DC Fast Chargers - are they suitable for electric two-wheelers?

With the current buzz in the EV Industry, the two-wheeler segment is gaining a lot of acceptance. Among the EV segment, it's the fastest-growing cohort, with many startups and mainstream brands unravelling their EV models into the market. The segment recorded a year-end growth of 72% last year, which is only expected to grow further. It is reported that around 6000 electric two-wheelers were sold in February this year, against 2300 vehicles in February last year, thus recording a growth rate of 170%, signifying that the pandemic hasn't been able to stop the ride of EVs in India. Hero Electric and Okinawa are two major brands that reported a sale greater than 1000 units last month. Ampere, Ather Energy, Pure EV, Benling, Bajaj, Revolt and TVS accountable for the majority of the rest of the sales. The segment is also watching many new brands taking the plunge and launching their own variants, with Ola Electric and Kabira expected to make their debut soon. With current trends and the hopeful transition of Indians towards the electric in mobility, the EV makers are already gearing up for the major challenges they face by increasing production, dealer network and launching EVs and establishing showrooms in multiple cities.

DC Fast Chargers

DC Fast chargers supplies power directly to the battery and are usually rated at 50 kW and up; the higher the kW, the faster your vehicle can be charged. Most can charge a car from 0 to 80% under an hour as four-wheelers come with a higher battery capacity. On the basis of the time required for charging, they can be classified into three types -

• Level 1 DC Chargers
• Level 2 DC Chargers
• DC Plug Connectors

DC fast charging is typically used when the vehicle wants rapid charging, and due to time constraints, cannot be charged with the traditional methods of charging. The user/owner of the EV has to pay a premium price for charging. DC Fast chargers are usually commercially owned or operated by a charging network. Fast charging or quick charging is more expensive in its practical use and is never used as a dedicated charger for a single-vehicle. 

Each electric vehicle comes with a charger that converts AC to DC depending upon the vehicle's battery capacity to accept AC power from 0 to 25 kW and DC power up to 150 kW. 

Two Wheelers and DC Fast Charging

The battery capacity of the e-bikes and e-scooters in India usually stays within 3 kW. Most bikes come with a 1 kWh lithium-ion battery which with a 15 Amps, 230 Volts charger can be completely charged within an hour. DC Fast chargers usually draw 480 Volts or more which usually support around 125 Amps of current and thus is incompatible with the current battery capacities of two-wheelers in India. In India, only a few electric cars are present that can support DC fast charging, with Mahindra e2o being one of the models that can. Coming to the e-bikes segment, the current models and variants present in the market do not support fast charging with relatively very low battery capacities and hence can be successfully charged by AC chargers but not through DC fast chargers. However, it is expected that future variants of the bike will have greater efficiency and battery capacities and can be charged by quick charging in the next few years. 

For the current owners and clients looking to buy an electric two-wheeler, it would be better if they opt for an AC charger that can charge their EV relatively fast and do not pose a threat to their battery too at the comfort of their home. If you are looking for an EV charging solution or are interested in further updates in the EV segment, do check out our website or reach out to us on https://www.kazam.in/

To read more about Everything EV, check out the March edition of our Magazine here - https://s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/www.kazam.in/media/The+New+Era+of+Electric+Vehicles+-+March+2021.pdf