Customer application

Grid Connection of Charging Infrastructure – Quick and Easy

  • 12/16/2022

    • The country needs charging stations. However, these must be connected with telecontrol technology – and in a grid-compliant way. The LEONHARD WEISS company offers this service and more all across Germany. At this company from Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg, the Station Design department relies on flexible hardware and software from WAGO – because the connections function quickly and easily in around two-thirds of all grid territories, and also because this choice lets them retain expertise and added value within the company and remain well-positioned for the future.
    The development and expansion of charging infrastructure for e-mobility have become crucial for station design. “A large portion of our work currently focuses on e-mobility. This includes everything, not just charging stations – from the mains transfer point, to after-sales and maintenance services,” says Christian Kong-Lochbihler, Senior Site Engineer in the Station Design department at LEONHARD WEISS. With 20 employees, his department successfully constructs AC and DC high-power charging stations throughout Germany with a charging capacity up to 350 kW.

    Connecting Charging Infrastructure – Here’s How WAGO Supports You:

    • A plug-and-play solution for quick and easy telecontrol connection of customer transfer stations

    • Grid-compliant connection in accordance with distribution network operators’ requirements (TCRs) in approximately three quarters of German medium-voltage grid territories

    • Modular, flexible solution components consisting of software and hardware – tailored to the needs of system integrators, switchgear manufacturers and station manufacturers alike



    Plug-and-Play Telecontrol Connection

    As an experienced service provider, LEONHARD WEISS provides the entire value chain of e-charging technology, from the transformer station, to the roofs over charging stations, all from a single source. Their services range from initial consultation, site analysis, execution and commissioning, to operational management, service and maintenance. “We work for the three largest charging network operators in Germany,” says Kong-Lochbihler. “We implement telecontrol station connections according to the technical connection rules (TCRs) of many different grid operators. Using a telecontrol system and the WAGO Customer Substation application, we can fully handle around 80 percent of the different TCRs with a plug-and-play approach.

    During charging station installation and maintenance, the Station Design team at LEONARD WEISS also takes care of the measurements required by DIN VDE 0100-600.

    Photo: LEONHARD WEISS

    A Flexible System for Openness and Added Value

    As an energy technology provider, WAGO came at the right time with its plug-and-play solution for the telecontrol connection of customer transfer stations. “Of course we took a look at what was on the market – we even checked out other telecontrol system producers that we had already used,” reports Christian Kong-Lochbihler. The problem was that these were often closed, proprietary systems. “But we didn’t want to tie ourselves completely to one option – we wanted to have in-house value creation and carry out the cable wiring and built-in tests ourselves, for example. This was astonishingly easy to do with WAGO,” he says. In Kong-Lochbihler’s eyes, the handling is another advantage: “The software is easy to understand and for my employees to operate.”

    But we didn’t want to tie ourselves completely to one option – we wanted to have in-house value creation [...]. This was astonishingly easy to do with WAGO.

    Christian Kong-Lochbihler, Senior Site Engineer Station Design bij LEONHARD WEISS

    Two Separate Commissioning Steps

    How does station commissioning actually work? There are two separate commissioning steps. “We do precommissioning with an I/O or built-in test. As soon as we receive the telecontrol system, the project is selected and the telecontrol system is then connected to the medium-voltage system in the production facility. We then do all the control wiring, the parameterization and a so-called pre-test, meaning an I/O pre-test using the switchgear unit.” This way, Christian Kong-Lochbihler and his colleagues can be sure that all the commands and messages are arriving correctly, the fieldbus connections work and the corresponding registry can be read out.

    Upon request, LEONARD WEISS also handles operational management of the transformer stations. This also includes regular activities on AC and DC charging stations, such as the retesting required by DGUV 3.

    Photo: LEONHARD WEISS

    “Afterwards, everything is disassembled, delivered to the station manufacturer, rewired completely there again and then delivered to the transformer station as a complete unit.” Only then does the actual commissioning of the telecontrol system take place. “This step is done in collaboration with the corresponding grid operator. However, it’s done remotely: One of our technicians is on site, and our software commissioner logs in remotely and supervises everything from our headquarters in Göppingen.”

    Cooperation Creates Added Value

    “We can use the hardware/software solution from WAGO in the majority of our transfer stations in charging infrastructure projects, as well as for all of the service customers we supply.” In 2021, LEONHARD WEISS already installed 30 control cabinets that include parameterization software from WAGO, and another 40 have been ordered and planned for 2022 – these with an integrated modem. Collaboration with WAGO is also proceeding on another visualization. “We want to, and are able to, use this to create added value for us, as operators of a number of transformer stations, but also for our customers, because we’ll also have remote access to those stations after commissioning and will be able to monitor them.”

