EV Magazine March 2024 | Page 30

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

HOW CAN THESE CONCERNS DAMAGE EV DEVELOPMENT AND UPTAKE ?
The primary concerns to be addressed are battery fires and an inadequate network of reliable chargers . The lack of public EV ‘ refuelling ’ or EV charging significantly impedes how rapidly this technology is adopted . To compound the struggle , when charging infrastructure is available it is much slower than refuelling an ICE vehicle , the locations are few and not always convenient , or even , as several studies have highlighted , chargers are inoperable . This underscores the importance of reliability at critical Level 3 charging as this is what most drivers will rely on . As expected , when compared to century-old technology , the reliability of EV and EV chargers will not be at the same level . This is only further amplified by the vast range of innovations being developed by so many brandnew companies , which highlights a need for employing existing aligned reliability standards and authoring new ones at scale and pace .
HOW RELIABLE IS EV CHARGING TECHNOLOGY ?
Charging a single battery is a basic concept , but the complexity arises with the scale of an EV battery pack , involving thermal management , power feedback and the overall voltage . Public charging introduces additional challenges , such as payment collection , vandalism risks and outdoor installations , increasing risk of failure . The absence of widely-adopted reliability standards for EV chargers allows manufacturers to choose protection levels , which often leads to insufficient

“MITIGATING THERMAL PROPAGATION IS VITAL . MATERIALS PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE , OFFERING ESSENTIAL PROTECTION ”

30 [ Mar 2024 ] EVMAGAZINE . COM