in-tech smart charging GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of in-tech GmbH, announces that the new automotive control unit Charge Control L has been successfully integrated into an e-bus of e-troFit GmbH as part of an upgrade project. The company has thus for the first time installed a functionally safe and real-time capable control unit for fast charging with direct current (DC) in one of its buses. In the future, other vehicles in the fleet will also be equipped with the new controllers.

As the world's first digital OEM, e-troFit GmbH offers innovative solutions for the electrification of used and new commercial vehicles. With e-troFit's technologically leading retrofit kits, conventional diesel buses are given a second life as environmentally friendly electric vehicles - according to the highest international standards for functional safety in the automotive industry. With its electrification kits, e-troFit delivers not only a high-quality, but overall, the most efficient mobility solution currently available for achieving the Clean Vehicles Directive, which will come into force in August 2021. Fleet operators thus benefit from a long-term, economical, and sustainable control tool for designing an emission-free vehicle fleet.

In order to be able to fully recharge the batteries of its electrified vehicles as efficiently as possible and in just a few hours, e-troFit was looking for a real-time capable control unit for fast charging. The Charge Control L from in-tech smart charging convinced the team and was used for the first time in an e-troFit bus as part of a pilot project in April 2021.

The process: the control unit is integrated into the vehicle by means of a CAN interface and handles communication with the charging station and monitoring of the charging process. In addition, the control unit can be connected to an onboard charger to enable AC charging and to extend older architectures with ISO 15118 functionalities. Charge Control L complies with ISO15118 or DIN70121 charging standards for DC charging and IEC61851 and ISO15118 for AC charging. It was developed in accordance with the automotive standard ISO 26262 and meets the required safety standard ASIL B. To this end, the control unit also monitors the temperature at the charging plug, the status LEDs and the plug interlocks.

"With our control unit, an E-bus is fully recharged in 2.5 to 3 hours. The product met all the requirements of e-troFit GmbH, so we started with a pre-series status. The plan is to install the control unit as standard at the beginning of 2022," explains Thomas Wagner, CEO of in-tech smart charging GmbH.