Ormazabal designs energy distribution for Sortimo charging park - Expansion in view
The Krefeld-based energy plant specialist Ormazabal contributed its expertise in medium-voltage technology to the design and implementation of Europe's largest charging park in Zusmarshausen on the A8, equipping five transfer stations with switchgear. The facility is conveniently located between Augsburg and Günzburg and opened in August 2021 as the "Sortimo Innovationspark." At 72 charging points, EV drivers can charge, and currently, around 1,000 vehicles are supplied with green electricity daily. This requires an energy distribution system that converts the supplied electricity to direct current and distributes it to the charging points. When designing it, it was already taken into account that the Sortimo Innovationspark should be further expanded in the future.
Ambitious project: Charging park, gastronomy, and training center
Vehicle outfitting specialist Sortimo began construction of what is now Europe's largest charging park across from its company headquarters in Zusmarshausen, Bavaria, in 2018. The campus-like area includes gastronomy and retail offerings as well as training facilities, which the IHK Schwaben, for example, uses for further education and training on the topics of electromobility, energy efficiency, and digitalization. An expansion of the park by 84 additional charging points is already in planning, potentially allowing up to 4,000 vehicles to be served per day. This corresponds to a capacity of around 88 million kWh per year.
Instead of external green electricity, it will soon be self-produced
Of the current 72 charging points, 24 are fast chargers with outputs of 420 kW each, including 12 Tesla V3 superchargers. The charging times there, depending on the power level (between 35 and 280 kW), are only 15 to 45 minutes. While green electricity from renewable sources is still being sourced, this will eventually be self-generated. A photovoltaic system on the roof of the nearby Sortimo plant with an output of 3000 kWp is to ensure this. Additionally, waste heat from the charging stations and cooling of transformer stations is also used thanks to a heat pump.
Expertise in Medium Voltage Required
The charging park, however, is not an "energetic island," says the specialist. It is connected to the public supply grid of LEW Lechwerke, into which the park feeds and from which it can draw additional energy if needed. For the implementation of the grid connection, the general planner Steinbacher Consult sought the expertise of Ormazabal in the field of medium voltage distribution.
"The first meeting took place in the winter of 2017, where we discussed the requirements. Therefore, we were involved in the planning from the very beginning," recalls Ormazabal sales representative Michael Lösle.
Maximilian Mayer from the Energy Department at Steinbacher Consult adds that they brought in external expertise to finalize the exact characteristics of the installations as well as the interior construction of the stations, including the necessary sizes, during the planning stage. The Krefeld company ultimately won the contract for the equipment of the transfer stations.
Five Concrete Stations Arranged in a Semi-Circle
Five concrete stations, arranged in a semi-circle around the charging park, have so far been delivered by a partner company in several steps – completely pre-assembled. Ormazabal coordinated the process from planning to commissioning and supplied the medium voltage switchgear and the 1250 kVA transformers. For the latter, it was taken into account that the charging points for Tesla models require a higher low-voltage side voltage of 480 V.
Ormazabal also supplied the 1250 kVA transformers. The energy distribution expert took into account that the twelve Tesla V3 Superchargers require a higher low-voltage side voltage of 480 V. | Photo: Ormazabal
Expandable and Modular – A Challenge
To date, Ormazabal has supplied the charging park with three medium-voltage switchgear units of the ga/gae type, a transfer switchgear with its own medium-voltage metering for the charging park, and two substations each with a 1250 kVA transformer.
“These are tried and tested systems with a type test certificate that we can adapt individually for each project,” outlines Michael Lösle.
The expandability and modular structure of the charging infrastructure, both in terms of the number of charging points and their performance, presented a challenge in terms of energy supply.
“We solved this by arranging the switchgear in loops instead of the usual star configuration. This way, additional stations can be integrated later without any problems,” explains Michael Lösle.
This special type of setup and the resulting potential power distribution via a DC bus is unique and was realized through the technology of the company eLoaded. In the transformer stations, the alternating current is also converted into direct current. This direct current is then distributed to the charging points. The transfer power switches are also equipped with protection devices, so that, for example, in the event of a short circuit, only a single section is disconnected from the grid, as further explained. This ensures that e-car drivers can rely on uninterrupted charging, as promised.
“Heart of the Sortimo Innovation Park”
After the completion of the first construction phase, Michael Lösle sees the most sensible and at the same time simplest solution implemented. The energy distribution is the heart of the Sortimo Innovation Park – “without it, nothing would work,” concludes the sales representative.
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