Mobile AC/DC test device for electric vehicle charging infrastructure communication

Abstract

The large-scale deployment of charging infrastructure poses challenges to the distribution grid stability. In Hamburg, the project Electrify Buildings for Electric Vehicles (ELBE) implements and tests a demand side management communication protocol that allows the distribution grid operator to reduce the charging power of electric vehicle charging stations if necessary. For this purpose, a test device capable of testing the signal chain as well as a real load reduction is presented for DC charging infrastructure. The standardized high-level communication protocols are described. With the charger’s power electronics located in the DC charging station, the need for a battery emulation arises, which is also discussed. Finally, a novel concept for a mobile and modular test setup for combined testing signal and real load reduction of AC and DC charging infrastructure is presented.