Ultra-low Cost, All-Silicon Carbide Modular Power Converters for District Current Fast Charging Equipment Connected Directly to Medium Voltage Distribution System
NC State, together with Danfoss, the New York Power Authority, Commonwealth Edicon, GoTriangle, and the North Carolina Clean Tech Cluster, is researching, developing and demonstrating a low-cost all-SiC modular power converter for DC fast-charging equipment, connected directly to a Medium Voltage (MV) distribution system. The system will deliver 1 MW of power, allowing for scalable charging and generation integration, with ports providing 100-500 kW of power at 200-900V. It features reconfigurable firmware, allowing for use as a front end for feeding a DC microgrid or directly powering a vehicle, as well as high bandwidth control to actively improve local power quality. The project will involve two phases, a cost analysis task to set system-level cost targets, and a system demonstration phase at sites including a NYPA facility in Marcy, NY, a ComEd proving ground in Chicago, IL, and a GoTriangle bus depot in NC.
Sponsor
US Dept. of Energy (DOE) - Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
The grant—running from April 20, 2022 to April 19, 2026—is for a total of $3,858,644.
Principle Investigators
Srdjan Miodrag Lukic
Iqbal Husain
Wensong Yu
Kenneth Allan Dulaney
More Details
North Carolina State University (NCSU), in collaboration with Danfoss, New York Power Authority (NYPA), Commonwealth Edicon (ComEd), GoTriangle, and the North Carolina Clean Tech Cluster will research, develop, and demonstrate ultra-low cost, all-SiC modular power converters for DC fast charging equipment connected directly to a Medium Voltage (MV) distribution system. The system will deliver a 1 MW front end, while enabling scalable charging and generation integration, with changing ports serving 100-500kW per stall at voltage of 200-900V. Therefore, the proposed station will be capable of supporting today's electric vehicles (EVs) as well as the next generation of vehicles operating at higher voltages and faster charging rates. The system will feature reconfigurable firmware, allowing the same design to be used as a front end for feeding a DC microgrid or for direct power delivery to the vehicle. The system medium-voltage front end will feature high bandwidth control to actively improve the local power quality, thus providing ancillary services to the grid.
The project entails two phases: a cost analysis and system development phase (Phase 1) and a system demonstration phase (Phase 2). The cost analysis task will help set measurable system-level cost targets to provide the lowest cost of ownership system on the market. We will achieve this aim by quantifying the target converter costs and benefits of direct connection to MV (i.e., higher efficiency, provision of ancillary services, lower installation costs, and smaller footprint). In parallel, by implementing the design innovations outlined in this proposal, we will develop the ultra-low cost fast charging equipment, meeting the set target converter costs, and will collect reliability and performance data from the baseline system which will be in operation at a NYPA site in Marcy, New York (NY). In Phase 2, we will deploy the newly-developed system at demonstration sites run by our industry partners. Possible demonstration sites include a proving ground at ComEd in Chicago, IL; a location that is made available by NYPA such as a NY turnpike rest stop in NY, and a GoTriangle bus depot in NC.