Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for improved User Experience
eCharge4Drivers is an H2020 project running from June 2020 to May 2024 and deployed by a consortium of 32 partners.
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are increasing rapidly across Europe. However, drivers still often encounter problems in finding appropriate charging options, limiting the ease of use of EVs and potentially posing a barrier to increase the uptake of EVs.
eCharge4Drivers focuses on this issue and will work to substantially improve the EV charging experience within cities and for long trips. By capturing users’ perceptions and expectations on the various charging options and their mobility and parking habits, eCharge4Drivers will organise demonstrations in 10 areas across Europe, including metropolitan areas and Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) corridors. Charging stations in these areas will offer user-friendly and convenient functionalities for EV drivers of passenger and light vehicles and motorcycles, such as direct payment methods and bigger, user-friendly displays.
The project objectives are:
Develop and demonstrate user-friendly charging stations and innovative charging solutions:
- Modular, scalable stations support low-power charging (20-150 kW) for passenger vehicles and motorcycles and high-power charging (> 150 kW) for passenger EVs
- Low-power DC charging stations (15-45 kW, supporting bi-directional energy flow up to 11 kW) for passenger vehicles and motorcycles
- Standardised DC charging stations for L1e vehicles (1.5 kW)
- Innovative charging solutions (mobile charging service, charging points on lamp posts, standardised battery swapping stations for L1e vehicles)
Smart services for the users:
- Offering enhanced information to users, before, during and after charging
- Smart charging strategies and services to enable the efficient integration of EVs in the energy network
Foster the broad implementation of charging infrastructure in Europe:
- Market models and proposed guidelines for investors and authorities, recommendations for legal and regulatory harmonization.
- Deployment of charging infrastructure and other charging services in a sustainable and user-centric way across Europe.
ICCS is the eCharge4Drivers project coordinator, responsible for all the technical and administrative coordination tasks. ICCS is also leading the evaluation and impact assessment work package, whilst also leading and/or contributing to several activities of the project, including the development of smart charging algorithms and strategies.