Flexible Power

Electric vehicle chargers are like the fuel pumps in a gas station. However, given the different types of location where they are set up, their appearance and technical design are more diverse. Fast chargers are suited to locations such as highway rest stops, but at stores, hotels and restaurants in commercial districts most chargers are slow, so that vehicle owners can rest, eat, or shop at their leisure while waiting for their cars to fully charge. The requirements for chargers at different business premises, in different communities and in different countries vary greatly. In the intensely com­peti­tive global market for chargers, Taiwanese com­panies are utilizing their special skills at customization and flexible production to gain a competitive advantage.

Competitive advantage of Taiwanese chargers

The EV charger industry can be divided into hardware manufacturing, operational management, and software systems. Hardware manufacturing includes charging stations, charging plugs, and charging cables; operational management refers to the management and maintenance of charging stations; and software systems are the brains of chargers, responsible for functions like collecting payments, power distribution at peak demand periods, booking charging appointments by cell phone, and helping customers find the nearest charging station. The large majority of firms in Taiwan are involved in hardware manufacturing, but some enterprises, such as Delta Electronics, eTreego, Noodoe, Fortune Electric, and Evoasis, supply integrated services.

How can Taiwanese companies break into the inter­national EV charger market? Huang Ya-chi, research manager at the Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, remarks that at present most enterprises in Taiwan are co­opera­ting with overseas operating firms, with Taiwan supplying the hardware and local power companies or energy service companies managing the operation of installations. In contrast with vendors in other countries, Taiwanese firms that started out manufacturing power supplies are already accustomed to flexibly adjusting their product specifications to meet customer requirements. As a result, they can easily deal with the diverse needs of EV charger operators, such as advertising display screens and multiple payment methods.

Software integration to meet diverse needs

Ten years ago, even before EVs became popular in the market, Delta Electronics began investing in EV drive systems and charging equipment. When installing equipment in private homes in residential communities, they ­emphasized the installation of circuits with independent electricity meters, total charging volume management, and charging safety. Commercial charging, meanwhile, called for installation of fast or slow chargers depending on the needs of the operators. Today you can see Delta chargers in locations such as the Hyatt Place Amsterdam Airport hotel and a shopping-center parking lot in Bangkok. In terms of construction of public charging facilities, Delta has assisted a German multinational energy firm and a charging services company that is a subsidiary of Europe’s largest renewable energy firm to build fast charging stations in Europe.

Jiang Ming-yu, head of sales and product management for electric vehicle charging solutions at Delta, says that in the international charger market Delta must deal with different regulatory regimes, charging venues, and operational formats in different markets, and handle all manner of data integration and communications requirements that derive from these different elements. These include, for example, remote equipment management, real-time monitoring and control of electricity use, price calculations and cash flow, user identity confirmation, and app operations. Therefore Delta goes beyond hardware R&D for its EV chargers and also works on developing operational management and software functions, making their products highly integrated.

Jiang suggests that Delta’s ability to create technology that integrates hardware and software is based in large part on Taiwan’s advanced and competitive ICT and electronics industries. Charger manufacturers can quickly find solutions and partner companies in order to optimize product design and shorten the products’ time to market.

Delta Electronics has joined the international charger protocol alliances CharIN and CHAdeMO, through which they work with foreign companies in testing the charger compatibility of new vehicle models. (courtesy of Delta Electronics)

Helping global carbon reduction

Delta has 75 R&D centers around the globe, enabling the company to clearly understand local market norms and flexibly deal with each country’s local content and customization requirements. Delta has also joined inter­national charging protocol alliances such as the Western-led Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) and the Japan-based CHAdeMO Association, and takes part in their working groups on charging interface and charging infrastructure integration. Through these organizations, Delta works with overseas companies to participate in testing the charger compatibility of new vehicles launched by vehicle manu­facturers, and in the process builds relationships with­ inter­national vehicle makers and electric power services firms.

Delta has also joined the international electric vehicle and renewable energy initiatives EV100 and RE100. It aims to be using 100% renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality in all its global factories by 2030. To this end Delta plans to install charging stations at its industrial sites around the world and to use EVs as company vehicles. Delta led the way in introducing an internal carbon tariff system in 2021, incorporating the volume of carbon emissions into the operating expenses of its business divisions and collecting related fees.

