Electrical Vehicle Revolution Requires Reliable Charging

Electrical Vehicle Revolution Requires Reliable Charging
Interview with
Will Stewart, Industry Segment Manager – Energy

All charged up and ready to go reliable connectivity for electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EV) are the most significant transportation revolution in decades requiring reliable charging for public acceptance to be successful. Electric mobility paired with renewable energy generation can significantly lower global CO2 emission and have a positive effect on health and comfort due to reduced pollution and noise. The HARTING Technology Group is an ideal Electric vehicles (EV) industry supplier with decades of experience, design expertise, and know-how in the field of electrical connection technology for data, signals, and power.

UNITED STATES EV COMMITMENT

As of 2020, nearly 1.8 million EVs were registered in the U.S., more than three times as many as in 2016, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) with all-electric vehicles the fastest-growing category. United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order setting a target that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 will be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily electric cars, and trucks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least half the 2005 level by 2030. Biden has called for $174 billion in government spending to boost EVs, including $100 billion in consumer incentives. Additionally, a bipartisan United States Senate infrastructure bill includes $7.5 billion for EV charging stations. Ford, GM and Chrysler parent Stellantis in a joint statement announced a shared goal to achieve sales of 40-50 % of annual U.S. volumes of electric vehicles by 2030.

RELIABILITY & AVAILABILITY

It is important to consider the distinction between reliability and availability as it relates to electric vehicles. Availability measures the ability of equipment to be operated if needed, while reliability measures the ability of a piece of equipment to perform its intended function for a specific interval without failure.

People expect high reliability and availability from their vehicles. In the highly competitive EV market, the reliability of every component is critical for brand success. Cable and connector design and manufacturing must be done accurately and precisely since it has a direct impact on electric vehicle customer satisfaction. Design challenges include connecting and disconnecting charge cables, at least once a day, over the life of the vehicle in all types of weather conditions. Poor quality at the worst-case has the potential to be a liability problem for electric vehicle manufacturers with issues such as an arc-flash when connecting or disconnecting charging cables.

Since 1945 HARTING has specialized in electrical connections and has taken all the important AC and DC electric vehicle charging factors into design analysis and manufacturing excellence to deliver reliable and repeatable quality for lowest total lifecycle cost and user satisfaction including:

  • Connection Quality – HARTING recommends Lamella “tulip” shaped electric contacts that provide extra “give” ensuring positive charging even after thousands of mating cycles.
  • Conductivity – HARTING designs incorporate contact materials with superior current and voltage characteristics for EV charging resistant to long-term damage.
  • Durability - One often overlooked component is the charging gun. HARTING recommends fiberglass reinforced plastic connectors for light weight and fall damage resistance.
  • Aesthetics – HARTING combines solid engineered solutions with aesthetically appealing design.

100 DAY TOUR WITH HARTING INSIDE

HARTING with Volkswagen participated and sponsored a world-record tour of the longest drive in an electric vehicle. Over 100 days, a VW ID.4 travelled over 35,000 miles and visited 48 states. This challenge proved that the US has the infrastructure in place to support EVs, whether the driver is only going a few miles or on a cross-country road trip. Learn more about tour with this video:

VW ID4 Tour Visits HARTING USA

HARTING AUTOMOTIVE

HARTING Automotive develops and produces charging equipment for electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles. Products have the approvals and certificates relevant for all specific market sectors and legal requirements worldwide. HARTING Automotive has a long history delivering solutions for a wide variety of applications including solenoid systems: steering systems, locking and safety technology that must function safely and reliably in vehicles. HARTING Automotive has charging cables that cover all standards worldwide, with Type-1 cable assemblies ranging from 4 kW to 20 kW. HARTING is also leading development of liquid-cooled DC cable assemblies in the European market.

The company is ready for the future of connected cars, evident by their work with several manufacturers on implementing Single Pair Ethernet in LiDAR applications.

STRONG INDUSTRY PARTNER

HARTING has a culture and tradition of being a strong design and manufacturing partner supplying custom designed products to make OEM customers successful.

Customers in a wide range of industries including automotive, rail transportation, machinery, energy, computing, and agriculture rely on HARTING. Sensitive to supply chain reliability requirements to ensure customers production flow, HARTING has manufacturing sites serving the electric vehicle industry in Germany, Romania, and Mexico.

HARTING Automotive excellence is illustrated by receiving the 2020 Volkswagen Group Award in the “E-Mobility” category. The award by Volkswagen Group recognized the exceptional achievements and innovative prowess with which HARTING Automotive contributes to the success of Volkswagen AG as stated in the certificate of thanks. The congratulatory certificate noted HARTING Automotive broad spectrum of charging cables ensuring the cross-brand/cross-plant supply of the Mode-3 charging cable and responsiveness in reacting to short-term volume fluctuations and unplanned needs. Volkswagen AG added that HARTING Automotive was an important and reliable component of the VW supply chain delivering charging solutions including for Volkswagen’s modular E-drive matrix (MEB), the Audi e-tron and the Porsche Taycan.

Get in touch
Will Stewart
Industry Segment Manager | Energy