    We can use the hardware/software solution from WAGO in the majority of our transfer stations in charging infrastructure projects, as well as for all of the service customers we supply.

    Christian Kong-Lochbihler, Senior Site Engineer Station Design bij LEONHARD WEISS

    Parameterizing and pre-testing telecontrol systems: Are all the commands and messages arriving correctly? Do the fieldbus connections work? Are the corresponding registers being read?

    Photo: LEONHARD WEISS

    Establishing European Charging Network Connections is Tricky

    As a construction company, LEONHARD WEISS is active in rail infrastructure construction, structural engineering, turnkey construction and roadway and network construction. It is currently one of the largest construction companies in southern Germany. Its activities are not restricted to Germany; it also has many types of customers across Europe, particularly in Northern and Eastern European countries.

    The charging network is also being rolled out across Europe, and German vendors are expanding their charging networks with European locations. Aren’t charging infrastructure connections and operation also a market for Station Design at LEONHARD WEISS? Their response: “No, not at present.” This is because meeting all the technical connection rules is still trick, as Christian Kong-Lochbihler acknowledges. “The legal and technical requirements have very different forms and interpretations in different European countries. That’s why the LEONHARD WEISS Station Design department concentrates on the German market.” However, LEONHARD WEISS does not focus on one customer or one service, but as mentioned above, covers the entire value chain – from consulting, to transformer delivery, the creation of the network transfer point, delivery and construction of charging stations and charging infrastructure, as well as after-sales support and maintenance service. “We also handle operational tasks, like operational management of transformer stations, and carry out regular activities for AC and DC charging stations,” he says, citing the annual visual inspections and the retesting required by DGUV 3 as examples.

    All the messages and data converge here: The PFC200 as the WAGO 750 Series telecontrol station (RTU) is the heart and brain of the telecontrol system in the customer station.

    Photo: LEONHARD WEISS

    From Network Connection to Load and Energy Management

    LEONHARD WEISS is a construction company with three different business divisions, so it does not consider e-mobility in isolation. One aspect involves the tender for the German network for fast charging sites and the large charging network operators, as well as car manufacturers, who are setting up and expanding their own charging hubs. The other involves the industries, businesses and residences connected to it, which also require retrofits for e-mobility. “We see a significant business opportunity here in particular.” Commerce and industry have to be approached a bit differently. “In this context, there is usually a transformer station, which is then retrofitted for charging infrastructure.” In addition to the physical space in the station, there are also various assets, like generating systems and loads, as well as buildings or production facilities, which can be linked to the charging infrastructure using dynamic load management. The challenges include system compatibility and interface management. WAGO has already been tasked with designing a load management system according to LEONHARD WEISS’s requirements.

    Photos: LEONHARD WEISS

    More on this topic

    MM-535221_brochure_EV-charging_§14a_ENWG_2000x2000.png

    E-Mobility Solutions

    Electric vehicle (EV) charging is becoming important in the energy and mobility transition. Intelligent distribution of charging points and load management are central challenges to increasing e-mobility for network operators, facility managers and industrial companies.Intelligent distribution of charging points and load management are central challenges in increasing e-mobility for network operators, facility managers, and industrial companies.

    Learn more

    RTU for Telecontrol Technology

    As their platform, the WAGO RTU solutions use the modular WAGO I/O System, which has been successful on the market for years. To achieve this, these controllers, featuring scalable performance, have been expanded with special telecontrol protocols (IEC 61850, IEC 60870, DNP3 and Modbus®). In combination with the option of IEC-61131-3 programming, this allows all tasks – both telecontrol communication tasks and station automation tasks – to be handled flexibly and, above all, easily.

    Learn more

    MM-309036_website-update_küs-customer-substation_2000x2000.jpg

    Telecontrol Connection for Customer Substations

    Whether for generating plants, storage systems or load customers: When it comes to the medium-voltage connection, customer transfer stations require a telecontrol connection. WAGO’s Customer Substation application lets you set one up in just ten minutes in about three quarters of the German medium-voltage grid territories.

    Learn more

    MM-4197_reference report_MSR Glück_Foto_0097_2000x2000.jpg

    Power Plant Controllers with WAGO Power Plant Control

    Learn more

    kontaktmodul_kundenservice_zentrale_300x300_1

    Main Office

    Mon-Thu 8 am - 5 pm CET

    Fri 8 am - 3 pm CET

    +49 (571) 887-0
    info.de@wago.com

    Additional service offerings: