We have now seen many key technologies that will make electric cars cleaner, more sustainable, convenient and safer to drive in the future. In the first lecture, we briefly looked at the important technologies and emerging trends in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure design. We then discussed the concepts of solar electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. Finally, the lecture concluded with autonomous electric vehicles and how it can open up a plethora of opportunities in the future such as shared and connected mobility, cities decongested of cars and parking spaces, higher utilization of vehicles, lower cost of mobility and more efficient point-to-point connectivity.

In the second lecture, we looked in detail about wireless charging of electric vehicles. In the case of inductive power transfer, two charging pads, one in the ground and one underneath the vehicle are used to exchange power using magnetic fields at high frequencies in the order of 85 kHz. Power electronic converters are used to facilitate the DC-DC and AC-DC power conversion required. The extension of wireless charging called is called dynamic on-road charging and it allow EVs to be charged while they are driving by placing charging pads underneath the roads.

The third lecture of the module started with a detailed introduction to battery swap and its advantages and challenges. We then looked into the comparison of fast charging and battery swap in detail based on queuing theory. Battery swap has a definitive advantage due to the shorter service time and ability to smart charge the batteries at the swapping station later on. A specific application for battery swap is where fleet managers can use battery swap for quick recharge of EVs, especially for fixed route movement of vehicles. However, the key challenge for battery swap to be successful is that EV manufacturers must agree on a common platform for battery and battery interface so that swapping stations can cater to a wide variety of vehicles.

In the fourth lecture of the module, we looked at why electric cars in the future must be charged from sustainable sources of electricity like wind and solar. Solar charging of EV has the fundamental advantage that rooftop PV installation can be installed in close proximity to where EVs can be charged. Finally, we discussed about the two methods that can be used to overcome the variability in renewable energy generation. One is to use an optimal combination of wind and solar energy so that they can help balance each other. The other technique is to implement smart charging of EV based on renewable energy generation.

• • • Let’s look at it in this video made by Nissan Motors on how future cities will look like with EVs as the “Fuel station of the future”.
    • And let us look at this vision for future highways with dynamic on road charging and powering of vehicles by wind and solar energy. We thank TU Delft alumni Natalia Scheele who made this video as part of her MSc thesis on green energy highways for future autonomous electric vehicles.