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Charge management introduced in North Carolina

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First US company implements INIT’s electromobility solution
Numerous orders from all over Europe, inquiries from across the world and now the first order from the US: The INIT Group’s electromobility solutions are in high demand. GoRaleigh, the public transport company in North Carolina’s capital Raleigh, is currently introducing the smart charge management system to efficiently and cost-effectively charge its recently launched electric bus fleet.

By utilising MOBILEcharge from INIT’s subsidiary CarMedialab, the public transport company will automate charging processes, efficiently manage power demands, align service schedules, and proactively maintain their new e-vehicles. The integration with GoRaleigh’s ITCS and planning systems will allow for real-time charging plan updates according to operational needs, ensuring vehicles are charged in an economical and efficient manner.

E-bus_©GoRaleigh
GoRaleigh’s electric buses will be cost-effectively charged and efficiently operated thanks to INIT’s charge management system.

Monitoring charging activities
GoRaleigh will use the system to monitor and coordinate charging activities and ensure electricity limits are not exceeded. They will also be able to categorise the services a vehicle may need to perform (e.g., distinguishing between states of charge suitable for a full-day versus rush-hour assignment), so those plans can be easily implemented again in the future. Even more, GoRaleigh will benefit from reduced electricity costs and improved operational efficiency.

Getting the order from North Carolina means INIT can support yet another company in charge management and operations of an e-bus fleet. In recent times, transport providers in Leipzig (Germany), Bergen (Norway) or Deventer (the Netherlands) have relied on MOBILEcharge for effectively charging their electric vehicles.

Raleigh on their way to an emission-free fleet
The comprehensive functionalities of the INIT solution align with the public transport company’s goal to transition 70% of its fleet to zero or near-zero emissions by 2023. Due to the system’s scalability, it will easily be possible to adapt it to operate a growing fleet of e-buses effectively.

To David Eatman, Assistant Director, City of Raleigh Department of Transportation, this is an important factor on their road to green mobility: “Our partnership with INIT will allow us to intelligently manage the charging process for our e-buses, and realise cost savings through efficient load management and prioritisation according to operational needs.”

Why does charging have to be intelligent and smart?

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Because it saves costs, is easier to manage and reduces risks. As an expert in vehicle data and charging technologies combined with our deep understanding of charging management, we are here to assist you handle and deploy your electric fleet.

Read more about our view on smart charging, preconditioning, standardization and how to scale your electric vehicle deployment here:

CarMedialab: how smart charging helps PTO to scale up electric bus deployment. An interview with General Manager Heiko Bauer

EV Charging Infrastructure 2021 in Berlin

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It has been inspiring days at EV Charging Infrastructure 2021 in Berlin, where leading automotive manufacturers met with developers, network operators and decision makers to explore the needs of a new generation of electric vehicles.

Of particular interest was the presentation by Marc Gebert, NXP Semiconductors. He vividly explained the challenges and smart digital solutions for the development of charging stations for electric vehicles. We are very proud that Marc Gebert reported on the productive cooperation with CarMedialab and are already looking forward to future projects. 

Marc Gebert, NXP Semiconductors

What makes OCPP better for Smart Charging?

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Different types of chargers and systems
When charging becomes more and more the norm, many different manufacturers will be offering their type of backend systems and their type of EV charging systems. This means that we will see a possible development of different types of chargers and systems. Eventually there will be a race of which types are the better.

OCPP in action

A similar type of discussion has been seen before when CDs and laserdiscs were introduced or if we go further back the VHS and the Betamax. Back then there was two different systems and only one of them could win. This time there’s a new compatibility-tool which makes it possible to manage more kinds of charging systems.

To manage these different systems OCPP is the key
As it is an international open source standard with no license, there is no restrictions of use for anyone. Using the Open Charge Point Protocol to connect and exchange communication between the charger and the charging network offers a more flexible solution as it creates an interoperability for equipment from different manufacturers. Other features that the OCPP offers is to remotely manage the charges, fix the rates and generate reports at the charging facility. It can even detect which EV charging station is available or reserved, which are active and charging a vehicle and which are not working. Furthermore, the status of the charger as well as it’s firmware can be updated without even being on-site.

Exchange of data between car, charging station and energy supplier

How to decide wether Smart Charging is the new future of mobility
Smart charging enables the ability to automatically adjust charging patterns, based on charging. 

To be more precise, there are four main advantages by which the Open Charge Point Protocol improves Smart Charging drastically.

  1. When using the EV charging station, the OCPP will control the supply to specific vehicles by putting limits on the maximum power that can be supplied by each charging gun.
  2. The OCPP Smart Charging allows priority charging for selected vehicles over others.
  3. Smart Charging helps regulate the total energy consumption and the associated cost by taking into account the factors such as load capacity, the current tariff for the electricity and the availability of renewable power.
  4. On the supply side, OCPP compliance with other protocols allows for integration with the grid to support it during peak demand time.

All in all there is no need to make a new “Betamax discussion” as the OCPP has everything covered as long as the charging system is compliant with the OCPP.

