastructure,x000D
particularly in rural areas. The most common used EV chargers are levels-1 and level-2 charges which take upx000D
to 8 hours to fully charge the EV's batteries and are not suited for use during long-distance travel. Level-3 (fast)x000D
chargers that take 20-25 minutes for charging are the next step in the evolution of EV chargers and enablex000D
long-distance/rural EV travel. This collaborative industry-university proposal by eCAMION and the Universityx000D
of Toronto is to research, develop, test and install prototypes of EV fast-charging (level-3) stations that utilizex000D
grid-level Li-ion battery as the main source to supply multiple DC fast-chargers. The envisioned chargingx000D
station, within the next three-years, is primarily intended for installation in rural area, e.g., along Tans-Canadax000D
Highway and other main transportation corridors, to address "range anxiety" for EV's long-range and/or ruralx000D
travel. In contrast to the existing EV fast-chargers, the proposed technology neither requires high-capacityx000D
utility-feed nor results in power quality issues in the utility grid. These two features enable installation of thex000D
charging station based on demand and market requirements and eliminates the need for i) access tox000D
high-capacity utility feeder or ii) feeder up-grade which can impose excessive cost. The battery module of thex000D
charging station is charged i) gradually from the grid and/or ii) local renewable resources, i.e., solar-PV units,x000D
and thus further reduces GHG emission and cost of operation. This program focuses on:x000D
1- RD&D of i) control, protection and Power/Energy management software/hardware of the battery-enabledx000D
fast charging station and ii) charging station infrastructure using Si-based power electronic converter modulesx000D
for charging unit and station battery operation, for applications within 2nd-3rd year of the project. 2- RD&D ofx000D
next-generation fast-charging station based on i) enhanced version of the developed control system and ii)x000D
SiC-based power electronic converter modules for applications beyond the 3rd-year of this project.