IIT-D develops smart charging station for EVs with built-in solar capability

NEW DELHI:  Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi has developed a modular, scalable, and environmentally friendly smart Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station with in-built solar photovoltaic interface capability. This multi-functional charger will save energy and reduce pollution. 

The 20 kW smart charging station is a multi-functional charger with the capability of charging a wide range of EVs like cars, three-wheelers and two-wheelers.  “The scalable multi-functional charger caters to the emerging EV charging needs of both today’s and tomorrow’s electric vehicles.

There has been a demand from both the automobile industry and EV charger operators for ease of scalability in their charging units,” said Professor Sukumar Mishra from the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi. He is the Principal Investigator of the project. Mishra said the built-in Modularity of the developed charging platform allows charge operators to scale-up basis requirements with minimal expenses. 

“We also have a solar interface, which works in tandem with the electrical grid for energy sharing. In future, the solar panels’ capacity can be increased and finally a totally green EV charger can be built that can act as an independent infrastructure not taking any power from the conventional grid,” said Mishra.  Researchers said the charging current can also be modulated based on the grid frequency, which allows a more stable operation leading to a reduction in grid failure. 

Besides, the charger operators can purchase a 2 kW charger and scale-up depending on their financial capability and demand, as and when required. Currently, in India, the EV charger operators can only choose from a set of pre-fabricated charging options and incur significant unnecessary costs if they want to scale-up their charging output as the entire set-up needs to be revamped in order to cater to higher power vehicles. 

The charging power in the IIT Delhi charger can be increased in increments of 2 kW, starting at 2 kW up to a maximum of 20 kW. Besides offering ease of scalability through a modular approach, the platform also has a slim design with low maintenance requirements and a user-friendly interface, said the official. 
The project is an outcome of the ‘Demonstration of Grid Supportive EV Charger and Charging Infrastructure at LT Level (D-EVCI)’ project funded by the central government.