Control and Firmware HIL-Based Test Platform for Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Stations

The constant growth of the electromobility sector opens many opportunities for companies to expand the development of charging stations and other related devices. However, each car manufacturer has its own charging profile and distinct vehicle features. Moreover, several standards must be attended which makes the development of a generic charging station a complex task. In this regard, a test platform could accelerate and support the development stage of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, enabling the verification of the communication requirements and control analysis. Therefore, this paper proposes a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) based platform to test the control system and firmware of electric vehicle fast charging stations, reducing the cost and time to develop new charging stations. The power converters of the charging station are simulated in a HIL equipment, but the control system of the converters and the communication controller with the vehicle are implemented such as done in practice. Experiments using this platform are made considering the requirements of the standards related to this topic. Finally, results of the tests regarding communication protocols, security, and interoperability are presented.