German automobile manufacturer Audi plans to transform the way all electric vehicles are charged. Their goal is to make charging easier and charging stations more accessible in at least 10 different ways. That will impact not only Audi EV chargers, but the EV chargers on electric automobile produced by automobile manufacturers all around the world. Audi's ultimate goal is to make charging stations as easy to find and use as stations offering petrol and diesel are today. This will make charging electric vehicles more convenient and make the vehicles more attractive to the general public.

Some Envisioned Changes

In Europe and around the world, diesel engines are falling out of favor because of the toxic emissions they release into the atmosphere. Their demise has coincided with a growing interest and innovation in electric powered vehicles. With the introduction of the Audi e-tron concept electric and hybrid vehicles in 2009, the German auto maker surged to the front of the electric powered vehicle revolution. Since then, Audi e tron concept vehicles have continued to be unveiled. These have included vehicles powered solely with an Audi e tron battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles like the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron.

The Push Begins In Earnest

With the prototype of the Audi e tron SUV, the all-electric Audi e-tron Quattro, Audi unveiled at the auto show in Geneva recently, the automaker has signaled they have begun to make a serious push into the production of electric powered vehicles. Audi anticipates the vehicle will hit markets in Europe and the United States in 2019. The company is committed to bringing three EV models to the marketplace by 2020. Plus, according to recent announcements from the German automaker, by 2025 several more Audi electronic vehicles should be ready to hit the road.

The Audi E-tron Quattro

Audi's first electric vehicle is the sleek and elegant e-tron Quattro. The Audi e tron SUV concept vehicle has two rows of seats, room for five, a curved OLED display, is 60.7 inches in height, 192.1 inches in length and its width is 76.0 inches. It has three electric motors, one up front and two of them in the back, that together deliver 430 horsepower. In short bursts the motors can produce another 66 horsepower. The front motor uses a standard differential to control the front wheels. A separate motor controls each rear wheel. This makes improving responsiveness and handling very easy through torque vectoring.

All of the crucial elements of the motors and other important electronic components are designed and produced in-house by Audi engineers. An Audi e tron review shows using a 95-kWh battery and the three electric motors enable the e-tron Quattro to take about 4.5 seconds to go from standing still to 60 mph and have a maximum range of 248 miles. The e-tron Quattro production model will be unleased in Europe in 2018 and Audi's stated plans is that by early in 2019 the EV will begin being sold in the U.S.

The EVs Battery

The standard battery commonly used in electric vehicles employs 36 modules that are each the size of a shoebox. Within each of the modules is lithium-ion cells. There are two types of cells used in the batteries. One group is crosswise oriented, short, thick, Samsung prismatic cells and the other is long, thin, LG Chem pouch units that are arrayed lengthwise. Mounted on two levels, the cells produce 3.5 volts and can last for 60 ampere-hours. The top level of the battery has 31 modules and the second level, located below the back seat, has 5 modules. According to statements put out by Audi, the battery the company uses in their EVs produces 400 volts.

The Battery Housing

To protect the battery modules and the battery's perimeter, the parts are contained in a strong cast-aluminum frame with heavy ribbing that's also part of the structure of the vehicle. There's an aluminum crash structure within the frame that keeps the nodules separated, makes the battery assembly stronger and gives the passenger cell of the vehicle additional reinforcement and protection in side-impact collisions. A cover on the top and two covers on the bottom seal the battery pack and keeps it away from the manifold of the cooling system and shields it from impact from rocks and debris on the roadway.

Keeping The Battery Cool

For the Audi e tron battery to perform effectively and last a long time, the proper temperature must be maintained within it. The optimal operating temperature of the battery ranges from 77 to 95 degrees. To keep the battery in that temperature range, Audi employs a cooling system that uses a mixture of antifreeze and water that flows through a manifold with flat, crosswise running tubes located on the battery's underside.

When the outside temperature and the battery are hot, the fluid is cooled using an air conditioning system and removes the heat. Otherwise, the antifreeze-water mix simply runs through a radiator located in the nose of the e-tron. Keeping the cooling fluid and the batteries physically separated is essential to prevent a cooling system leak from causing electrical shorting. While the EV is being charged, if the battery needs to be warmed, the air conditioner can act as a heat pump and get the fluid as warm as needed.

The Battery Assembly

At 64 inches by 90 inches in size, 6 inches thick and beveled at the corners, the battery assembly is similar in size to a California Queen mattress. It includes the battery, a battery tray, the aluminum housing that holds the module and helps facilitate the necessary heat transfer, the cooling manifold and the tubes filled with thermally conductive sealant that weighs several pounds. The entire battery assembly has a total weight of about 1,550 pounds.

