Charging & interoperability test bed for scaling EV's

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation has awarded the American Center for Mobility (ACM) and subrecipients CharIN and Argonne National Laboratory, a grant of $2.9 million to help aid America’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and accelerate a resilient EV charging network.

This project will enhance and expand the electric vehicle (EV) charger testing environment at the American Center for Mobility (ACM), located at Willow Run, in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. By leveraging both private sector contributions and federal funds, ACM and its partners plan to expand current and evolving EV testing and certification capabilities at the Willow Run test facility. A focus will be on increasing the number of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI)-compliant DC fast charger (DCFC) equipment and implementing rigorous testing methods for EV charger operability and interoperability.

“The proliferation of new EVs and EV charging stations as well as over-the-air software updates is spurring the need for more interoperability testing,” says Reuben Sarkar, CEO of ACM. “The industry needs a centrally located test bed in the heart of automotive country with a market representation of DC Fast Chargers.”

The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) is the largest global EV charging industry alliance dedicated to realizing the goals of universal charging standards using CCS, MCS, ISO 15118, and SAE J3400. CharIN members span the whole value chain of EV charging and is open to all interested parties, including leading companies from the automotive sector, charging industry, and other associated industries.

According to Erika Myers, executive director of CharIN North America, “CharIN is delighted to support the development of this crucial high-powered EV charging test facility at the American Center for Mobility. With over 60 CharIN members now headquartered in the United States, along with many of our other 330+ global members moving operations to the United States, demand for interoperability and conformance testing is quickly outstripping the supply offered by CharIN’s bi-annual testing events, which have been hosted for over seven years in North America and globally. In addition to year-round testing at this facility, we are delighted to make this a permanent site to host CharIN Testivals, which encourages peer-to-peer learning, networking, and equipment interoperability testing.”

Argonne experts will contribute their expertise in interoperability testing, test procedure development and deep understanding of EV charging communication standards.

“Argonne has a long-standing history of successful collaborations with ACM and the automotive industry in Michigan more broadly,” says Thomas Wallner, director of Argonne’s Transportation and Power Systems Division. “We are excited to support this critical effort towards improving the EV charging experience.”