AFC presents off-grid EV charger powered by fuel cells

The British AFC Energy has developed a modular, hydrogen-powered charging station for electric vehicles. The off-grid system is self-contained and designed to cover areas with poor grid coverage with rapid charging “anywhere it is needed”.

A first site is up and running in Dunsfold, Surrey. Here the self-contained charging system named H-Power EV Charger is making the case for the company’s novel solution.

Citing a need for immense EV infrastructure expansion over a short time, as the UK aims for electrification on a massive scale, AFC aims to supply more remote locations with high power charging. As CEO Adam Bond puts it: “Our system is independent of the grid and delivers EV charging in the most remote off-grid locations or in highly populated urban areas where supply is over-subscribed. With this system, we provide a solution to support the industry’s emerging need for a national network of EV charge-points.”

The hydrogen fuel cell system is designed to fit in an ISO container and offered in three different configurations, providing between two and hundred charge points per site. The modular system can be used “with all EV charging platforms”, and AFC Energy has made arrangements to support hydrogen sourcing and auxiliary equipment procurement with third party suppliers to facilitate customer setup.

With a similar goal in mind, however on-grid, Western Power Distribution and Ricardo are leading a new project called DC share. They aim for a novel solution to use latent capacity in distribution networks to power fast-charging hubs more evenly. In this case, the partners will use power electronics to extract power from existing substations and distributing this to rapid EV charge points via a new high capacity DC cable network.

Source: Press release via email