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Chroma and UL Sign MOU to Work on EV Testing

December 11, 2012 by Jeff Shepard

In order to promote the development of EV industry and accelerate the definition of testing standards, Chroma Systems Solutions and the global renowned testing and certification institution Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at furthering joint cooperation in propelling EV testing and standardization. Chroma also received worldwide first SAE J1772 communication protocol automatic test system (ATS) certification issued by UL.

Though only the internal combustion engine is replaced with the process of converting electricity to power for EV power source, there is a huge difference in the designing logic and testing verification. The safety and performance tests of EV related parts and equipment have to take global consistency and comprehensiveness into consideration, in which the regulations and technical specifications are relying on the internationally recognized professional entities, such as IEC, IEEE, SAE and UL for setting up. In this area of expertise, UL has been the leader for a long time.

The MOU cooperation includes joint activities in pushing EV system and test equipment solutions, exchanging expertise, building technology and capacity, as well as providing customized test lab for testing associate products/components, developing test & measurement equipment, conducting calibrations, setting up standards and delivering education and training. The first cooperation case was focused on the verification and testing of AC Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (AC EVSE). UL used SAE J1772 standard to create a standardized comprehensive verification procedure at Taiwan Electric Research & Testing Center (TERTEC) and Chroma designed an automatic test system (Chroma 8000) to complete the performance evaluation jointly in October 2012. UL has issued worldwide first SAE J1772 communication protocol ATS certification to Chroma and the same certification to TERTEC.

To speed up the development of EV industry, Chroma is capable of providing professional test solutions for electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles from their more than 20 years of experience and abundant knowledge and technical skills accumulated in power electronic testing. The various AC Source/DC Power Supply/Electronic Load Chroma developed has wide range of rated power and measurement functions that can be used to test the components and equipment associated with electric vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle. Meanwhile, all of these instruments can be integrated as a multifunctional Automatic Test System (ATS) for testing EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment, charging station), on-board charger, DC-DC converter, motor driver (inverter) and other related power electronic devices. More test solutions to comply with the regulations of EV testing will submit subsequently as the cooperation of two parties continues.