Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has registered a new patent after researchers at the R&D Center developed a universal smart system for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The system can charge all kinds of electric vehicles with a single cable and socket, whether they use AC or DC.
The charging station is designed in a user-friendly manner. It simplifies the process of charging and makes it convenient for electric vehicle drivers to charge their cars as quickly as possible.
In this system, the drivers do not have to carry their own cables. Instead, the charging station is a one-stop point for all kinds of electric cars, since it automatically conforms the plug and the charge to the specifications of the car. The R&D Center is currently developing a prototype for further study.
Dr. Edwin Rodriguez-Ubinas, Senior researcher at DEWA R&D Centre and co-inventor said, “The universal electric vehicle charger idea centered on a research project on human-centric electric vehicle charging stations. The project aims to find innovative solutions to challenges faced by customers during the traditional charging process in stations with standard, fast and non-straightforward services.”
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer MD & CEO – DEWA
“DEWA works to achieve the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to accelerate the shift towards a green economy and make Dubai the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050. As a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation, DEWA works to harness innovation and creativity to encourage the use of sustainable transport and increase the number of government electronic and hybrid vehicles. This reduces carbon emissions in ground transport, which is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in Dubai. The new patent registered by DEWA will provide a seamless and innovative experience that is consumer- and environment-friendly. It will also raise DEWA’s position as a pioneering world-class utility. This is the second patent registered by the Centre, which His Highness launched last March. There are currently four more patents underway.”
Dr. Saif Almheiri, Vice President of Research & Development at DEWA said, “The R&D Centre adopts an approach that focuses on improving DEWA’s services to customers by developing the latest sustainable technologies and solutions for energy and water as well as conducting researches to maintain DEWA’s global leadership. We strive to enrich the scientific community locally and globally. To achieve this, we develop talents and provide an interactive and positive environment to help researchers innovate and create as well as submitting more scientific journals and innovations.”
DEWA Green Charger Station
Hamad Mohamed Albeshr, a researcher in smart grids integration at the R&D Centre, explained the benefits of the auto-adaptive system. “To charge electric vehicles, the Electric Vehicle Green Charger subscribers scan a special card issued by DEWA, connect the cable to the charger, and then to the vehicle to start charging.”
“The new system includes an optical identification system, a camera, a microprocessor unit, and an AI program that can recognize the vehicle plate number and identify the appropriate type of plug for the vehicle through the stored database and give the order to the system to activate the required charging system. This entire process takes place without any external interference, and during an easy process where all what the customer has to do is to pull the cable and connect it to the vehicle,” he further added.
“Our researches focused on integrating all of these charging methods, creating a single cable and plug compliant with all the methods. Additionally, the process has been automated,” said Dr. Endika Bilbao Muruaga, a senior researcher at DEWA R&D Centre and co-inventor of the innovative system.
More than 270 Green Charger stations have been built by DEWA across Dubai. The owners of private electric vehicles who have registered with the Green Charger Service may charge their vehicles free of charge until 31 December 2021. This applies only to charging stations for public use and not domestic ones. Commercial vehicles for organizations, companies, government and semi-governmental organizations may be charge 29 fils/kWh for their vehicles.
