In recent years, EV charging stations have seen rapid development. However, there is a trend gaining more and more attention that is especially relevant for Fleet and Charge Point Operators. And let’s be clear: standalone chargers will always have their place, we are talking about highly scalable charging sites that need capex efficient and flexible solutions.
First things first: What is the difference between a distributed & standalone architecture for charging stations?
Standalone architecture: In this architecture, all components needed for DC charging (e.g. power electronics, ventilators, charging cable, user interfaces) are merged together into one monolithic housing.
Distributed architecture: In this architecture, power electronics are externalized into a separate unit, called powerblock which then provides a central DC power source to dispensers which are EV-driver facing. Sometimes this architecture is also referred to as satellite architecture.
Let us dive into the potential of the distributed charging architecture.
Most of us already know the typical setup along highways or supermarkets: multiple standalone charging stations providing up to 400 kW to charge up to two cars per station. This works out really well if you only need one or two charging stations at one location.
However, what happens if you aim to charge more than four vehicles at the same time? Electrify multiple parking lots in e.g. a supermarket instead of just two or three? A fleet depot? A highly frequented highway charging site?
Then, it might be interesting to think of something else, something that gives more vehicles the opportunity to charge simultaneously.
The distributed charging architecture is emerging in the European market and has the potential to disrupt it entirely in the next few years. Moreover, we can see it being used already in more mature markets like Norway or China.
As already mentioned, it consists of the powerblock with multiple power modules that serve as a flexible DC power source and facilitate the power distribution to multiple dispensers based on EV requests. This setup enables parallel charging and adjusts the number of power modules assigned to the dispenser to the actual needs of the vehicle. While in a standalone charging station, you face the risk that some of the included power modules remain unused most of the time (e.g. if the connected vehicles can only take a fraction of the power), the distributed architecture allows all power modules to be allocated in a flexible way to those dispensers where the power is actually needed.
For dispensers, it allows a wide range going from 30 kW to 400 kW, wallbox style, floor or ceiling mounted, with or without liquid cooled cables.
No matter how your charging site will evolve over time, you will be able to assign the power modules within the powerblock to the different dispensers as needed. Afterall, this is one of the biggest next steps the market will think about: How can we get the most out of the capital and resources invested into charging infrastructure?
What makes it so appealing for charging sites is the elegance and less environmental impact. Instead of having many big charging stations at each parking lot that create noise and take up space, you are able to place the powerblock at a location that is close to the trafo station, often hidden behind a house or trees including a central, silent cooling option. Only significantly smaller dispensers will be distributed over the charging site and can be easily adapted to the environment.
In summary, the distributed charging architecture allows for both specialized sub-systems, the powerblock and the dispenser, to do their job at their best conditions. This gives every site and charge point operator the chance to set up the charging site as needed and leaves room for differentiation.
If you are currently thinking about the next generation of charging products or charging sites, ask yourself how you will adapt and scale it in the future? How can you meet the needs of a rapidly expanding charging infrastructure and an increasing demand for convenient, flexible EV charging in the most effective way? And how can you be most cost-efficient, generating the most returns on your investment?
We are here to help you find the perfect reference design for your next product generation. If it is a smaller set-up with standalone chargers or the next generation scalable product for larger charging sites, we have the right reference designs together with our partners for you.
The demand for large-scale EV charging sites with distributed charging architecture is on the edge to become a common use case. As market leader of reference designs for EV DC charger manufacturers, EcoG is catalyzing this architecture to become mainstream and to complement the offering of stand-alone charging set-ups. We believe it will become a powerful tool to actively close the gap between EV adoption and EV charging infrastructure especially in cities. We are super excited about this trend and we strongly believe it will help us drive the transition to sustainable mobility forward.
Fill out our contact form to get in touch with us for further discussions and stay tuned for more information on this trend. In the next articles, we will dive into the possibilities of companies to start building their own powerblocks & dispensers. Stay tuned!
Check out more blog posts in this series here: https://get.ecog.io/ecog-distributed-charging-architecture
EcoG is a global IP and tech company working on the rapid expansion of sustainable charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. With its charge controllers, reference designs and software, it enables companies to get products & services to market quickly and scale profitably.
EcoG is already the market leader in Europe with more than 15% market share and a strong footprint in the Indian and North American markets. Overall, EcoG grew four times faster than the market last year. Industrial giants such as Siemens or one of the world’s largest service station equipment suppliers are among its customers. The company continues to grow in 2024 and as a next step invests 14,4M$ in its North American HQ in the USA.