PROGRESSUS Revolutionizes EV Charging: 10-15x More Stations per Network Connection

A three-year EU project called PROGRESSUS has made a breakthrough in energy conversion, intelligent electricity management, and secure network monitoring. The project has found a way to operate ten to fifteen times more electric car charging stations on a single network connection.

The project, backed by Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Spain, received €20 million in funding from the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL-JU). It involved 22 organizations led by Infineon.

PROGRESSUS developed electric power converters that minimize loss while integrating battery storage systems and renewable energy sources like photovoltaic. These converters incorporate sensors and SiC MOSFETs that can be switched at high speeds, making them suitable for use in charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). They can either reduce peak power consumption at the site level by up to 90% without significantly increasing charging times or support ten to fifteen times more charging stations on the same network connection.

Joint energy management of multiple buildings can also help alleviate strain on power networks. PROGRESSUS project partners have simulated an energy management system based on real data from 16 buildings with photovoltaic systems and energy storage systems.

The results of the simulation showed that this type of joint energy management could reduce peak electricity demands in the public network by an average of up to 80% without affecting customers' requirements.