Ultra-Fast EV Charging Stations in Distribution Grids: Impacts and Hosting Capacity Assessment

The increasing electrification of mobility offers environmental benefits but also creates significant challenges for distribution networks, particularly with the advent of ultra-fast charging stations rated up to 1 MW. In Brazil, the technical feasibility of integrating such infrastructure remains unexplored, mainly representing a critical research gap. This paper aims to evaluate the impacts and hosting capacity of ultra-fast chargers in the context of a university campus microgrid, taking the Federal University of Juiz de Fora as a case study. The main contribution is a methodological framework to guide the planning of large-scale charging infrastructure in Brazilian microgrids, accounting for socially fair allocation criteria, load dynamics, and reinforcement strategies. The methodology integrates the Open Distribution System Simulator (OpenDSS) and Python to perform unbalanced power-flow simulations under the most critical loading conditions, in accordance with the operational constraints defined by the Brazilian distribution procedures (PRODIST). The results indicate that the microgrid can host only one 1,000 kW Super e-Platform charger, with the substation’s apparent power capacity as the limiting factor. At the same time, voltage and current levels remain compliant. As a final consideration, the study shows that large-scale deployment of ultra-fast charging in Brazilian university microgrids will demand targeted reinforcement of substations and transformers to ensure technical feasibility and regulatory compliance.