Fast Forward EV Charging Solutions
The transportation sector accounts for about a quarter of global CO2 emissions, with a significant portion coming from passenger vehicles. Therefore, decarbonization of mobility is of high priority and the electrification of vehicles is currently a booming technology. Enormous progress has been made, especially in terms of range, energy density and safety of batteries, helping to overcome the challenges battery powered vehicles are facing. However, one of the biggest challenges for EVs is located outside of the vehicle itself. In order to support the widespread adoption of EVs, consumers and fleets need a robust network of charging locations. Significant investment is needed to expand access to reliable charging points. Fortunately, there’s a variety of ways to make charging infrastructure fit for the future, with the help of specially designed foams and adhesive tapes.
Reducing the Need to Charge
The first step to address the demand on the charging network is to improve the efficiency of the battery pack. Foams and tapes can play a significant role by increasing power density of battery packs, either in vehicles or in the supporting Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Our compression pads exhibit flat CFD curves, which help to optimize pressure on cells during charging and discharging cycles for better cell performance. They also help to extend battery life by minimizing the relative motion between the cells in case of shock or vibration, maximizing electrical insulation and preventing arcing within modules. High-performance thermal runaway protection materials combine thermal insulation with fire-blocking characteristics and excellent compression set resistance, serving a dual purpose of fire mitigation and as a compression pad in lithium-ion batteries. Together with thermal interface materials, cushioning pads and pack seal gasketing solutions, modern battery packs can be designed to reach further and optimize loading cycles, which results in reduced and more efficient charging needs.
Power-up EV Charging
We have seen that great potential to optimize EV charging lies in the vehicle battery and its components, but let’s have a look at how the charging infrastructure and its components can be optimized with tapes to meet the growing demand of powering electric vehicles. From renewable energy production to BESS, specially designed foams and tapes can have a significant impact on efficiency and performance. But in taking a deeper look at battery charging components like wall-boxes, charging stations or even via plugs at home, these materials can offer added value to make charging safer, faster and more efficient.
A closer look at Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)
EVSE summarizes the equipment used to charge electric vehicle batteries. Different types of equipment can be installed at station locations. A station location is a site which has one or more EVSE ports at the same address, such as hotel, shopping plaza or parking garage. The unit that houses EVSE ports is sometimes called a charging post or column and can have multiple EVSE ports. The EVSE port provides power to charge only one vehicle at a time, although it may have multiple connectors and plug types (such as CHAdeMO or CCS). The connector is what’s finally plugged into a vehicle to charge it.
The difference between Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) charging
Power from the grid is always supplied as AC, while batteries need DC power to operate. The main difference between AC and DC charging is the location where the power gets converted; inside or outside of the car. In AC charging, there are also different levels, from slow (Level 1: from 3 to 7 kW, 8–10 hours to charge) typical for residential use, to fast (Level 2: up to 19.2 kW in USA, or up to 43 kW in Europe, 4–6 hours to charge) for residential or commercial use. DC charging is considered Level 3 and often referred to as DC Fast Charging.
With AC charging, the vehicle uses an onboard charger (OBC) to convert the supplied power from AC to DC, while a DC charging station converts the power internally. This means it can feed power directly to the car's battery without being limited by the OBC, enabling batteries to charge much faster (< 30 min). DC charging stations are usually more expensive than an AC charging station due to the power output involved and are mainly for commercial use. This results in more demanding requirements due to high voltage or specific environments.
Fast charging requires high performance solutions
While refueling vehicles with combustion engines takes only a few minutes, one of the biggest challenges of battery electric vehicles is the time needed to charge. Engineers worldwide are working on reducing charging times. While the use of higher power is essential for faster charging, it also puts enormous heat and stress on batteries and components.
Thermal interface material solutions
Electronics power modules and electrical components in charging stations are sensitive parts and they need strong protection from heat, mechanical and environmental influences. Thermal Interface Materials like our gap pads or ThermaCool® TC Series silicone pads with UL94 V-0 rating ensure excellent electrical isolation and reliably dissipate heat from the system to increase safety and protect sensitive components from overheating and to increase their lifetime. ThermaCool R10404 is a Thermally Conductive Closed-cell Silicone Sponge Rubber, offering thermal conductivity, electrical isolation and compression set resistance (vibration absorption). Its unique features make it an ideal gap filler for vibration sensitive heat transfer applications. Thermally Conductive Transfer Adhesives like ThermaCool TR3 can also be used in place of mechanical fasteners to bond heat sinks to components.
Electrical insulation and shielding solutions
To ensure reliable performance and safety during fast charging, wires and cables within the charging station require high-end electrical insulation and thermal management. Our full range of UL specified electrical insulation tapes, including Kapton® and Nomex® materials, provide excellent mechanical, electrical, temperature and chemical resistance for maximized component protection, safety and lifetime. High Temperature (UL Class H) Pressure Sensitive Tapes like CHR® 2255 combine high dielectric and tensile strength in a modified high-modulus PTFE tape for extremely durable insulation. Medium Temperature (UL Class F & B) Pressure Sensitive Tapes like CHR GL.94 provide high adhesion and abrasion-resistance in a glass cloth acrylic tape. Where electronic shielding is necessary, solutions like CHR C665 (and h-old® SCUT.36, in Europe) is an ideal choice due to its electrically conductive, conformable and easy-to-apply product features that provide excellent EMI/RFI shielding through reliable isolation of components from radiating or leaking interference.
Enclosure sealing solutions
Since many charging stations are installed outdoors, materials for housing need to be resistant against weather, shock, extreme temperatures, dirt and chemicals. Our premium gasketing materials that withstand harsh environmental influences reliably protect the inside from water or dirt ingress and extreme temperatures. Our soft and lightweight silicone foams Norseal® F-15 and F-20 provide excellent flame resistance with low toxicity and smoke generation, meeting the highest flame rating of UL94 V-0. Materials like Norseal 515GF and 520GF provide all the same benefits of silicone foam in an easy-to-apply, pressure sensitive tape form. Multifunctional materials like our Norseal FS1000 intumescent polyurethane foam combine excellent water- and airtight sealing with high conformability, UV resistance, dampening and fire protection properties, making them ideal for future designs and demanding locations. For sealing applications up to 70°C, Norseal PS-V0 micro-cellular polyurethane foam is the ideal silicone-free alternative for sophisticated gasketing applications.
Component attachment and lamination solutions
Multifunctional adhesive tapes not only facilitate assembly processes for streamlined manufacturing, they also combine excellent shock and vibration absorption with strong weather resistance in one product. These tapes are ideal for fastener-free attachment of emblems, exterior elements and structural components, featuring quick-stick application, adhesion to silicones and low surface energy substrates. Acrylic Bonding Tapes like translink 80HS FR are designed with a transparent, UL94 V-0 rated acrylic transfer adhesive, offering excellent performance on low surface energy materials. Film Supported Transfer Adhesive like 8650 and 8822 are specially designed for bonding to low surface energy materials such as silicone. Polyurethane Bonding Tapes like Norbond® V2800 Series combine a black polyurethane foam substrate with a high-performance, pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive on both sides, allowing energy and stress in the joint to be dissipated over the entire bond.
Moving the future together
With the number of electric vehicles increasing, the network of charging points is spreading worldwide — and we are not only talking about cars being charged at home, in apartments, workplaces, commercial, roadside or hotel destinations. Powering electrified work fleets, public transport, industrial fleets, trucks and marine vessels will require innovative solutions and our tapes are designed to help solve your challenges in moving the future. Let us support you and contact us today to find the best tape solutions for an electrified future.
