One of the challenges of the MOBSTER project is the development and dissemination of new technologies. And it is precisely with this objective in mind that the Eurac Research team started during the project a collaboration with the company Alpitronic to realize a V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) emergency recharging prototype, which allows an electric vehicle to be recharged via another electric vehicle.
The emergency device is designed to recharge an electric vehicle that is on the road with a flat battery: the possibility of having the battery recharged by another vehicle is therefore the only solution for reaching the destination or at least the nearest recharging station. In order to offer this kind of solution, together with Alpitronic the Eurac Research team is developing a prototype starting from a ‘traditional’ Hypercharger and adapting it so as to establish communication between the device and the two vehicles. The prototype was realized considering both aspects related to charging speed (in terms of charging power) and aspects related to the control of the prototype itself, such as the possibility of being able to disconnect the device before complete charging (partial charging), so as to allow the vehicle to reach its destination or at least the nearest charging point.
The prototype was built and tested in a laboratory environment under controlled conditions, where it demonstrated the operation of charging an electric vehicle through another electric vehicle that is V2G (Vehicle to Grid) compatible. The tests were carried out considering the technical characteristics of a Nissan E-NV200 model vehicle, a van model considered adequate to support the device and one of the few vehicles currently on the market that allow this type of application. Tests have shown that the device can handle discharge powers of up to 10 kW without any problems.
Further tests are underway these days with the aim of fine-tuning the device and further improving its performance (reaching a power of up to 25 kW), preparing for regular use as a direct connection between two vehicles outdoors.