The wide scale roll-out of high powered EV charging infrastructure is seen as a key enabler for accelerating the electrification of the transportation sector as existing and future owners of EVs will have confidence that they will be able to gain access to high powered chargepoints ubiquitously in a similar manner to conventional vehicles having access to fuel stations.
Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) and service areas in major A-roads have been identified as a specific area in which the roll-out of high powered EV charging infrastructure will be required. Most of these sites are currently connected to the 11kV network and network reinforcements are likely required to increase capacity to supply additional power to the high powered charge points. The conventional solution to providing the increased capacity is typically high in cost, time consuming and requires a large footprint.
A standardised compact scalable supply solution that can be rapidly rolled out to MSA sites and service areas on major A-roads across GB will support the establishment of a nation-wide high powered charging network on the strategic road network ultimately accelerating the uptake of EVs.
Objectives
The key objectives of the project are as follows:
Design a solution which could be installed by any authorised party across any small/medium sized MSA or service area in major A-roads to provide 1.5 – 8 MVA of capacity.
Produce a standardised solution kit that can be rolled out rapidly
Reduce connection costs as the proposed solution is scalable and allows for additional units to be added when business case supports.
Build, install and operate the solution at a trial site
Demonstrate the successful operation of the solution in a live environment
Analyse results of the trials to extract key learnings and disseminate across the industry
Learnings
Outcomes
The HV solution for the innovation trial design was composed of:
• Pre-cast concrete base (Figure 1)
• 1 x RMU (Ring Main Unit) and a metering unit with a supply capacity of 1.5 MVA at 11kV
• GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) enclosure
This solution may be adapted for future installations. There are also opportunities for the design to be adapted for application in other use cases such as multi-story car parks, underground car parks and construction sites.
The customer has unveiled their first High Power Electric Superhub on the M25 featuring twelve 350 kW chargers that can add the 117 miles of range required to drive around London’s Orbital Motorway in less than 15 minutes charging time.
Lessons Learnt
The design of the solution took several iterations to be finalised. The compactness of the design to fit within a standard parking space required careful consideration of access to the electrical equipment for maintenance purposes and cable routing. The initial plan to build the unit entirely offsite was modified for these reasons. Instead, a low carbon precast concrete base was prepared to accept a modular GRP housing. The base fits inside a standard parking bay and was initially designed to allow two RMUs, but due to operational safety concerns the substation was built with a single RMU.
The project delivery team learnt that all the associated works would be deemed to be non-contestable because this was an innovation trial project partially funded by NIA. This meant that the customer had no option but to use UK Power Networks to undertake all works, which they did not expect. Whilst this provided the benefit of allowing UK Power Networks to closely monitor the project to gauge progress issues, customer expectations should be set sooner in the project to avoid them wasting time engaging with independent connection providers.
Engagement with several stakeholders working to rollout EV infrastructure in service areas of the strategic road network resulted in the following learnings:
• 1-2 MVA meets the short/med-term requirements
• 7-8 MVA meets the long-term requirements
• Space is a premium
• Scalability is crucial to justify business case
Consultation with the charge point operator, their appointed Independent Connection Provider (ICP), the motorway service operator and the landlord were necessary to finalise the on-site design at an agreed motorway service area to trial a prototype HV substation. The requirement to consult with multiple stakeholders resulted in the need for extensive engagement and coordination activities requiring significant time and effort.
Similarly, the length of time to obtain the lease from the landlord and superior landlord was longer than expected. Gaining consents at a motorway service area is complex as there are multiple stakeholders involved which leads to more time and effort. This should be accounted for in future.
