Research Projects

The interest in electric vehicles in India has increased recently, which can also be seen from the Government of India EV30@30 campaign and various electric vehicle (EV) policies. In India, nearly 18.33% of road transport is done using four-wheelers which include cars, long-range and heavy-duty vehicles. But, the major problem in the adoption of EVs, especially for four-wheelers, is the long charging time of the EV batteries. The fast chargers can be used to reduce the battery charging time. But, fast chargers, which are typically designed for high power( greater than 50kW), have bulkier charging plugs, which are difficult to be handled by the end-user. Further, handling high voltage DC (400 V or 800 V) can pose a danger to the end-user. The liquid-cooled DC cabling is employed, which reduces the cabling and plug size. But, it requires frequent maintenance, additional installations, and a cooling period in between charging. Moreover, the problem associated with user safety still persists with liquid-cooled DC cabling. Thus, a contactless fast charger can be a suitable candidate that can avoid the issues of handling heavy cables and user safety. In this regard, an inductive power transfer (IPT) system is the potential solution for the contactless fast charger, which offers zero human intervention, full autonomy and convenience to the end-user. But, the adoption of the IPT system for the high power contactless fast charger is influenced by the DC-DC conversion stage, which demands the multiphase electromagnetic coupler. Further, the requirement of high efficiency is also one of the significant challenges. Therefore, this project will investigate, design and develop a 5 kW SiC-based DC-DC conversion stage of the IPT system for the 400 V battery system with a new three-phase electromagnetic coupler. The system is expected to achieve a DC-DC efficiency of greater than or equal to 94%, which helps in achieving better system integration, heat management and reduced cost. Further, the developed system will be experimentally tested to validate the operation of the proposed system under various misalignment and loading conditions. The project will result in a scaled-down laboratory benchtop prototype of the contactless fast charger, which will encourage the speedier adoption of fast chargers in India.