Designing a Prototype of a Mobile Charging Robot for Charging of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

As the market for electric vehicles grows, so does the demand for appropriate charging infrastructure. The availability of sufficient charging points is essential to increase public acceptance of electric vehicles and to avoid the so-called “charging anxiety”. However, the charging stations currently installed may not be able to meet the full charging demand, especially in areas where there is a general lack of grid infrastructure, or where the fluctuating nature of charging demand requires flexible, high-power charging solutions that do not require expensive grid extensions. In such cases, the use of mobile charging stations provides a good opportunity to complement the existing charging network. This paper presents a prototype of a mobile charging solution that is being developed as part of an ongoing research project, and discusses different use cases. The solution presented consists of a semi-autonomous robotic platform equipped with a high voltage battery and multiple charging interfaces. The robot can be charged via a CCS charging interface on a DC fast charging point. Once charged, the robot can be guided to an electric vehicle and charge it with power equivalent to a DC fast charger. In addition to the DC charging capability, the robot is equipped with a bidirectional inductive charging interface. This allows it to connect to a specially developed micro-mobility charging station, where it can either receive energy or provide its own energy to the station, which can then be used to charge micro-mobility vehicles connected to the station, such as electric bicycles. Based on the experience with the first prototype of the mobile charging robot, this paper highlights the applicability of the mobile charging robot for different use cases.