The expansion on the use of Electric Vehicles demands new mechanisms to ease the charging process, making it autonomous and with a reduced user intervention. This paper reviews the technologies applied to the wireless charge of Electric Vehicles. In particular, it focuses on the technologies based on the induction principle, the capacitive-based techniques, those that use radiofrequency waves and the laser powering. As described, the convenience of each technique depends on the requirements imposed on the wireless power transfer. Specifically, we can state that the power level, the distance between the power source and the electric vehicle or whether the transfer is executed with the vehicle on the move or not or the cost are critical parameters that need to be taken into account to decide which technology to use. In addition, each technique requires some complementary electronics. This paper reviews the main components that are incorporated into these systems and it provides a review of their most relevant configurations.

Inductive power transfer (IPT) for electric vehicles (EVs) is an emerging technology that can transfer power wirelessly over certain distances, thus offering some remarkable characteristics in terms of flexibility, position, and movability. The output power of an IPT system depends on the coupling factor of the magnetic couplers, which can deviate from the nominal operating conditions due to the occurrence of misalignment. Nevertheless, misalignment of the magnetic couplers in inductive charging is inevitable, and it usually results in the variation of the mutual inductance and output power of the system with a corresponding decrease in the system’s overall efficiency. So far, the literature has reported various techniques for achieving designs with higher misalignment tolerance. The reported techniques can be mainly classified into three categories, as viewed from the following aspects: magnetic couplers layouts, compensation networks, and control strategy. Each of these techniques has its pros and cons in terms of implementation cost, system layout, efficiency, power density, and reliability depending on the application. With the increased investigation of more applications of IPT, new modified techniques for improving the misalignment tolerance in the IPT system are continuously being proposed based on permutations and combinations of the existing ones; thus causing some confusion and difficulties for researchers and system vendors to follow. This article, therefore, aims to provide a comprehensive review of the existing methods for IPT systems that address the misalignment issue in EVs’ wireless charging. The background of the inductive charging systems for EVs is presented and an investigation of the numerous factors affecting the output power and other performances is conducted. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of each technique on the IPT system’s performance are analyzed in detail.

Wireless charging of Electric Vehicles (EVs) has become an important research topic in recent years. During the wireless charging process, wireless data exchange must take place between the EV and the charging station. Battery status, current and voltage of the charger or the EV identification may be required on the primary side in order for the system to operate properly. This data exchange can be carried out through commercial wireless communication solutions such as Bluetooth, 802.11 or ZigBee. However, these technologies introduce cybersecurity problems, high and variable transmission delays and possible connection losses during communication. To address these issues, numerous solutions have been proposed based on wireless data transmission through the wireless power transfer circuit. This paper gives a comprehensive review of the different issues that need to be considered for simultaneous wireless power and data transmission (SWPDT) for wireless EV charging applications. This context represents a challenge for SWPDT due to the power levels and the high probability of operating with notable misalignments or even with the EV on move. Specifically, a classification of SWPDT systems is described, and six different criteria to consider when designing a SWPDT system are analysed for EVs. The suitability of different system configurations is evaluated according to three representative use cases: (i) providing maximum efficiency, (ii) synchronisation for bidirectional wireless chargers and (iii) dynamic charging. We have also analysed the feasibility of using the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) together with ISO 15118, which is the most popular communication protocol used in EV charging infrastructures,.

The automotive industry is undergoing a transition toward cleaner and more efficient technologies. Electric vehicles (EVs) play a relevant role in this scenario. However, these vehicles continue to suffer from limitations in terms of autonomy and charging times, which can be alleviated with wireless charging technology. This technology facilitates the charging process but has a lower efficiency when compared with conductive chargers. This effect is particularly severe under misalignment conditions and with the usual variations of the battery's electrical features. In order to avoid this disadvantage, this article presents a predictive control algorithm focused on maximizing the charging efficiency. As a novelty, the algorithm sets three configuration parameters in the power converters of the system. The main advantage lies in the fact that it does not need constant monitoring and offers very low response times. This control also improves compatibility with different automobile manufacturers, adding the capacity to work with receivers and batteries with diverse characteristics while complying with international standards. The validity of the proposal is verified by theoretical analysis, simulations, and the experimental results of a 2-kW prototype. The results show the feasibility of the proposed control and the improvement in the efficiency of the system.

Undoubtedly, Industry 4.0 in the energy sector improves the conditions for automation, generation and distribution of energy, increasing the rate of electric vehicle manufacturing in recent years. As a result, more grid-connected charging infrastructures are being installed, whose charging stations (CSs) can follow standardized architectures, such as the one proposed by the open charge point protocol (OCPP). The most recent version of this protocol is v.2.0.1, which includes new security measures at device and communication level to cover those security issues identified in previous versions. Therefore, this paper analyzes OCPP-v2.0.1 to determine whether the new functions may still be susceptible to specific cyber and physical threats, and especially when CSs may be connected to microgrids. To formalize the study, we first adapted the well-known threat analysis methodology, STRIDE, to identify and classify threats in terms of control and energy, and subsequently we combine it with DREAD for risk assessment. The analyses indicate that, although OCPP-v2.0.1 has evolved, potential security risks still remain, requiring greater protection in the future.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining more and more user acceptances due to their clean, efficient, and environmentally friendly nature. Currently, most commercial EVs use conductive charging for their batteries. Inductive charging, which is an alternative charging technology, has recently received a great deal of attention because of its increased user convenience and safety. It is forecast that the two charging technologies will be implemented in future charging infrastructures globally. Consequently, future EVs need to be capable of dealing with both charging methods. So far, there have only been a very few charging topologies reported in the literature that describe both charging methods in the same vehicle. However, solutions that have been proposed do not show a significant component reduction. In this article, we propose a hybrid charger system where the high-frequency transformer of an onboard dc-dc converter becomes the coupling point between the conductive and inductive charging. Using this coupling point, the circuit utilizes the same components for conductive and for inductive charging. This results in the reduction of component count and, therefore, an improved integration. The proposed system is verified by both simulation and experiment. For the experiment, a 3-kW prototype has been built and tested. The maximum efficiency of 97.4% and 93.6% was achieved in the conductive and inductive mode, respectively.