A Three-Phase Electric Vehicle Charger Integrated With Dual-Inverter Drive

Lack of charging stations and long charge times are critical barriers to widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption. High power off-board charging stations can address these issues but are expensive to implement. This article presents a three-phase EV charger integrated with the dual-inverter drive. Integrated charging can substantially reduce the charging station costs by reusing drivetrain components, such as power electronics and cooling systems, for charging when the EV is parked. The dual-inverter drive allows for significant current ripple reduction throughout the charger. Operation and control of the presented charger are discussed while functionality is experimentally verified with a 10-
$kW$
-rated prototype. The prototype is able to perform constant current, constant voltage (CCCV) charging of two isolated energy storage units (ESUs) from a three-phase grid with
$> 0.99$
power factor. Charging is performed with balanced dc current passing through the dual-inverter’s motor windings to prevent torque generation during charging. The prototype achieves a peak efficiency of
$> 94\%$
while meeting grid current harmonic standards set by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)-61000-3-12.