Volvo upgrades C30 Electric with more powerful motor and 22 kW fast charger
23 April 2013
|
|
| The new 22 kW fast charger supports a full pack charge in 1.5 hours. Click to enlarge. |
Beginning this summer, European leasing customers will drive and evaluate an upgraded demo fleet of 100 Volvo C30 battery electric cars that feature a new, more powerful motor from Siemens and a new 22 kW on-board flexible fast-charger from BRUSA.
The new Siemens motor for the generation II C30 has a peak power output of 89 kW (120 hp) and a torque of 250 N·m (184 N·m), enabling acceleration from 0-70 km/h (0-43 mph) in 5.9 seconds and 0-100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 10.7 seconds. The motor in the first generation C30 EV delivered 83 kW (111 hp) and 220 N·m (162 lb-ft).
Siemens is the main supplier of electric propulsion power train components for Volvo’s forthcoming Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, which enables electrification at all level—from different kinds of hybrids to pure electric drive—without intruding on interior or load space. (Earlier post.)
The strategic partnership between Volvo Car Group and Siemens was formed in August 2011 with the intention to jointly spearhead the development of electrified cars.
|
|
| BRUSA NLG6 22 kW charger. Click to enlarge. |
The new 22 kW fast-charger is the first on-board charger that operates on a three-phase supply and is small enough to be fitted in an electric car. The BRUSA 22 kW charger supports a single-phase input voltage range of 200-250 V and a three-phase input voltage range three-phase range of 360-440 V; maximum charging current is 60A.
Using a three-phase outlet, a charge of the Li-ion battery pack—24 kWh nominal, of which 22.7 kWh is used to power the car—takes 1.5 hours (total range 164 km / 102 miles according to NEDC certification driving cycle). An ordinary single-phase 230 V household outlet takes 8-10 hours, depending on the available current.
|
|
| Three charging cables. The red cord shows the three-phase charger (16-32 Amp), the blue is for permanent installation, e.g. house, workplace or charging pole (0-32 Amp) and the yellow cord is a standard power socket, 0-16 Amp. Click to enlarge. |
BRUSA Elektronik AG also supplied drivetrain components for the original C30 Electric. Both chargers, the BRUSA NLG5 (3.7 kW) that is installed in the first generation of the Volvo C30 Electric and the new BRUSA NLG6 (22 kW) in the second generation follow the principle of galvanic isolation to ensure maximum electrical safety for the user and the charging infrastructure.
Together with its reinforced insulation, this probably makes the new NLG6 fast charger the safest device on the market, Brusa claims. Because of these safety features, the NLG6 can be used with standard EVSE using basic ground fault detection (RCD) type A.
BRUSA started series production of the NLG6 fast charger last year; Volvo is the second OEM placing an order for it, BRUSA said.
OK, so a 22Kw charger can charge the car for 100 miles in 1.5 hours.
This is about a 1:1 ratio for charging - motorway driving, assuming you can find a 3 phase supply.
So you might be able to hop down the motorway in 60-80 mile hops with 60-80 minute charging stops.
Best keep it for shorter runs - when it will be fine.
Posted by: mahonj | 23 April 2013 at 07:45 AM
Well that depends on what they are calling a ...charge... bev makers rarely define a charge as 0-100% and I have seen some define it as 40-70%.. so it varies wildly. Also just because its a 22 kw charger does NOT mean it charges at 22kw all that much of the charge cycle...
Posted by: wintermane2000 | 23 April 2013 at 08:00 AM
Sure, why don't we add yet another charging standard to the mix. There are only four right now. Thanks, Volvo.
Posted by: Alexandre Beaudet | 23 April 2013 at 08:07 AM
Price, not range is the real reason for slow adoption of EVs. Our owners don't want us to have a decline in consumption, which this inevitably will be, so they are trying to convince us we need an excess of batteries. What weak nonsense. If there was any real value in the junk they sell they wouldn't have to do so much brainwashing.
Posted by: Brotherkenny4 | 23 April 2013 at 10:02 AM
Alexandre you mixing something, probably DC with AC chargers. and if you mean that red 3 phase plug, it is standart at least in Europe...
Posted by: As Aha | 23 April 2013 at 10:03 AM
Yep, no new charging standards here. This appears to be a nice flexible charger in the same footprint of other chargers shipping today in production cars only capable of a fraction of the power handling...
Posted by: Dave R | 23 April 2013 at 11:30 AM
At least a useful upgrade for the $2100 monthly lease that Volvo charges for this car.
Posted by: Joe | 23 April 2013 at 12:47 PM
I would like to know why modern BEVs only get 4 miles/kwh, when the EV-1 got 6 miles/kwh.
Posted by: Zhukova | 23 April 2013 at 05:53 PM
The EV-1 was an impossibly expensive impractical car.. no one wanted a $100k all aluminum 2 seater when gas was at its historically lowest levels, once you accounted for inflation.
The Chamaleon charger that Renault Zoe uses was first before this Brusa charger and all lithium-ion batteries can be charged very quickly to 80% but to fully top off you need disproportionately more time, plus it heats it up.
A 3-phase charger just short circuits the argument for expensive Fast DC chargers that are needed by the Leaf.. all you need is a standard 3-phase socket.
Posted by: Herm | 24 April 2013 at 01:51 AM
EV-1 wasn't for sale, so why talk about the price? It was expensive because GM only made a handful. The price had no effect on the EV-1's 6 mile/kwh. It used lead acid batteries and weighed 3000 lbs. Leaf weighs only 10% more, but gets barely 3 miles/kwh.
Posted by: Zhukova | 27 April 2013 at 11:56 AM