FEATURE ELECTRICAL VEHICLE CHARGING Thinking beyond the charger
The impressive growth trajectories forecasted for electric vehicles (EV), battery technologies and digitisation present both unparalleled opportunities and unprecedented challenges, says David Hall, VP power systems UK and Ireland at Schneider Electric
F
or vehicle manufacturers, there are large groups of customers who, by
moving to EV truck fleets, for example, can cut their vehicle operational and maintenance costs by up to 50 per cent. On the other hand, it is not easy for auto manufacturers to flip a switch from producing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. Factory physical infrastructures will need to modernise, and manufacturing lines for both types of vehicles will need to be maintained for quite a few years. For electrical utilities, a robust
network of EV charging stations represents a major opportunity for selling more electricity to consumers and for increasing grid efficiencies with new access to more stored energy. New smart charging stations can
provide services that can help improve power quality and reliability. EVs and digital innovations drive energy efficiency improvements by coordinating charging systems to grid capacities, thereby improving energy efficiencies and reducing the need for new lines and transformer stations. Even repurposed EV batteries used as storage can offer the possibility of regulating the grid or smoothing out peak demand when used as energy storage. This network ‘service’ represents economic value. EVs are thus a significant source of flexibility in electricity demand.
18 JUNE 2019 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Modern smart charging stations make
highly efficient use of the grid. Current charging profiles of EV drivers indicate that they charge three times a day, often at morning time, lunch or during the evening. Therefore, instead of investing in large connections to the grid that are expensive and inefficient (since they are not in use for most of the day), a more pragmatic approach is to invest in a charging station that offers a battery storage option. When drivers want to charge their vehicle, they can source their power either from the grid or from the battery storage. The charging station can be programmed to optimise the lowest price scenario for that particular time of the day.
FLEXIBLE SOURCING The new charging stations are also flexible in the ways they can source their energy supply. For instance, the stations can repurpose lithium-ion automobile batteries as an OEM-packaged energy storage option. As ICE cars lessen in numbers while EVs increase, used lithium-ion batteries from ICE cars will present a low-cost option for supplying energy storage to some of these charging systems. On the other hand, fleet intensive
organisations that house and operate hundreds of vehicles throughout the day can use solar or wind power
New charging stations are flexible in the ways they can source their energy supply
installed on the roofs of their facilities to charge their EV battery storage. Smart charging stations are configured and designed so that they can use both traditional grid power in addition to solar and wind resources. In addition, any excess power produced can be sold back to the grid, if grid demand is high and the battery control system suggests such an action. Depending on the region, power
purchased at night or at low load time of the grid can be ten-40 per cent less expensive and used during times when costs are high. Modern charging stations are, in
essence, network connection points, capable of accessing the cloud and suppling electrical power when needed. Within these technologies, companies like Schneider Electric have designed the ability to safely and securely connect data, send data to the point operator, and to the electric power consumer. Related software also allows for
remote technical support, efficiency optimisation, and predictive maintenance. These services provide the consumers of these technologies with maximum uptime and performance in their field and facility charging station assets.
Schneider Electric
schneider-electric.co.uk
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