eMobility: solderable System on Module for EV chargers

Who is our interview partner?
Christoph Yalap is Senior R&D Engineer & Project Manager at EV Charge, the TotalEnergies’ entity dedicated to Electric mobility. He is an experienced engineer and takes care of product management and procurement.

Who is our customer?
TotalEnergies promotes the development of electric mobility on a large scale by investing significantly in the deployment of charging infrastructures for electric vehicles, accessible to as many people as possible. The company designs and develops mobility solutions to enable its business and private customers to travel with complete peace of mind. Since 2020, TotalEnergies deploys a high-power charging offer in its service stations and dedicated hubs and aims to equip 900 sites in Europe by 2025. The company also pursues its deployment in large metropolitan areas around the world, with a large portfolio of charge points operated or being deployed: Paris (2,063), London (2,200), Brussels (850), Ghent (800), Antwerp (3,000), Flanders (4,400), Amsterdam and its region (22,000), Singapore (1,500). TotalEnergies also offers charging solutions at home for individuals, including an energy supply contract and connected charging services. From the production of renewable electricity to the operation of the charging service, the Company is present across the entire value chain of electric mobility.

What is the application?

• AC chargers designed by TotalEnergies that guarantee high quality and easy-to-use charge points for a seamless user experience
• DC chargers which are meant for customizable and high-quality charge points

They meet the needs of professionals and private customers and enable charging at the workplace, on the road, at service stations and at home. In general, each charger contains two circuit boards: the communication board and the power board.

What was the initial situation?
With the new generation of chargers some components are added on the communication board and are no longer external modules. Instead, components should be integrated on a System on Module. Together with the distributor Arrow Electronics, Total Energies was looking for a space-saving and powerful SOM that is equipped with Ethernet, IOs and other communication interfaces. Monaem Idoudi, Technical Sales Engineer at Arrow Electronics, immediately thought of the solderable DHCOR STM32MP15 System on Module from DH electronics and recommended it to Christoph Yalap from EV Charge, Total Energies.

What are the distinguishing features of the cooperation?
As DH electronics is one of the few SOM provider, who offers hardware and software from one-hand, Christoph Yalap decides to have a closer look at the DHSOM family. The operating system of the EV charger is based on Yocto Linux, which gives DH electronics as a Linux and open source expert an advantage. The solderable DHCOR module with only 29.0 x 29.0 x 3.2 mm is the perfect choice for the EV chargers as the space on the communication board is limited. Furthermore, the STM32MP15 by STMicroelectronics offers many of the required features especially with regard to connectivity and security and enables high performance processing. Also, the guaranteed long-term availability of 10+ years for the SOM is a plus. The Avenger96 board, which has been developed by DH electronics in cooperation with Arrow Electronics, serves as reference design for the DHCOR STM32MP15 and is therefore the ideal starting point for prototyping. As the EV chargers will be produced in high quantities, the automatic assembly of the solderable SOM is a great advantage in terms of cost efficiency. At the moment, Total Energies is working on the prototypes of the communication board for generation 3 with the integrated DHCOR STM32MP15. Series production of the new generation of EV chargers is scheduled to start in the middle of the year.

What does TotalEnergies particularly appreciate about DH electronics?

• SOM that is powerful, space-saving and cost-efficient at the same time
• Expertise in hardware and software (especially Linux) topics from one hand
• Well thought-out product concept with Avenger96 development board for prototyping
• Good reputation of DH electronics as Arrow global supplier and ST Authorized Partner
• Engineered and Made in Germany with guaranteed availability of 10+ years
• Intensive exchange on technical questions with DHSOM Product Manager Andreas

We are pleased to be represented in the new generation of EV chargers by Total Energies with our solderable DHSOM modules and thus make a contribution to climate-friendly mobility.