EMW SmartCharge-10000 - a 10kW intelligent charger prototype

[mitch672]

Found out about this watching the most recent episode of EVTV: http://www.evtv.me/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; if you watch this, "Jack" demos this charger, and you get an idea of what it does and how it works.

an interesting 10KW capable smart charger, complete kit cost $850 (you must provide your own encloser and fans). They have some big plans, including making it J-1772 capable and adjusting its power level based on availble power, communication with CANbus, etc. looks promising, garygid will especially appreciate this.

Oh yes, one more thing: it based on an open source design, and they want to keep it that way as well.

technical discussion and pictures:
http://www.emotorwerks.com/cgi-bin/VMcharger.pl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What they have availble today to buy:
http://www.emotorwerks.com/emw3/category/component-designs-kits/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[ElectricVehicle]

Note this charger is based on a voltage doubler input circuit, limiting it's output to 250V maximum in the current design. It's a landmark for a low cost, relatively compact 10 kW charger. This is the kind of charger that should at least be an option on every 100+ mile range EV. In the rare cases you're actually waiting on the charge for exceptional trips of 100+ miles, you want it to charge at faster than the current 3.3 kW which is roughly 12 miles per hour of charging. A 10kW charger charges at roughly 36 Miles of range Per Hour of Charging (MPHC). So this is a great example of what the conversion community and low volume EV market is doing - setting an example of what can be done that larger automakers may someday follow.

In relation to the current LEAF, the nominal battery voltage is 360V requiring over 400 volts to charge. http://nissanleafwiki.com/index.php?title=Battery,_Charging_System" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; So this charger in it's current design is not electrically compatible with the LEAF. Well, then there are issues of connecting to the battery, integrating with LEAF battery management system or working with the Quick Charge port... It appears this charger is a non-isolated design. This charger is an interesting bit of EV progress, particularly at it's price point.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

nice!

 

[garygid]

Sites with black backgrounds are often just too-difficult to read.

Terrible output filter or smoothing, it appears?

Use a charger/power supply with DC output with a J1772 charging port? How?

 

[ElectricVehicle]

Terrible output filter or smoothing, it appears?

They're doing that to keep cost really low and it's an early design I presume, and if it doesn't confuse the BMS, matter to the battery or create too much RFI, it could be a godd trade off.

Use a charger/power supply with DC output with a J1772 charging port? How?

The J1772 is for the input power to the charger, not the output to charge the car batteries, which is DC of course, as you point out.

 

[johnr]

The problem is, for this to work with the Leaf it has to provide high voltage DC output and interface with the Chademo port. But it sounds like something that might be very helpful in a DIY conversion.