VDL is expanding its Charging Test Centre with new technology in collaboration with Siemens.
The VDL Charging Test Centre has been expanded with new charging technology to provide more insight into more efficient use of the existing power grid and the bi-directional charging of heavy vehicles.
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Bi-directional charging means electric vehicles are not only able to draw energy from the power grid and energy storage system but also to deliver energy back to these systems. The VDL Charging Test Centre is located on the premises of VDL ETS (Enabling Transport Solutions) in Valkenswaard.
VDL will use the technology for purposes such as boosting interoperability – the mutual communication and exchange of information – of heavy electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Through the initiative, VDL intends to gain greater insight into the entire power supply chain for electric heavy vehicles so more sustainable mobility solutions can be developed which ultimately contribute to a successful energy transition.
“Deployment of heavier e-vehicles also involves technical issues such as the increasing energy demand and unpredictable load on the power network,” said VDL ETS MD, Menno Kleingeld.
“It is important to use alternatives, both for smarter planning of charging times and so energy can be temporarily stored in a buffer. This temporary buffer can then supplement the available capacity of the power grid to deliver power back to the vehicles during periods of peak load.
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By GlobalData“This new technology allows us to investigate how we can reduce the load that charging sessions place on the power grid and how we can properly store the available energy capacity and distribute it based on demand.”
Three Siemens fast charging stations, in combination with a VDL energy storage system, have been installed at the VDL Charging Test Centre. The data from these systems are managed via a ‘cloud-based’ energy management application.
Using the data from these systems, the charging of vehicles can be actively controlled. A special ‘switching matrix’ allows available power capacity to be flexibly deployed and used.
Bi-directional charging:
Two second life battery systems from an electric bus are used for the temporary buffering of power fed back from the heavy electric vehicles. On average, these batteries still have more than 80% of their original capacity and can function perfectly as a power storage system.
At present, e-buses and e-trucks often have to drive longer than necessary, to completely discharge the batteries. With bi-directional charging, this is no longer necessary and the energy used to charge the vehicle batteries can be returned to the energy storage system.