Consequently, when manufactures plan on developing new charging points, the main aspect they need to be aware of is the compliance with OCPP. As a result a flexible optimization, operation and maintenance of the charging system is guaranteed.

Smart Charging: Electrification of Transportation

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Our expert Reg shares his thoughts on Smart Charging in this podcast. Enjoy listening!

Smart Charging is about intelligently organizing and optimizing the charging process for drivers, and between vehicles and the energy grid. It starts with easy access to the charging point and includes the payment procedure, the specification of when the charging process should be completed, protective charging of the battery, and the avoidance of overload situations in the power grid. Electric charging is actually more complicated than refueling. But for customers who really want to migrate to electric vehicles, it’s not just the much-cited range that’s important, but also a pleasant charging experience.

Our expert Reg Viray

How Public Transport can save our Planet

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More and more we are concerned with the environment and the current state of the planet. Pollution and emissions from road transportation vehicles are still increasing.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/headlines/society/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-and-figures-infographics

https://www.eea.europa.eu/
CO2 Emissions from Transport on the Rise

The most sustainable form of Public Transport is currently electric buses
At the same time humanity is developing technology at a rapid pace to keep up with the environmental situation and help us solve this problem. We need to change from an emission-based transportation to a sustainable transportation model. At the moment the most sustainable way of public transportation that can be scaled is by electric buses.

The electric buses, or e-buses as they are also called, have become very popular. We face a new era where renewable energy is in high demand as emission-based energy seems to have an expiring date.

However, the decision of changing the whole fleet of buses in a city to a more sustainable solution is economically challenging, though necessary. And even when the fleet has been changed to electric buses, a lot of budget goes into the operation of the e-buses. This is part of the reason that the decision to change the fleet is not as easy as it might seem. It’s a complex decision as there are many aspects that need to be taken into consideration. 

The type of vehicle, the battery capacity ranges, weather and even the topography of the routes the buses will drive all have an impact on the expenses, as well as the different charging scenarios. All this adds up to weighing of costs.

E-Busses are charged with Priority

How is the transformation of the fleet successful?
This is where the charging management system MOBILEcharge helps you in collecting data through the software system integrated in the charging stations. The EV electric management software measures the need for charging the buses based on energy storage and how much power is left. It also makes sure to distribute evenly the charging, avoiding peak hours for electricity, so you get the best prices for charging. The intelligent charging process is controlled automatically and always gives you an overview of the operating costs.

Using MOBILEcharge, a smart load management system provides you with enough data to plan your vehicles charging needs and plan the routes efficiently. Always take into consideration the options you have and the unique features you get to review historical and real time energy consumption. Just the economic aspect alone of the energy consumption compared to previous carbon-based energy consumption and the comparison of pollution will give you incentive enough to choose for a greener future with MOBILEcharge.

Interoperability test ✓

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ISO 15118 e-mobility experts from different companies met at the Testival Europe 2021 in Stuttgart to perform ISO 15118 interoperability tests. In order for CCS to become globally accepted, it is of major importance to achieve and prove perfect interoperability between all CCS-equipped vehicles and CCS chargers. For SEW Eurodrive we were able to provide the appropriate software stacks and charging controllers for BMW, Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, DEKRA, Mercedes Benz and VW. CarMedialab was able to perform successfully exciting test cases like Inductive Charging, Plug and Charge and High Power Charging. The results were great and are another step into the future.


https://www.charin.global/events/testival-europe/

Impressionen beim Testen

Impressionen beim Testen

Impressionen beim Testen

Impressionen beim Testen
Impressions during testing

Buses in Leipzig go electric – Charged with MOBILEcharge

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Leipziger Verkehrbetriebe awards CarMedialab, the leading provider in the field of charging management for electric buses, with the delivery of the charging management system MOBILEcharge.

In the future, the system will monitor and control charging processes at the depot and on the route based on operational requirements. This means that buses will not only run on time, but will also be sufficiently charged and sustainable.

Innovative German-French Collaboration

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Inductive Smart Charging based on ISO 15118
Through an international “out of the box” collaboration with our French partners Centum Adeneo, EFI Automotive, Magtech and  Laboratoire Ampère we were able to develop an innovative inductive charging system. Through this successful cooperation, we can thus bring an efficient, modular and cost-effective inductive charging system to the global market.

EMCC is part of an international cooperation project “AllFraTech”. The Cluster Electric Mobility Southwest intensifies its cooperation relations with relevant stakeholders in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region through the cross-border cooperation project “Franco-German Alliance for Innovative Mobility Technologies (AllFraTech)“. The jointly established cooperation strategy is the basis in the subsequent implementation phase for cross-border research and development projects on current issues relating to future mobility technologies.

Keolis Norge: Intelligent Charging Optimization of e-Buses in Norway

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Keolis succeeds in starting to operate electric buses in Bergen with complete success. With MOBILEcharge, charging processes can be controlled and monitored. This makes it possible to see remotely if there is a fault, if a charge is not working, and how the state of charge of each bus develops during the night. This innovative and sustainable solution could be a model for many other cities.