ISO 15118-20 functionality available in controller software

Vector contributes its electric charging expertise to diverse committees and actively participates in the ISO 15118 20 of the International Organization for Standardization. Features based on this standard, including bidirectional charging, are now offered in the software library for vehicle communication vSECClib.CCS.

The ISO standard describes the communication between the vehicle and the charging station. A new achievement of the standard is that, for the first time, there is a full description of all currently known charging technologies. This opens up significant potential, particularly for bidirectional and inductive charging. The extension of the vSECClib.CCS library, comprising bidirectional charging, dynamic control mode and multiplex communication, is now available. Companies can provide their customers with new and market-relevant features rapidly.

The two control units vSECC and vSECC.single Board will also be benefiting from the update. The software roll-out onto the control units can occur from the third quarter of 2022 with a software update over the Internet. If the power electronics of the charging station and the vehicle are also bidirectional-capable, the charging station is already operational.

Further optimizations in vSECClib.CCS relate to so-called grid-friendly charging. The Dynamic Control Mode lets the charging station control the charging process completely. This enables the charging station controller, and not as before only the electric vehicle, to control the power profile. The controllers may now change the energy transfer parameters throughout the charging process. In the past ISO version (-2), the vehicle could take a charging break at any time. Since this leads to a conflict in bidirectional charging when the infrastructure wants to discharge, in Dynamic Control Mode, only the charging station can request a pause in the charging process.

The vSECClib.CCS also offers an extension in the parallelisation of messages via multiplex communication. This maintains the expensive DC contactors between the vehicle battery and power electronics closed through the renegotiation of charging parameters and lessens wear and tear. Moreover, response times to environment changes, such as peak load shaving, are shortened.

With the fast implementation of ISO 15118-20, Vector is contributing to the expansion of standardized charging communication. Developers of charging infrastructure are equipped for a future-proof development of charging stations with vSECClib.