Fast Charging & Infrastructure

A large proponent of lowering the barriers to adoption is access to fast, convenient public charging infrastructure—an effort that is most successful when championed by a collaborative approach. Learn about cross-industry collaboration between OEMs, utilities, charge station operators, policymakers, and government agencies. By working collaboratively and across industries, GM works to ensure widespread access to technology, charging, and energy management for current and future EV drivers.

The rapid rise of electric vehicles (EVs) has intensified global demand for charging infrastructure, presenting both challenges and opportunities for electricity grids. This speech examines EV charging's impact on grid stability, load management, and efficiency across technical, economic, and regulatory realms. It addresses distribution network strains from heightened peak demand and potential grid congestion during peak periods. The integration of smart grid technologies and renewable energy sources, including advanced metering, demand response initiatives, and battery storage, is explored as essential strategies to alleviate these pressures and optimize grid performance amid evolving energy landscapes.

Billions of dollars in grants, rebates, loans, and incentives flood the EV charging landscape, offering powerful opportunities for organizations to accelerate deployment. However, navigating this complex funding environment, with its political and policy dynamics, can be challenging, often leaving companies with scattered resources and no centralized source to locate funding or decipher eligibility. This session explores available financial opportunities, strategies and tricks to identify and qualify for funding, and the complexities of the current and future policy landscape, helping organizations unlock successful project implementation and growth. 

Nyobolt has commercialized fast-charge battery technology capable of full recharge in five minutes or less, as Nyobolt recently demonstrated with our 35kWh EV that was recharged in 4.5 minutes.  This talk will highlight how adoption of fast-charge batteries also requires a technology with many charge-discharge cycles (allowing smaller batteries), often high discharge power, appropriate BMS, limited tradeoff in energy density and consideration of thermal management and available charging infrastructure.

How do you optimise battery system design to meet end user needs, while simultaneously driving down development costs? In his talk, Dr. Ian Campbell explores charge-time optimisation and how OEMs can develop smarter, cost-efficient battery systems. He shares data-driven examples of adaptive charging strategies that enhance performance in real-world scenarios, including low temperatures and different starting states of charge.

Alternative EV charging technologies beyond conductive cable-based solutions include wireless charging, which allows charging without cables; battery swapping, which replaces depleted batteries with fully charged ones in minutes; and off-grid solutions like solar-powered or generator-based charging systems, providing power in remote areas or during grid outages. These technologies enhance convenience, reduce dependency on grid infrastructure, and support faster and more flexible EV adoption.

Cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries exhibit rapid capacity fade during fast-charging due to transition metal (TM) dissolution, especially at high voltages and elevated temperatures. Our study identifies elevated cell temperature as the primary driver of Fe dissolution in LiFePO4/graphite cells during 4C cycling. After 400 cycles, Fe dissolution accelerates, limiting cycle life to 956 cycles. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profile analysis confirmed Fe deposition on the graphite anode, catalyzing solid electrolyte interface formation. This dissolution–deposition process contributes to 17–20% capacity loss. Mitigating TM dissolution remains challenging, with mechanisms still unclear.

Ultrafast lasers can be used to create micro-structures in battery electrodes that greatly improve electrolyte wetting and high-rate charging. Secondary and tertiary pore networks with specifically tailored geometries reduce Li-ion transport pathways from the electrode-electrolyte interface to the active particles enabling faster charging, and more homogeneous electrolyte infiltration into the electrode composite. Our cost-analysis simulations using the Battery Performance and Cost model indicate adoption of ultrafast-laser electrode processing adds minimal additional cell costs, approximately $1.50/kWh. We present a detailed characterization of experimental laser ablation for common battery electrodes, enabling informed choices of laser parameters and accurate predicting of processing throughput.

Process upscaling of laser structuring of thick film composite electrodes has been pushed towards pilot-line level for the production of advanced 3D lithium-ion batteries. Fast charging performance is significantly improved for optimized 3D batteries, while lithium plating is substantially suppressed. In addition, capacity retention is dramatically increased and cycle life can be at least doubled. The 3D battery concept is demonstrated for both pouch and cylindrical cells and offers significant advantages in increasing energy density while reducing production costs. Roll-to-roll machine concepts using high-power ultrafast lasers have been established, enabling high rate and damage-free structuring of high mass-loaded electrodes.

Many fast charging stations lack the basic amenities that ICE drivers can expect from even the barest of gas stations. This presentation outlines the improvements that must be made to the EV charging customer's experience to not only make EV adoption more palatable, but the more desirable option.

Charging reliability is crucial for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. A reliable charging infrastructure ensures that EV owners can charge their vehicles without encountering major issues, which is essential for building consumer confidence and reducing range anxiety. Consistent and dependable charging experiences enable former internal combustion vehicle owners to seamlessly transition to electric vehicles. This is a key challenge for the EV market as a whole and will require collaborative efforts to enhance current levels of charging infrastructure reliability. The presentation will provide an overview of the ChargeX multi-lab industry consortium and its efforts to address public EV charging reliability.

As electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure expands, so does the risk of cyberattacks. This presentation addresses the role of cybersecurity in EV charging infrastructure, highlighting high-profile cyberattacks, as well as cybersecurity best practices and guidance solutions. This presentation focuses on known vulnerabilities and exploits seen in EV charging infrastructure, as well as discusses Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI) applied research conducted on EV chargers (L2 and Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC)).