Battery-powered EV chargers – co-developed at 91��Ƶ – installed on St. George campus

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:34:25 +0000

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 09/20/2024 - 10:34

Cutline

The Level 3+ battery-powered EV charging stations are available in 91��Ƶ's Landmark Garage, located beneath King's College Circle on the St. George campus (photo by Safa Jinje)

Safa Jinje

Topic

Breaking Research

department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Facilities and Services

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Landmark

Sustainability

Subheadline

The rapid-charging stations were developed by Canadian EV tech company Jule in collaboration with experts at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

The historic core of the 91��Ƶ’s St. George campus is now home to a pair of next-generation electric vehicle (EV) charging stations that utilize technology co-developed at the university.

The two new stations use direct current (DC)-sourced EV chargers boasting integrated battery energy storage systems – novel technology that minimizes strain on the electrical grid.

Located in the Landmark Garage beneath King’s College Circle, the chargers are rated Level 3+, meaning they can charge EVs in under 30 minutes, and bring the total number of EV charging stations in the garage to 50.

The technology underpinning the new charges was developed by Jule, an energy storage and EV solutions company co-founded by Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering alumnus Carmine Pizzurro, in collaboration with 91��Ƶ faculty members.

Jule embarked on its first research collaboration with 91��Ƶ shortly after its founding in 2009, teaming up with the Centre for Applied Power Electronics led by Professor Reza Iravani at the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering.

It also worked closely with the city's electric utility.

“One of our first collaborations was with Toronto Hydro, which led to us being the first company in the world to put lithium-ion batteries on the distribution grid to provide backup power during outages and reduce stress on the grid during peak periods,” says Pizzurro, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at 91��Ƶ.

Cristina Amon and Carlos Da Silva (fourth and fifth from left, respectively, in the front row) pose with students and staff in the Thermal Management Systems lab (photo by Aaron Demeter)

Pizzurro went on to install Jule’s first battery-powered fast chargers in northern Canada as part of a collaboration with Natural Resources Canada.

But the company needed to address a longstanding challenge with lithium-ion batteries: they’re temperature-sensitive and must be able to operate reliably in both hot and cold environments if they are to help power a net-zero future.

To tackle this issue, Jule in 2018 expanded its partnership with the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to include University Professor Cristina Amon and senior research associate Carlos Da Silva of the Advanced Thermofluids Optimization, Modelling and Simulation (ATOMS) laboratory in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering.

The ATOMS experts have been developing computational models and experimental characterization to optimize Jule’s battery thermal management systems – work that is being carried out in a state-of-the-art battery testing facility that received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Research Fund.

“Thermal management is an issue that impacts both aspects of Jule’s EV fast charging technology: the power electronics to enable the charging, as well as their unique integrated battery storage system,” says Da Silva, who is also executive director of the 91��Ƶ Electrification Hub. “Thermal management is critical for mitigating battery degradation. It requires regulating the temperature in such a way that you keep the battery within an optimal range that will extend its life span.”

Jule’s fast chargers use energy stored in batteries, rather than drawing it directly from the electrical grid in the manner of traditional fast chargers. That means they don’t cause grid overloading during peak usage times and can be charged during off-peak hours when electricity is less costly; they also don’t require significant investments in electricity upgrades.

“The battery storage system is charged using current from the electrical grid, which is alternating current (AC); and then this larger battery, which uses direct current (DC), charges the smaller battery in the electric vehicle,” says Amon. “It is more efficient to fast-charge from a stationary battery to an EV – DC to DC – than it is to fast-charge an EV from the electrical grid, which requires converting AC to DC power.”

Jule’s Level 3+ charging station can provide up to 200 kilowatts of power output, yet only needs 45 kilowatts of input power. Amon says this rapid charging speed can help alleviate range anxiety among EV users: “Some drivers fear that EV batteries may not have enough energy to reach a desired destination. But if charging time is much closer to the time required to fill up a tank of a gas-powered car, that can reduce this worry.”

