Struggle to Drain Electric Vehicles Battery Life for the Sake of G20 Summit

As many as 1,256 electric vehicles: cars, motorcycles, buses, are used as a means of transport at the G20 Bali Summit. This includes preparation and testing of electric charging. What are the stories and challenges?

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

An electric vehicle charging station (SPKLU) in Nusa Dua, Bali, to facilitate the G20 Summit, Monday (9/12/2022). The use of electric vehicles as a transport facility at this international event is one of the agenda promoting the fuel energy conversion campaign.

As many as 1,256 electric vehicles will be provided for the high-level conference of the G20 Bali Summit. There have been various preparations carried out to optimize the use of these electric vehicles, including the availability of electric vehicle charging stations.

The G20 Summit is set to take place at the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Nusa Dua, Bali, on November 15-16, 2022. As many as 636 electric vehicles are provided to transport delegates participating in the event.

The number includes 290 units of electric motorcycles for security guard patrol and 300 units of electric cars for other operational needs.

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In addition, there are 30 electric buses provided for this international summit. It’s worth noting that these buses are locally manufactured by PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) in collaboration with a consortium of state universities, which include Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS), Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) in Denpasar, Airlangga University (Unair) in Surabaya, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, and Diponegoro University (Undip) in Semarang.

According to data obtained by Kompas, 636 units of vehicles provided for delegates include 123 units of Hyundai Genesis, 246 units of Hyundai Ioniq 5, 124 units of Hyundai Ioniq, 102 units of Lexus UX300e and 41 units of Toyota bZ4X. Meanwhile, there are 290 units of electric motorcycles of Zero and Energica brands for security vehicles, as well as 300 units of Wuling Air-ev for other operational needs.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

State-owned electricity company (PLN) provides electric vehicle charging sub-stations in Nusa Dua, Bali, to facilitate the G20 Summit, Monday (9/12/2022). The use of electric vehicles as a transport facility at this international event is one of the agenda promoting the fuel energy conversion campaign.

“Ioniq 5 and Ioniq electric cars will be provided for delegates and security guard patrols. The long-range type of Genesis electric cars are for state leaders, and the standard type of Genesis for the first ladies. Meanwhile, members of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) will use electric motorcycles of the Zero brand, and the National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) will use electric motorcycles of the Energica brand,” said R. Arief Prawiro Utomo, the person in charge of the PLN Bali electric vehicle charging stations. PLN provides electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU) to support the operations of electric vehicles. Arief said, for the G20 Summit, PLN has installed 66 ultra-fast charging stations with a capacity of 200 kW and assigned 126 SPKLU officers. These 66 stations include 28 SPKLUs at Apurva Kempinski, 36 SPKLUs at ITDC Nusa Dua and two mobile SPKLU stations. We have also prepared 200 home charging units with a capacity of 7 kW spanning the 12 hotels,”Arief explained.

There is a high need for electric vehicle charging stations, urging PLN to build new networks to add the existing ones. For the power needs at Apurva Kempinski and ITDC, PLN has built 10 mW and 4 mW embedded cable networks, respectively.

As the person in charge, it is Arief’s duty to ensure all electrical networks, software and hardware installed at SPKLUs are functioning. The construction of the SPKLU stations started in July and was completed in September.

One of the tough challenges is constructing the SPKLU in the Central Parking area. This is due to the fact that the 4,000 sqm area was originally designed for organic waste disposal from the ITDC area.

Kompas once visited the location in mid-September and were unaware that the land was originally a site for the disposal of waste materials. Currently, no trash is left, and the area is considerably clean. The site still looked a bit untidy at the time of our visit, as it was still in the finalizing phase of the construction. The jet-black color of the asphalt on the site resembles the typical look of new asphalt.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

An array of electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLUs) are installed at ITDC Nusa Dua, Bali, to facilitate the G20 Summit, Monday (9/12/2022). The use of electric vehicles as a transport facility at this international event is one of the agenda promoting the fuel energy conversion campaign.

No less interesting is one challenge in testing the durability of these electric vehicle charging stations. For this matter, Arief and his team have carried out the durability check of these stations, so they all can function simultaneously and continuously.

“It’s stressful when installing these stations. We called it a stress test. We do it to find out the stations’ durability, as the stations will be used continuously during the G20 Summit,” he added.

So, what was the challenge? “We only had four electric vehicles to text these dozens of stations,”Arief said, chuckling.

He further said that he had a team tasked with draining car batteries. The cars, consisting of 1 unit of Hyundai Genesis, 1 unit of Ioniq 5, and 2 units of Hyundai Kona, are alternately charged. Their batteries are used up and then recharged.

During one day of testing the stations, one car was driven back and forth six times around the Bali Mandara Toll. On average, each car must have the durability to be used for 700 km per day to drain the battery for the purpose of charging tests at the station. “Perhaps the biggest cost in testing these stations is the toll road fee," Arief said, jokingly.

