Design of a capacitive power transfer system for charging of electric vehicles

Abstract

Electric Vehicles (EV) nowadays are an attractive means of transportation, as they do not emit harmful gasses. Charging of EVs can be achieved through either direct contact or contactless approaches. Contactless charging approach, as Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) system, provides several merits. Yet, the IPT system has several problems; the most severe one is that it causes health issues, since it is based on electromagnetic induction. The alternative method of transferring power wirelessly is the Capacitive Power Transfer (CPT). The basic concept of a CPT system is based on the power transferal via electric fields between the plates. In this paper, a 5kW CPT system is designed with SiC MOSFET-based inverter. A compensating network, connected to the coupling capacitor, is used. The system is then connected to a rectifier to feed a battery. CPT different aspects are studied in this paper. The system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink and tested experimentally to examine the performance.