L-R: Professor Reza Iravani, Jule co-founder Carmine Pizzurro, 91��Ƶ Electrification Hub Executive Director Carlos Da Silva, University Professor Cristina Amon and 91��Ƶ Engineering Dean Christopher Yip (photo by Safa Jinje)

The Level 3+ stations are joining 48 Level 2 chargers that are already available for public use at the Landmark Garage.

This increases the campus’s charging capacity to over 25,000 charges per year, which can eliminate over 700 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to 91��Ƶ’s Sustainability Office.

“Hosting these first-of-their-kind EV chargers right here on campus extends beyond providing a new and exciting sustainability service to our community,” says Ron Saporta, 91��Ƶ’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability. “It represents just one example of how we are supporting the intersection of research, learning and commercialization of sustainable innovations developed by members of our very own 91��Ƶ community.”

The charging stations will also serve as a living lab to test future thermal innovations jointly developed by 91��Ƶ Engineering researchers and Jule.

“Having these chargers on campus enables us to have a greater capacity to test the system in ways we are limited by doing in a lab setting,” says Da Silva.

Healthy aging in place: New pilot program to provide high-tech cognitive, physical enrichment for seniors

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 13:32:02 +0000

Healthy aging in place: New pilot program to provide high-tech cognitive, physical enrichment for seniors

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 08/22/2024 - 09:32

Cutline

2RaceWithMe, a tool developed by Professor Mark Chignell from the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in 91��Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, combines physical and cognitive engagement by requiring users to pedal to be able to watch scenic videos (photo by Justin Greaves/Centivizer)

Safa Jinje

Topic

Our Community

department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Connaught Fund

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Subheadline

The initiative, supported by a Connaught Community Partnership Research Program award, explores the use of interactive tools to promote active lifestyles among older adults

Older adults living in a Toronto co-operative apartment building will soon have access to high-tech activity spaces designed to promote cognitive, physical and social enrichment, thanks to a new pilot project led by the 91��Ƶ’s Mark Chignell.

The activity spaces aim to promote healthy aging for older adults who are aging in place – meaning they have the social and health supports to live safely and independently. They will be located in the communal area of a City Park co-op building that is considered a naturally occurring retirement community, where more than 30 per cent of occupants are over the age of 65.

The initiative was launched by Chignell, a professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in 91��Ƶ’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, in collaboration with HelpAge Canada, a non-profit that supports community-based services for seniors, and AGE-WELL, a research network and 91��Ƶ institutional strategic initiative.

It’s one of nine projects to be supported by 2024-25 Community Partnership Research Program awards, given by 91��Ƶ’s Connaught Fund with the aim of accelerating research carried out in collaboration with community partners and driven by their needs and priorities.

“My work is motivated by the fact that physical and cognitive health can decline very quickly for older adults,” says Chignell.

“We know the physical body and brain work together, and that physical exercise is important for cognitive status and preventing dementia. So being able to promote more active lifestyles for people who are still living independently in the community can have an immense benefit for our society.”

The activity spaces will feature products from Centivizer, a 91��Ƶ startup spun off from Chignell’s research, that specializes in creating interactive activities, games and cognitive assessment tools to support healthy aging.

These include 2RaceWithMe, a device that promotes both physical and cognitive engagement by having users pedal while watching scenic videos that only play when the pedals are in motion.

Centivizer has also developed a suite of whack-a-mole-style games for cognitive assessment that Chignell hopes can be used to promote cognitive safety in clinical practice.

A two-time recipient of Connaught Innovation Awards, Chignell says he feels honoured to now receive support from the Connaught Fund's Community Partnership Research Program.

“The Connaught is a great validation as I start this project in naturally occurring retirement communities,” says Chignell. “I am also continuing to work with retirement homes and long-term care centres, including a new collaboration with a long-term care home in Tokyo, Japan.

“I’m hoping that this project will demonstrate the value of using our products in the community to help older people retain their physical and cognitive abilities for longer.”

department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Battery-powered EV chargers – co-developed at 91����Ƶ – installed on St. George campus

Healthy aging in place: New pilot program to provide high-tech cognitive, physical enrichment for seniors

Battery-powered EV chargers – co-developed at 91��Ƶ – installed on St. George campus