Connected Charging Infrastructure

Widespread integration of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure into the distribution grid requires connectivity via standardized communication protocols. We focus on all currently relevant protocols, which we are further developing for new control concepts and use cases. In doing so, we cover the entire path from the vehicle through the charging station to a charging management backend.

The charging infrastructure for electric vehicles features numerous interfaces. In our Digital Grid Lab, we can simulate the entire communication path and evaluate it in conjunction with your system.

The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is widely used as the de facto standard for communication between charging stations and backend systems. An error-free and validated implementation within the charging station is essential for a future-proof charging infrastructure and new services.

The current state of development also includes expanded test scenarios for bidirectional charging. With the steady expansion of renewable energy and the currently limited storage capacity, the use of vehicle batteries to ensure a stable power supply is one of the most important areas of research in charging infrastructure.

In addition to OCPP, we also test EEBus implementations. This communication protocol is used to establish an interface between smart homes, energy suppliers, and grid operators via the smart meter infrastructure.

Our lab allows us to conduct tests fully tailored to your requirements. We would be happy to work with you to develop customized test scenarios. After the tests are completed, detailed test reports will be made available to you, enabling you to easily identify errors within the implementation.

The ev twin digital vehicle twin at the Digital Grid Lab at Fraunhofer ISE offers manufacturers and operators of charging infrastructure the ability to fully simulate and freely configure an electric vehicle. Power hardware-in-the-loop modeling enables the precise simulation of communication and power flows. With the ev twin, we test your charging station under any grid connection conditions. Our powerful digital vehicle twin, ev twin, is not only configurable for different vehicles with corresponding battery capacities and voltages, but is also compatible with any charging infrastructure. Communication via the EVCC (vehicle controller) ranges from the pilot signal in accordance with IEC 61851 to bidirectional charging per ISO 15118-20. In the Power Hardware-in-the-Loop environment, our power amplifiers simulate the power train, consisting of the vehicle’s battery and, if applicable, its onboard charger. This allows us to use ev twin to test charging with AC and DC power, as well as bidirectional charging stations, under real power flow conditions.