Mazumder receives patent for his work to improve EV battery charging
Mazumder receives patent for his work to improve EV battery charging Heading link
Professor Sudip K. Mazumder has been awarded a patent for his silicone carbide (SiC) universal electric vehicle (EV) supercharger. The technology improves upon existing systems for charging EV batteries.
For EVs to be more widely adopted, price, efficiency, battery recharge time, and range are challenges that need to be addressed. Direct current (DC) fast-charging systems are being developed to improve battery charging, but currently available DC fast-charging systems for EVs are bulky and inefficient.
The technology, invented by Mazumder, and his former PhD students Moien Mohamadi and Nikhil Kumar, was patented by UIC, and was made with government support by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Department of Energy (ARPA-E). Mazumder led that project, Universal Battery Supercharger, for four years.
“It is now realized globally that to enhance the incorporation of EVs on a large scale, fast charging the EVs in a time that is comparable to filling their gas-based counterparts is a necessity,” Mazumder said. “The patented SiC-based advanced EV charging technology, is a major contribution in that regard, thanks in part to the support of ARPA-E.”
Their battery charging technology includes a variety of novel components and features, including integrated magnetics, systems for coordinating the protection of equipment (and people) during operation, loss mitigation technology, and modular scalability.
The system includes a three-phase alternating current (AC) source with a modular charging system, which converts each phase of the three-phase AC signal to a DC signal, used to charge the battery.
The power module includes fault response circuitry that protects the system and halts operations in dangerous conditions, such as over-voltage, undervoltage, and overcurrent conditions.
“The patented technology leads to a true single stage and transformerless fast battery supercharger, and can modularly scale for higher voltages and power levels, ” Mazumder added.
Mazumder, who is director of the Laboratory for Energy and Switching Electronic Systems at UIC, has been awarded 12 patents and is currently supported by about 60 grants.