Glossary Electromobility: Definitions of Electric Cars & Technology

With a share of almost 20 percent of registered vehicles in this country, the popularity of electric cars is increasing significantly – but many people are not yet familiar with the technology and functions. We have therefore collected all the important definitions of electric cars for you in this glossary – from A for AC charging to Z for cycle stability.

Electric car technology: definitions from A to M

AC charging

AC (Alternating Current) is the English abbreviation for alternating current. Your electric car "refuels" it, for example, via the wallbox or a charging station.

Ampere

ampere (A) is the physical unit of electric current. If you think of the flow of electricity as water flowing through a pipe, the amperage is equal to the diameter of the pipe.

Battery / accumulator

The accumulator (accumulator for short) stores electrical energy on an electrochemical basis. In some cases, there is also talk of the "battery". However, this is more of a generic term that includes batteries in addition to non-rechargeable storage devices.

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)

In contrast to a hybrid vehicle, this car only runs on the electric drive of a battery.

Bidirectional charging

The technology of electric cars enables them not only to fill up with electricity, but also to feed it back into the grid. The technical term for this is bidirectional charging. Manufacturers are planning to make electric cars more intelligent power grids in this way and, for example, use them to temporarily store excess electricity and return it to the grid when needed (see also Vehicle-to-Grid).

You need

the on-board charger when you charge alternating current – for example at the car wallbox or normal charging station. The power of the charger determines how quickly the battery refills. If you regularly drive an electric car and need energy accordingly frequently, you should choose a vehicle model with a multi-phase, fast on-board charger.

Chademo

Chademo is the name of a fast-charging plug system developed by a Japanese consortium. The competing standard is the German CCS system. The two types of connectors are not compatible with each other.

Combined Charging System (CCS)

This is the German version of the fast-charging plug. It is based on the usual Type 2 connector and has two additional poles. The system has become established among European manufacturers – for example, the German Charging Station Ordinance (LSV) requires CSS plugs at new DC fast charging stations. The most important competitor standard is the Chademo system from Japan.

DC charging

Here, too, an English abbreviation stands for a current variant – namely direct current. After charging, this energy can be stored directly in the electric car at ultra-fast charging stations without the need for conversion.

E-license plate

The E-license plate is a special license plate for electric cars. This means that motorists benefit from some advantages such as the release of bus lanes or free parking spaces in some cities. To receive this license plate, the vehicle must achieve a minimum electric range of 40 kilometers (from 2022: 60 km) or emit a maximum of 50 grams of CO₂ per kilometer. You can find out all the details in our guide "E-License Plates".

Energy density

This term stands for the amount of energy that can be stored per unit mass or per unit volume of a battery. The value is usually given in the unit kWh per kilogram.

Solid-state battery

The solid-state battery is considered a great hope in electric car technology. Compared to current lithium-ion batteries, the new technology is cheaper and more powerful. In this process, a solid material replaces the liquid electrolyte that was previously required. This increases the energy density, which means more range with the same installation space. In addition, there is no longer any need for special cooling, which in turn saves money and weight.

Frequency converters

These are power electronics that are connected between the traction battery and the motor. It controls the electric motor and is also required during the charging process.

Total range

The total range is the range required with a fully charged battery to cover a standardised route using auxiliary consumers such as lights, windscreen wipers, heating or air conditioning.

Direct current

An electric car can "refuel" with alternating current, but it can only store direct current (also called DC) in the battery. A unit is therefore integrated into the vehicle that provides the required type of current and voltage.

Hybrid car

What is a hybrid car? The explanation is quite simple: The word "hybrid" usually indicates a mixture, in this case a combination of different technologies: The vehicle uses both an electric motor and traditional fuels for propulsion. The importance of hybrid vehicles on the market is still growing steadily. In 2021, there were already more than one million such cars in Germany. The difference between plug-in hybrid and hybrid is that, unlike all other hybrid variants, a plug-in hybrid vehicle can recharge at the charging station like a pure electric car. Hybrid is therefore the generic term, plug-in hybrid a special variant.

Induction charging station

What does induction mean? You probably know the technology more from the kitchen than from the electric car: after all, induction stoves are still a big trend. However, wireless charging of mobile phones at corresponding charging stations is really comparable. When it comes to electromobility, the technology is still in its infancy. Instead of connecting the vehicle to a column or wallbox by cable, it only has to be parked over an induction coil. The induction coil charges the battery contactlessly via a counterpart in the vehicle floor. Purely hypothetically, this also works while driving on appropriately equipped road lanes. BMW is the first manufacturer to offer an induction charging system for a plug-in hybrid car.Kilowatt

hour

The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of measurement for energy. The battery capacity of electric cars is often stated in this way: Values between 20 kWh and 60 kWh are currently common, sometimes even 100 kWh.

Charging power Charging power

is the most important criterion for how long an electric car needs to be connected to the power grid to completely fill its battery. At an AC/DC charging station, for example, this takes two to five hours, at ultra-fast charging stations with 350 kW only five to ten minutes. You can find out the average performance of all charging variants in the guide to "Charging an electric car".

Charging stations

Charging stations are, so to speak, the filling stations of electromobility. There you can fully charge your electric car with alternating current or direct current. Currently, most charging stations are located in Bavaria. The Federal Network Agency offers a map with all public charging points.

Charging Station Ordinance

Since March 2016, the Charging Station Ordinance (LSV for short) has set out the minimum technical requirements for German charging points. For normal charging stations, the LSV prescribes the so-called type 2 plug, for DC charging stations the CCS system. In addition, the document lists comprehensive requirements for operators of public charging points. These include those in public traffic areas, but also columns at customer and company parking lots.

Lithium-ion battery

This battery variant is the most common energy storage system for electric cars today. It offers a higher energy density than previous variants and does not suffer from the memory effect. However, the costs are relatively high. In addition, manufacturers need metals that belong to the group of rare earths, which often come from crisis areas.

Memory effect

This is about the loss of capacity of a battery that occurs with frequent partial discharge. This is especially the case with old nickel-cadmium batteries. Electrically, the memory effect is reflected in an early voltage drop, although the complete capacity has not yet been removed. The current lithium-ion batteries are not affected by this.

source: Electric car technology – the glossary for the most important terms