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TRENDS
Trends and outlook for charging infrastructure in India Given the limited consumption of EVs in India currently, the infrastructure for the same is also at a nascent stage. Consumers would like to be confident about charging the vehicles as per their convenience, at the location of their choice, and at a price commensurate with service. Awadhesh Jha, VP Charge & Drive & Sustainability - Fortum India, explains all we need to know about chargers – their types, locations, and need. ‘Every Science begins as philosophy and ends as an art.’ Acceptance of EV by end customers is intrinsically hinged on two factors - Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and Charge Point Operator (CPO). Having enjoyed the choices offered by OEMs on ICE platform (which has evolved over 100 years) customers would expect to have a bouquet of products on EV platform as well to choose from, as each one of us has varying needs when it comes to buying a vehicle for personal use. Simultaneously, customers would like to be assured of the charging facility as most of the present breed of EVs have a limited range of 150-300km, which is otherwise quite good for the daily run, but 100 years of use of ICE vehicles has created the need for that assurance of not getting worried about fuel when undertaking a long distance trip.
Awadhesh Jha VP Charge & Drive & Sustainability Fortum India
Currently, the foremost concern for EV drivers is what they would do if they get stuck in a jam and the battery is showing low. If adequate and appropriate charging points are available within cities as well as along highways, it would alleviate such concerns. A robust charging station network would give them the confidence, and that would work as a pull effect for OEMs as well. This warrants that a ubiquitous, reliable and safe public charging network is created.
Principles of charging
Before delving into how and what kind of charging infrastructure should be built in our country, it is important to understand how a vehicle gets charged. All vehicles driving with electric power terrain have a battery that supplies energy to the traction/propulsion motor. So, it is the battery fitted in the vehicle which gets charged using electric supply. As we know, battery requires DC (direct current) to get charged whereas electricity supply generally is AC (alternating current). It means for battery to receive the appropriate type of current for its charging, AC supply has to be converted to DC supply for the battery. This is done by an AC-DC converter. This converter is typically fitted in the car and is called on-board charger. The mode of charging using an on-board charger is called AC charging. When this conversion happens outside the car/vehicle, on-board charger gets bypassed
| January-February 2020
and DC current is directly supplied to battery fitted in the vehicle, called DC charging. So, technically there is no AC charger, as the charger is on board and not outside the vehicle. However, in common parlance we term it AC charging when on-board charger gets AC supply, either from a wall socket directly or through Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). The on-board charger then converts AC to DC and the battery gets charged. Charging point is the point of supply of electric current in appropriate form to the battery, either through on-board charger or directly. Charging station is facility where one or more charging point or EVSE are located and there is facility for vehicles to remain parked while getting charged. Generally, charging station is used with reference to public charging or captive charging for a dedicated group of vehicles. A charging station can be identified in terms of level of power output, mode of charging, and type of charging station (or EV) Connector. Here I am taking charging based on level of power output delivered by charger for the purpose of understanding the need of charging network.
Charging Type
Level of charging refers to power level of charging outlet. Based on this, it has been classified as Level1, Level-2, and Level-3 charging. Level 1 charging – Plug-in vehicles get charged by drawing