The infrastructure for the Delta EV Charging Solutions program combines solar power, energy storage, and energy management systems, making it possible to use renewable energy to charge EVs and to draw on stored energy during peak electricity demand periods in order to relieve the stress that charging can put on local power grids. Notable recent examples of overseas work include the construction of the Delta Yokohama EV Charging Station in September of 2021 in partnership with the Japanese energy firm Idemitsu Kosan. This charging station uses cheaper off-peak electricity to charge its own batteries, and uses this stored energy for vehicle charging during peak hours, thereby avoiding the power grid being overburdened by numerous vehicles using fast charging at the same time. Furthermore, in emergency situations Delta’s energy storage system can serve as a backup power station for the local area.

As a member of the international electric vehicle initiative EV100, Delta Electronics is setting up charging stations at its factories worldwide and using EVs as company cars. (courtesy of Delta Electronics)

User-friendly charging systems

The Taiwanese company Noodoe is well known in the international charger market for their smooth and personalized customer experiences. They have clients from many lands including the UK, Greece, Australia, Singapore, and Dubai, and have even been visited by former California senator Bob Huff to discuss cooperation.

Noodoe is headquartered in Taiwan and has offices in Texas and Los Angeles in the US and also in Australia. “We decided to start with the US because the market there is mature, operations are on a large scale, and customer demands are stringent. We wanted to start our international expansion in the place with the fiercest competition,” says Noodoe’s founder and chairman John Wang.

Wang was formerly head of marketing at Delta. After becoming a legend in Taiwan’s smartphone world, he saw the new commercial opportunity in EV chargers. Building on his many years of experience developing the Android operating system, with a user-centered approach to design, he decided to get into developing EV operating systems.

In 2018 Noodoe announced that it was branching out into charger station operating systems, and today it is already a well-known brand in the industry. Wang attributes the company’s success to three factors: the user experience, automatic infrastructure diagnostics, and special access codes for operating companies.

Wang states that at charging stations that use the Noodoe EV operating system, drivers can pay directly through Apple Pay or by credit card, without needing to sign up for membership or download a specific app. Moreover, when the vehicle is fully charged a notification will be sent to the driver’s mobile phone.

The Noodoe charger operating system is designed for a smooth user experience. Drivers can simply use the charging station with no need to download an app or sign up for membership. (courtesy of Noodoe Corp.)

The Noodoe operating system can automatically detect errors and rectify them itself, greatly reducing manpower costs. (courtesy of Noodoe Corp.)

Customized charging services

As charging stations become more and more ubiquitous, a lot of manpower will be needed for maintenance. But the Noodoe EV operating system includes automated diag­nostics and repair functions, so that before users even notice that there is a problem internal robots will have auto­matically dealt with it.

Noodoe also has designed special access codes for charging station operators that are like one-off gift certificates that businesses can give to their customers. For example, a hotel can give an access code to clients along with their room key card and Wi-Fi password, enabling them to use the hotel’s chargers for free. In another example, when the mayor of Chicago asked Noodoe to provide alternatives to credit-card and electronic payments in poorer ­neighborhoods where most residents don’t qualify for credit cards, Noodoe responded with a solution similar to prepaid cards.

With respect to the most critical problem for charging stations—the load that they place on the power supply system—Noodoe has worked with the Southern California Edison company to use smart power grids to manage each vehicle’s charging level, so that the amount of power used at different times of the day remains within a safe range. During peak demand periods, the Noodoe EV operating system will automatically reduce the load by 50% and notify users that they should reduce their use of electricity.

Although Noodoe itself produces charging station hardware, the company is very happy to cooperate with other large firms, like the international electrical equipment giant ABB and Taiwan’s Phihong Technology, with the words “Powered by Noodoe” displayed on the chargers. Through the installation of charging stations worldwide, Noodoe wants to prove to the international community that Taiwan is a country with a strong technological foundation and skill in innovation that can produce charger operating systems under its own brands.

The demonstration EV charging stations set up by Audi in Taiwan’s six special municipalities all use Noodoe operating systems.

Noodoe chairman John Wang says that the screen on the charger next to him was made using laser engraving, so that it doesn’t reflect light even under the intense midday Los Angeles sun, making it easy for vehicle owners to use.