(PressBox) ( Karlsruhe ,November 16, 2023) Researchers at the Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences have now developed a process with which quick-charging devices that are designed for high power can be manufactured automatically, and therefore more cost-effectively and in larger quantities. Particularly well-suited for this is the process developed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Kokes developed the 3-phase direct resonant charging system. Design it for all fast chargers with very high power, like the ones needed for charging trucks or buses.
Michael Kokes developed the 3-phase direct resonant charging system. Design it for all fast chargers with very high power, such as those needed for charging trucks or buses. That’s why possibilities for faster charging are of ever-greater interest. Quick charging and charging large batteries require a lot of power. However, manufacturing costs for these high-powered devices remain very high today.
Quick-charge stations for trucks also require ever-higher power. These vehicles should charge quickly, and the charging device must deliver a lot of power in a short time. Before, manufacturers produced charging stations exceeding 100 KW power ratings with line-side transformers. Alternatively, they also employed a power converter with a DC link and converter. The costs for the winding materials and capacitors required make manufacturing very expensive, however.
The switching concept developed by Prof. Kokes works with a converter circuit without a line-side transformer and a procedure for generating a potential-isolated DC voltage, which requires almost no capacitors. This makes manufacturing of charging devices in the range up to several 100 KW much cheaper.
The switching concept also provides for a modular design. On one hand, this implies that automated manufacturing can produce these charging devices. On the other hand, their modular structure offers a great variety of possible combinations. This can use the individual modules to address a wide range of services and models. Due to switching operations of the resonant converter for potential isolation in the de-energized phases of the DC link, there are no switching losses here. The line-side converter regulates the output voltage. Frequency multiplications in the input and output circuits significantly reduce the filtering effort, which in turn significantly reduces costs.
This procedure is especially suitable for quick-charging stations for large vehicles such as trucks and buses. But this process could manufacture automobile charging stations that need to provide a lot of power quickly more cost-effectively.
The patent applications (DE 102021208278 A1/ WO2023/006949A1) are pending. Technologie-License-Office (TLB) GmbH supports Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences and its scientists in patenting and marketing its current innovation. TLB commissioned the exploitation of this pioneering technology and offers engine manufacturers possibilities to cooperate and license the patents.