Anticipating An Onslaught

The roll-out of Audi e-tron vehicles is just the beginning. Several other automobile manufacturers are in the process of producing electric vehicles of their own. But Audi and the other companies producing electric-powered vehicles understand producing the EV alone is not enough. For motorists to embrace EVs, charging them has to be easier than it is currently and there must be a large network of charging stations to make them more accessible to EV owners. Always a forward thinking company, Audi has a plan that it is working on in Germany to address those concerns and other less obvious ones.

Europe's Current Charging Network

Currently there are 89,000 places equipped to charge electric vehicles in Europe. The number of them that allow for high-speed charging is about 2,000. These charging points are owned by hundreds of companies, operators and organizations and many of them use slightly different charging systems. Audi is working with a number of other European automobile producers to design and implement an adaptable charging system they are calling the Ionity network. The system will be able to use all types of charging plugs, make purchasing electricity easier and increase the number of high-speed charging points.

A Helpful App

There is an app that can be downloaded to a smartphone or directly to the automobile that will make using the network of charging stations easier. The app displays the amount of charge left in the e-tron battery, shows where the charging stations are located, what they charge for electricity and provides turn-by-turn directions for getting to them. This enables EV drivers to plot their trips to integrate stops at the most affordable charging stations. The app also helps EV drivers save time by making them aware of which charging stations currently have the largest number of customers.

Charging Stations In The U.S.

There are just over 20,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the United States. A network of charging stations similar to the one in Europe is being put in place in the U.S. by the VW Group. The charging station network is called Electrify America. The goal of the VW Group is by 2019 the Electrify America network will have 150-kW and 350-kW in hundreds of locations. By the middle of 2019 there should be EV charging stations in at least 100 Walmart locations. This will make it more convenient for EV drivers in the U.S. to be able to travel nationwide with confidence.

Fast Charging

For people taking long trips in their EVs, being able to quickly charge up their batteries is very important. At this point there are a number a number of different methods used to provide EVs with a quick charge. One of them is a 50 kW system that takes 80 minutes to give EVs an 80% charge. There's also a 100 kW system that only takes 40 minutes to charge the EVs battery to 80% of capacity. The quick-charge systems aim for 80% because the batteries on electric vehicles must use lower current to fill the last 20%. It takes at least 30 minutes to complete the final 20 percent of the charge.

Other Fast-Charge Options

It's possible to use a 400-volt, 150-kW charge to get the e-tron's battery to 80% capacity in as little as 30 minutes. Electric vehicle insiders say there's also a 350-kW charger which has the ability to get the e-tron to 80% of its charge capacity in just 12 minutes. While these times are impressive and represent a significant improvement in EV battery charging technology, it's important to remember at 80 percent capacity an electric vehicle can only travel about 200 miles. However, vehicles with internal combustion engines only take 5 minutes to fill their tanks and can travel 400 miles before needing to fill the tank again.

Home Charging

One of the great things about electric vehicles is they can be recharged at people's homes using AC and DC terminals. With the 230-volt wiring used in Europe, a standard outlet delivers 2.3 kW of power to an e-tron plugged into it. At that rate, the e-tron's battery would take 36 hours to be fully charged. With a three-phase circuit using 400-volts, the charging time can be reduced to 8.5 hours because the input power is increased to 11 kW. Houses in Europe can also use another type of charger that can charge the electric vehicle's battery in 4.5 hours by using a system that can produce 22 kW of charging power.

Charging an EV using the standard 220-volt wiring in the U.S. takes about 10 hours. That's because the system on produces 9 kW of charging power. If the EV is charged using a 120-volt outlet, a full charge could take as much 60 hours because the outlet only produces 1.5 kW of charging power.

Convenience And Affordability

The German automobile manufacturer understands the Audi e tron price must be affordable, the vehicles fun to drive and charging stations more accessible and easier to use if the wider public is to embrace electric vehicles. To ensure they have reliable delivery, encourage technical competition and keep the Audi e tron price down, the company uses two or more suppliers for the materials they need to manufacture the EVs. Audi is also working with other EV manufacturers to cover the high cost of setting up a network of powerful charging stations with fast-charging options all over Europe that offer electricity to power the EVs at affordable prices.

Audi understands improving EV technology and charging stations is essential if electric vehicles are to replace gasoline powered automobiles as the predominant means of transportation.