Seems like it should be as simple as converting AC to DC., passing on all available voltage (up to a safe limit) to the car, and stopping it when the batteries are full.
Similar to what a wall brick does for your devices on a smaller scale, though the brains are in the device not the wall brick. Why isn’t that done with cars?
I see mention of ‘different technologies’, and ‘better chargers vs lesser chargers’, etc. and I feel like there must be more to it.
In: 2
You have AC charging and DC charging.
For AC charging, nothing special is needed. It is designed to be compatible with the normal electricity grid.
Charging your car is basically connecting an extention cord to the car.
The battery charger is built into the car itself and will convert the AC to DC the battery needs.
This compatibility limits the amount of power you have available and how fast you can charge your car. It is often limited to 7.6kW or 11.1kW, still suitable for home charging during the night.
On the go you want to charge fast. There we use DC charging.
The charger is external to the car and provides DC power, often 100s of kW.
Most of the time, the battery is the limiting factor and the maximum charging rate can only be maintained for 10-20 minutes in ideal circumstances.
Conceptually, it is very simple, but what makes it less trivial is the safety requirements as you are dealing with a lot of power.
Besides pure charging, there is also communication ongoing between car and charger to exchange charge status information and even automatic billing, etc…
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