Aim: FET-EV aims to leverage the integration of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to the Irish smart grid network at a very low cost but with ultra-high fast charging facilities and thus will accelerate the market uptake of BEVs and charging fleets.
Objectives:
- Develop a system specification and related design using industry-standard SiC components.
- Use that design work to specify the requirements for a fully optimised system utilising the in-house SiC technology.
- Develop the integrated 3C-SiC technology and components and the chip-on-board technology, needed by the fast EV charging station.
- Build and test an optimised, low-cost, ultra-fast EV charging solution.
- Develop an EMS to provide ancillary services and maintain grid standards.
- Identify the barriers and recommendations for stakeholders.
Project Benefits:
- From a system point of view, the use of this in-house technology will have the following advantages:
- Targeting 25% reduction in large-scale manufacturing costs.
- Higher switching speeds by the use of bare die on a bonded copper board.
- Targeting 50% reduction of switching losses by minimising inductive elements such as bond wires.
- A further reduction in switching losses by utilising the unique ability of 3C-SiC to integrate the free-wheeling SBD within the MOSFET switch structure.
- An ability to run at higher junction temperatures than conventional SiC
- A fully optimised system using customised devices specific to this application.
- This will help to achieve the clean energy target for transport and energy sectors by 2030 as outlined in the Climate Action Plan and National Energy and Climate Plan.
Project Timeline: May 2023 – April 2026
Funding Body: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) RD&D Funding Programme 2022.
PI: Shafi Khadem, Lead, intelligent Grid Research @ IERC, Tyndall
Partner: Alan Blake and Peter Ward, SPS Group, Tyndall
Summary: The advent of wide-bandgap (WBG) technologies like silicon carbide (SiC) has opened up previously unimagined possibilities for the implementation of high-efficiency power conversion systems, but the market penetration of these devices has been modest due to very high device production costs compared to silicon. However, WBG devices are essential to meet the rising need for high power density and high-efficiency power electronics converters in medium and high voltage applications. For example, the new generation of SiC devices has accelerated the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EV), which will need significant reductions in charging times in the future. The Tyndall SPS device research team will develop a world-leading device fabrication technology based on the cubic polytype 3C-SiC, which can be deposited onto silicon wafers to create a hybrid SiC/Si substrate. This capability not only reduces production costs but also offers a route for the integration of MOSFETs and Schottky Barrier Diodes (MOSBD) together in a single device which is not possible with existing SiC technologies. This will enable the realisation of high-efficiency/low-inductance switching circuits and reduced system form factors by the “intelligent Grid” research team in IERC. This proposal seeks to overcome the cost and fast-charging barriers and bring about technical advancements, allowing quicker, more efficient, and more effective methods of charging an EV. FET-EV aims to leverage the integration of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to the Irish smart grid network at a very low cost but with ultra-high fast charging facility and thus will accelerate the market uptake of BEVs and charging fleets. This will help to achieve the clean energy target for transport and energy sectors by 2030, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan and National Energy and Climate Plan.