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An electric vehicle used by the Energy and Vacation Exploration team crosses the Denpasar-Nusa Dua toll road, Monday (9/12/2022).

The electric cars used for the test have a regenerative braking feature, thus allowing for additional power when braking. That is the reason for using toll roads to drain car power. It will take longer to drain the battery if the car is driven on crowded streets in Bali.

The test conducted by PLN comprises two aspects, namely functional and technical tests. The functional test is to check whether a station is functioning or not and whether it can simultaneously charge the battery. The test also includes finding out the capability of a station to stop the charging process and checking the function of the emergency button.

Meanwhile, the technical test was conducted using several special equipment to find out if there is a leakage. This test is carried out to get SPKLU certification, as proof that the SPKLU runs in accordance with applicable international standards.

During the testing session, PT PLN is accompanied by two vendors of SPKLU projects. The two vendors are Delta from Taiwan and SK Signet from Korea. In mid-September, Kompas witnessed how PLN and SK Signet tested each of the stations in ITDC. They were pleased with Kompas team who came to the stations in an electric car. The car was recharged at one of the stations.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Technicians from Korea at an electric vehicle charging station (SPKLU) operate a tool that has been installed at the Nusa Dua International Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) complex, Bali, Monday (9/12/2022). The preparation for SPKLU facilities was to support the G20 Summit meeting held in early November. A total of 36 ultra-fast charging stations with a capacity of 200 kilowatts are provided in the area. The completion of setting up SPKLU for G20 Summit has reached 90 percent. As planned, as many as 636 electric cars and 200 electric motorcycles will be used for the summit.

“It's a good thing there are cars that can be charged. This way, our concern to spend the battery is slightly reduced,” said SK Signet Indonesia Representative Soon Lee.

Lee said the G20 Summit was momentum for SK Signet in Indonesia as a charging stations provider. SK Signet gets 36 stations for its project at this international event in Bali.

“We have currently installed all SPKLU units with an ultra-fast charging capacity of 200 kW,. We have yet to penetrate the Indonesian market. After the G20 Summit, we will strive to manufacture and market our charging stations in Indonesia. We have installed our stations in Europe, America, Japan and Singapore,” Lee asserted.

In addition to the 66 stations PLN has prepared, there are 12 charging stations prepared by PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM). The difference between the charging stations provided by the two entities lies in the nozzle port. While the PLN charging station uses CCS2 nozzles, the ones of TAM use chademo-type nozzles. Lexus UX300e uses the chademo port while other cars use the CCS2.

“Our support for the G20 Summit is not only electric cars but also a supporting ecosystem. TAM has provided 12 electric vehicle charging stations to the government as a means of supporting the use of electric vehicles to transport delegates during the G20 Summit.

Lexus also provides e-LCMS (e Lexus Concierge Mobile Service) to ensure the availability of adequate support for the units used there," said Anton Jimmi Suwandy, marketing director of PT Toyota-Astra Motor.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Trial of the Toyota BZ4X type of electric car at the Gelora Bung Karno Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday (10/12/2022). AS many as 143 electric cars comprising 41 BZ4X and 102 units of Lexus UX 300e will be used as the official vehicles for the G20 Summit. These electric cars will be used for delegates at the ministerial level during the summit.

Kompas found out the story behind the arrival of the Lexus UX300e. Initially, they would only use bZ4X for the G20 Summit. The recall of the bZ4X had created an unfavorable response from the Japanese delegation. It was said that Japanese delegates were reluctant to attend the summit if they had to use cars from Korean manufacturers.

This led to the Lexus UX300e which would finally be used at the G20 Summit. As this type of Lexus is equipped with a chademo charging port, Toyota must build its own chademo charging station, apart from what PLN has prepared with the CCS2 port. Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Toyota bZ4X use CCS2 port.

The process of recalling bZ4X was once completed. However, along with the Lexus UX300e, the Toyota bZ4X is now allowed to participate in the G20 event.

In a written interview, Anton Jimmi was reluctant to directly respond to the story. He only mentioned all communications with the G20 Committee had been going on for quite some time. In addition, he asserted that Indonesia was not included among the countries involved with the recall of the bZ4X because this type of car had not yet been marketed in Indonesia.

"The number of units the G20 Summit needs is decided based on the discussions with the G20 Committee. Prior to the handover, there was a change from a total of 143 UX300e units to 102 Lexus UX300e and 41 Toyota bZ4X. All in all, the total number is still the same, namely 143,” he said.

Despite whatever happened during the preparations for the G20 Summit, it is everyone’s hope that the international summit will run well. The use of electric vehicles as the official vehicles for delegates and security officers is poised to be a milestone and evidence of the energy shifting for a better living space on the earth.

This article was translated by Aulia R. Sungkar