A comprehensive review of single-stage onboard chargers for light electric vehicles

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) are revolutionizing the transportation landscape by replacing traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, thereby reshaping the future of mobility and playing an essential role in fostering a sustainable energy future. Battery chargers and the associated charging infrastructure are crucial elements in accelerating the adoption of EVs worldwide. Alongside the rapid deployment of fast offboard charging stations, there is a significant emphasis on developing highly efficient onboard battery chargers (OBCs) that provide convenient charging options for EV owners. OBCs facilitate direct charging from the AC grid and are widely favoured in the automotive industry for their convenience, particularly when compared to the higher costs and larger footprint of off-board charging stations. Designing and developing these onboard chargers necessitate considerations such as high power factor, compact size, energy efficiency, high power handling capability, safety, cost-effectiveness, and future-proofing. Power electronic converters are essential components of OBCs. Based on power conversion stages, OBCs can be classified as two-stage or single-stage, with singlestage OBCs being compact and more efficient. This paper reviews various power electronic converter topologies used in single-stage OBC and presents a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in state-of-theart power factor correction converter topologies for these chargers.Various topologies proposed in the recent literature including those with transformers or transformer-less designs, unidirectional and bidirectional power flow capabilities, and configurations with diode bridges or bridgeless designs-are discussed and compared in detail.