load mode
The charging process of electric vehicles with CCS charging system is described by the International Electrotechnical Commission( IEC) in the IEC 61851 and IEC 62196 standards. The IEC standard recognizes four different charging modes, which differ in terms of the power source, the maximum charging power and the communication option. As far as the power source is concerned, it can be the mains voltage of 230 V, three-phase current of 400 V or a DC voltage of up to 850 V.
Charging mode 1 is about charging the electric vehicles with single-phase household power of 230 V AC. The charging can be single-phase or three-phase from a wallbox. In the case of single-phase alternating current, a normal mains plug is used, and in the case of three-phase alternating current, a CEE plug is used. There is no communication between the wallbox and the electric vehicle. The state of charge must be controlled using dedicated technology. The maximum charging current is 16 A, the charging power 3.7 kW.
In charging mode 2, the state of charge is controlled via a control line, the Control Pilot( CP). The CP line communicates with the electric vehicle by means of pulse width modulation( PWM). The communication module is located in the charging cable, In-Cable Control Box( ICCB). In addition, the CP line has a protection device that shuts down the charging process in case of faults or overload. This can be single-phase or three-phase and is 32 A for both single-phase and three-phase. This results in charging powers of 7.4 kW (single-phase) and 22 kW (three-phase). Commercially available single-phase mains plugs or CEE plugs are used as mains plugs.
Charging mode 3 works with a special charging device. The communication module for communication between the charging station and the electric car is located in the charging station. For safety, a residual current device is integrated in the current path. If a fault occurs or an overload occurs, the charging process is interrupted. The charging current for single-phase and three-phase charging is 63 A. This results in charging powers of 14.5 kW and 43.5 kW.
Charging mode 4 is about charging with direct current for fast charging. There is communication between the charging station and the electric vehicle. There are two modes of operation: DC-Low and DC-High. DC-Low has a charging power of 38 kW with a maximum charging current of 80 A. DC-High, which uses the combo plug, has a maximum charging current of up to 400 A, with a charging voltage of up to 850 V. The normal charging power is 170 kW, and the highest is 350 kW. DC-High is used for fast charging in Combined Charging System (CCS), where the charger is always part of the charging station.