The future is powered by electricity. Sii develops software for embedded systems for ABB electric car chargers

The growing demand for electric vehicles, which will allow to reduce the negative impact of exhaust emissions on the environment, requires the development of charging infrastructure. Electromobility requires not only an increase in the number of charging stations, but also the implementation of improvements within existing solutions. Sii engineers work in cooperation with ABB to make the station’s software more efficient, reliable and safe for their users. They also have the opportunity to test the developed solutions on one of the couple of prototypes of ABB charging stations available worldwide, which has just recently been delivered to the Sii Poland hall in Gdansk.

Inevitable electrification of vehicles

The sales growth curve of vehicles with alternative drives is growing dynamically around the world. In response to the demand for legal regulations regarding sustainable development, the vast majority of car manufacturers plan to switch to the production of purely electric vehicles. In parallel, Europe, India and China are considering banning the sale of fossil-fueled cars. It is not only a curiosity or a trend, but a clear direction in the development of the industry, for which 2017 was the breakthrough when the magic barrier of a million new cars with electric motors sold globally was exceeded. It is estimated that by 2025 there will be around one million plug-in electric vehicles on Polish roads alone. Such a fast pace of development in the sector brings with it many challenges, including an increase in the availability of charging stations, and the need to adapt to the solutions used for them to the changing requirements, standards and expectations of end-users.

Cooperation of ABB and Sii on software for electric car chargers

ABB is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. Being a title sponsor and technology partner of Formula E, where only electric sports cars are taking part in races, ABB is contributing to a sustainable future. As part of its large scale development of more environmentally friendly and efficient transport solutions, ABB has been faced with the challenge of creating effective, reliable EV charging station software and optimizing existing solutions for efficiency. This task was entrusted to the qualified and experienced engineers of Sii. During three years of cooperation with the client, the project teams were responsible for:

• The implementation of changes in the existing software, so that it would comply with the latest standards and meet the current market needs,
• Optimizing the source code in terms of its performance,
• Increasing the reliability of the solution through security audits,
• Handling new requests from the client and supporting the implemented solutions,
• Adaptation of the existing software so that charging point operators can run a dedicated application on the charging station, in a manner that is safe for its system.

– Thanks to the support of our experts from the Embedded Competency Center, the client achieved the intended technical and strategic goals – says Krzysztof Lis, Delivery Manager at Sii. – The charging stations have been updated with a new software version, which has improved their performance and user experience, and also contributed to optimization, in terms of security. In addition, we have improved the stability of the station’s operation, which will mean a much lower failure rate and less need for support from service technicians. Thanks to our commitment and the creation of a maintenance service that is responsible for handling reports from end users about vehicle charging stations, we were able to free up some of the customer’s resources to work on new products – he adds.

A prototype charging station in the Sii hall in Gdańsk

Sii Poland, as a technological partner hiring over 7 000 specialists, provided ABB not only with extensive access to engineers with the desired competences, but also with the ability to scale services adequately to the current needs. When the client needed support in the assembly of test setups, thanks to its operation in the One-Stop-Shop model, Sii experts were ready to perform in a short time. Thanks to their trust and efficiency in the implementation of the entrusted tasks, they also support ABB in the development of new products.

Currently, with full commitment, trust and responsibility for the intellectual property of the client, Sii is also supporting ABB with the development of new products. In connection with the work carried out at the end of last year, one of the couple of prototype charging stations for electric vehicles appeared in the Sii Assembly Hall in Gdansk. Thanks to its availability, engineers can test the developed software, in the most accurate way possible, on the target hardware, that is, on a “living organism,” instead of by software simulation.

– Electric vehicles are the future. They will bring us many more technological challenges. As the popularity of cars and other electric vehicles grows, their reliability and safety in use and operation will have to increase. We are happy to be participating in such interesting projects – comments Krzysztof Lis.

From the experience of Sii, its scale and the possibility of implementing projects for clients from around the world, while maintaining the highest safety standards, can benefit not only manufacturers of charging stations, but also companies managing charging points. If you want to learn more, check out our offer and see how we can help you to develop your business.