ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Spring 2022 New Course Announcement
Course Title: Electric Vehicles
Course Number: ECE 398GG
CRN:
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays
Credit: 3 hours
Instructor: George Gross, 244-6346; gross@illinois.edu

Prerequisites: ECE 210 or ECE 205

Course Description: The course provides a comprehensive treatment of electric vehicles (EVs) at the undergraduate level. Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to drastically reduce the global CO2 footprint to effectively address climate change issues. Massive EV adoption requires the establishment of an EV charging infrastructure (EVCI) to supply the energy needs of EV owners/users. The course examines the technical, economic, environmental, and policy aspects of EVs and EVCI. A basic physics discussion of rolling vehicles serves to determine the power and energy requirements and their implications for energy storage and transfer. The course covers the EV architectures and configurations, as well as the detailed description of the deployment of motors and generators, drives for traction applications, batteries, and their management, as well as the EV–grid nexus. The discussion of the various technologies and approaches deployed in EV design and operations is augmented by the detailed examination of the energy efficiency and the EV environmental benefits. The application of power electronics to EV charging is accompanied by a detailed examination of the EVCI and its interactions with the existing infrastructures. Throughout the course, there is a major emphasis on the efficient utilization of energy in an environmentally sensitive manner to underline the significant role of EVs and EVCI in the energy transition.
No required text; relevant papers and reports will be uploaded on the course website; copies of slides used in lectures made available to students.

TOPICAL OUTLINE OF ECE 398GG: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Introduction: transportation industry’s salient characteristics; key drivers of transportation electrification; energy and environmental issues; global EV deployment and e-mobility
Vehicle Dynamics and Energy/Power Requirements: basic physics of rolling vehicles; the forces of gravity, aerodynamic drag, hill climbing and descent, rolling resistance, braking; the role of inertia, acceleration/deceleration; energy and power requirements; energy conservation principle; illustrative examples
EV Design & Operational Considerations: EV size and weight; range implications; vehicle parameters and performance metrics; performance assessment/evaluation
EV Architectures/Configurations: the EV subsystems – motors, drives, inverters, batteries and energy storage, chargers, sensors and controls; architectural structures/configurations
EV Batteries and Their Management: key battery components, their roles and nature; key portable energy requirements beyond rechargeability; from electrochemical cell to modules to packs; battery operations phases, features, figures of merit; Li-ion battery limitations
EV Electric Motors and Generators: electromechanical energy conversion basics – energy, co-energy, force and torque; key metrics; design considerations; modeling aspects; torque–speed curve, constant power speed range requirements; motor types
Electric Drives for EV Traction Applications: nature role and operation of electric drives in electromechanical energy conversion; the DC-AC conversion process; traction inverters and their control for EV acceleration/deceleration/constant-speed maintenance
EV Integration into Today’s Grids: the impacts of EV loads on distribution grids; EVs as a deferrable load/distributed storage resource; the vehicle-to-grid concept; EV aggregations
EV Energy Efficiency & Environmental Impact Assessment: wells-to-wheels reference metric used for internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs); cumulative impacts of the constituent efficiencies and metrics; EV GHG emission quantification and comparison with the ICEV “tailpipe” emissions; EV lifecycle emissions; key assumptions; data sources
EV Battery Charging & Power Electronics Applications: voltage levels and charging types; charging connectors; charging process; safety/protection issues; AC grid analysis basics; dc-dc converter operations and PWM rectifier circuit analysis; power electronics applications in the implementation of EV charging stations; key technology challenges
The EV Charging Infrastructure (EVCI): EVCI critical role in massive EV adoption; interdependence and interactions of EVCI with existing infrastructures; renewable/storage resource deployment in EVCI; EVCI station planning/implementation; current EV charging providers and their business models; policy/regulatory aspects; major challenges
Policy and Regulatory Issues: the nature/scope of policies to stimulate massive EV adoption and EVCI station implementation; policy formulation and implementation at each government level; examples of policies and incentives for EV adoption
Beyond EVs: further transportation electrification – all-electric airplanes, electric buses, and freight mobility; battery technology enhancements; wireless charging
Team projects
One or two Midterm Exams and a comprehensive Final Exam