US startup introduces DC-to-DC solar EV charger

From pv magazine USA

Enteligent unveiled its DC-to-DC-solar hybrid bi-directional EV charger this week at Intersolar North America. Powered by the sun, the EV charger can supply 25 kW of fast DC charging, charging three times faster than AC Level 2 EV chargers, the company reports.

With most EV chargers, which are AC-to-DC, there is lost energy and a longer charging time. But with DC to DC, according to Enteligent, the DC-to-DC charging results in up to 25% energy savings because the power does not have to be converted.

The EV charger operates at 200 V to 500 V output for CCS Combo EV connectors, providing 15 kW of power over a 25-foot cable. Using stringed solar modules at 15 kW plus 15 kW of batteries, when combined with 9.6 kW of AC power saved from having to convert to DC, the charger provides a power output of 24.6 kW over a 400V system, the company reports.

“Rapid growth in EV ownership and usage and the resulting demand for energy are putting increased pressure on an already stretched electricity grid,” said Sean Burke, founder and CEO of Enteligent. “This first-of-its-kind technology will benefit consumers by enabling them to shift from night-time charging, which is dependent on the fossil-fuel powered grid, to clean, solar-based, daytime charging.”

Following the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the United States has supercharged its EV push. The IRA includes $10 billion in tax credits for a variety of manufacturing facilities, including EV and battery manufacturing facilities.

In total, between both laws there is at least $145 billion of funding for which EV charging projects could be eligible, said Atlas EV Hub, an analyst firm that has found that roughly $860 billion has been raised to build out EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Nearly one-fourth of this is represented by the United States, which has $210 billion in major automaker and infrastructure projects planned.

Earlier this month, Enteligent closed a $7 million growth funding round from NOVA, an affiliate of global building materials company Saint-Gobain and Taronga Ventures, among other early-stage investors. Founded in 2020, Enteligent is based in Morgan Hill, California, and including the round from NOVA and Taronga, has raised over $7.8 million in early-stage funding to date.

The company also sells NMax photovoltaic module power optimizers that the company says uses smart digital technology to dynamically adjust when to optimize and provide panel-level monitoring data, resulting in reportedly greater rooftop yield, more energy harvesting and higher system reliability. It is exhibiting in booth 2460 this week at Intersolar North America in Long Beach, California.