ABB electrifies 2024 Shanghai E-Prix with advanced energy, automation tech, solutions

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In the past weekend, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship made its debut at the Shanghai International Circuit (namely, the 2024 Shanghai E-Prix), delivering an exhilarating double-header race. The event featured 11 teams from 8 countries, 22 top drivers, a 3.05-km track, 29 laps, and 45 minutes of intense racing, with frequent overtakes and thrilling duels that kept the excitement high throughout.

Photo credit: ABB

As a premier international electric vehicle racing series, the Formula E not only promotes clean energy and sustainable development but also explores future trends and cutting-edge technologies in the automotive and manufacturing industries. ABB, the title partner of the FIA Formula E World Championship, has been involved with the series for seven seasons. For ABB, Formula E is not just a significant sporting event but also a testing ground and showcase for innovative technologies.

In 2020, ABB announced it would provide advanced charging technology for the third-generation cars (Gen 3 cars) debuting in the Season 9 (2022-2023). Last year, ABB officially became the series' official charging supplier and continues to support the Season 10.

Photo credit: ABB

ABB collaborated with the FIA and Formula E engineers to develop a compact, reliable, and safe charging solution to charge the new generation of cars before and during races. This ABB Formula E charging equipment features a robust, tailor-made design emphasizing ergonomics, making it easy to be transported and installed worldwide. Thanks to the latest power electronics technology, the equipment's footprint is significantly reduced, greatly facilitating pre-race car charging. The device is highly reliable and compatible with power systems around the world.

The charging equipment can deliver a maximum power output of 160kW per single connector, and when charging two cars simultaneously, each connector provides 80kW. This dual-charging feature allows one charger to power two cars at the same time, eliminating the need for separate charging devices for each car, significantly reducing carbon emissions during transport.

ABB explained that the new charging equipment incorporates the extensive experience it gained as the official charging partner for the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series in the Seasons 5 and 6. The design of the eTROPHY chargers was built on ABB's Terra 53 50kW chargers, which have recorded thousands of installations worldwide, optimized for compact packaging, ease of transport, and meeting the logistical demands of race schedules.

Photo credit: ABB

Last season, ABB already introduced its innovative ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX® energy management software solution to the Formula E World Championship, in a bid to enhance energy efficiency at race events.

The ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX® energy management system helps engineers monitor and analyze the event's energy consumption. Using the system, the race venues have up to 14 metering boxes that collect data on power and energy consumption from teams and other event partners. This information is transmitted to the event control center via the Microsoft Azure cloud. The total power consumption at the race venues, including TV broadcast rooms, the E-village fan zone, media center, catering facilities, and team garages, is also monitored.

In addition to advancements in electric transportation, ABB applied its uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system to the event's TV broadcast area, ensuring continuous power for broadcast equipment in case of grid outages, maintaining uninterrupted race coverage. The UPS system, developed by ABB's expert team, is an efficient, customized device with wheel-mounted, lightweight, compact packaging, making it easy to transport.

Photo credit: ABB

Off the track, in the Fan Village, ABB provided fans with an immersive interactive experience. In the ABB display area, the new generation collaborative robot GoFa™ automatically "picked up" a charging gun to charge a Porsche electric car. The company said ABB's latest GoFa 10 and GoFa 12 robots boast excellent repeat positioning accuracy (0.02 mm) and tool center point (TCP) speed (up to 2m/s), with a robotic arm working range of 1.62 meters, allowing perfect human collaboration to complete various tasks.

Chen Han, President of ABB Robotics in China, mentioned that ABB is exploring automated charging applications, such as enabling car charging without the need to exit the vehicle for drivers. "We are still exploring, as it may involve integrating payment and other processes. For example, after scanning the car's license plate, how do we connect it to your payment method? From a mechanical standpoint, the skill of picking up and charging is not an issue. We have further ideas for integrating everything. Since ABB makes both charging products and robotic arms, why not combine them? Our local teams are also thinking about this, aiming for maximum usage and development opportunities for new applications."

Additionally, the company's booth showcased ABB's diverse charging solutions, from home chargers to ultra-fast chargers. These included the EVinn 7kW AC charging pile for long-term parking, the Evinn TA series AC charging piles for commercial, campus, and residential areas, and the Terra HP GB 360/480kW high-power liquid-cooled ultra-fast charger for busy sites like highway service areas, gas stations, and transport hubs. These chargers, designed for next-generation high-power electric vehicles, improve charging speed by 3-5 times, providing up to 200km of range with just 5 minutes of charging.