Electric Vehicles Charging Stations’ Architectures, Criteria, Power Converters, and Control Strategies in Microgrids Dominic Savio Abraham 1 , Rajesh Verma 2, Lakshmikhandan Kanagaraj 3, Sundar Rajan Giri Thulasi Raman 4 , Narayanamoorthi Rajamanickam 1 , Bharatiraja Chokkalingam 1,* , Kamalesh Marimuthu Sekar 5 and Lucian Mihet-Popa

Electric Vehicles Charging Stations’ Architectures, Criteria, Power Converters, and Control Strategies in Microgrids by 

Dominic Savio Abraham 1ORCID,Rajesh Verma 2,Lakshmikhandan Kanagaraj 3,Sundar Rajan Giri Thulasi Raman 4ORCID,Narayanamoorthi Rajamanickam 1ORCID,Bharatiraja Chokkalingam 1,*ORCID,Kamalesh Marimuthu Sekar 5 andLucian Mihet-Popa 6ORCID 1 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 603203, India 2 Department of Electrical Engineering Department, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Adhiparasakthi College of Engineering, Kalavai 632506, India 4 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600119, India 5 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Tamilnadu 638060, India 6 Faculty of Engineering, Østfold University College, Kobberslagerstredet 5, 1671 Fredrikstad, Norway 

 Abstract 

The usage of electric vehicles (EV) has been increasing over the last few years due to a rise in fossil fuel prices and the rate of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. EV-charging stations are powered by existing utility power grid systems, increasing the stress on the utility grid and the load demand at the distribution side. DC grid-based EV charging is more efficient than AC distribution because of its higher reliability, power conversion efficiency, simple interfacing with renewable energy sources (RESs), and integration of energy storage units (ESU). RES-generated power storage in local ESU is an alternative solution for managing the utility grid demand. In addition, to maintain the EV charging demand at the microgrid levels, energy management and control strategies must carefully power the EV battery charging unit. In addition, charging stations require dedicated converter topologies, control strategies, and need to follow set levels and standards. Based on EV, ESU, and RES accessibility, different types of microgrid architecture and control strategies are used to ensure optimum operation at the EV-charging point. Based on the above said merits, this review paper presents different RES-connected architecture and control strategies used in EV-charging stations. It highlights the importance of different charging station architectures with current power converter topologies proposed in the literature. In addition, a comparison of microgrid-based charging station architecture with its energy management, control strategies, and charging converter controls are also presented. The different levels and types of charging stations used for EV charging, in addition to controls and connectors used, are also discussed. An experiment-based energy management strategy was developed to control power flow among the available sources and charging terminals for the effective utilization of generated renewable power. The main motive of the EMS and its control is to maximize the usage of RES consumption. This review also provides the challenges and opportunities in EV-charging, and parameters in selecting appropriate charging stations.

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