Fast and Ultra-Fast Charging for Battery Electric Vehicles – A Review

This paper intends to establish an overall up-to-date review on Fast Charging methods for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). This study starts from basic concepts involving single battery cell charging, current and future charging standards. Then, some popular power converter topologies employed for this application are introduced, and finally a summary of the industrial solutions available on the market are presented, as well as the ongoing projects related to the extreme fast charging (XFC) network expansion. Practical insights, considering the current BEV scenario, are employed to get a better understanding of this topic. Special attention is given to the modular design approach, analyzing its advantages and some of the factors that influence the number and size of modules that conform a fast charger solution.