It’s an exciting time to work in EVs. Consumer sales are up and commercial fleets are incorporating Electric vans and cars.
To enable this, governments and companies are investing in charging infrastructure, but this energy revolution is not happening in isolation; it is in conjunction with national grids around the world shifting towards renewables. This increased demand, combined with unpredictable supply, presents a number of challenges and opportunities.
First Generation of Vehicle 2 Grid
EVs can act as both consumers and suppliers and can be called upon to help aid grid congestion
It’s not just about finding the most convenient and cheapest time to charge, EVs are set to become an active part of an energy ecosystem linking energy generators, suppliers as well as consumers. However, EVs can act as both consumers and suppliers and can be called upon to help aid grid congestion and resolve local capacity issues. In the future, they can actually provide energy back to the grid in times of need.
They’re in a position with existing technology and standards to enable intelligent charging, and also to relieve some of that grid constraint, referred to as the First Generation of Vehicle 2 Grid, where charging is moved away from constraint periods. But how to they get to a V2G future, where the EV can give back to the grid when the situation demands it? What technologies and standards are in development to enable it?
ISO 15118 (Plug and Charge) & OCPP 2.0
If a ChargePoint is connected to Central Service to control it via the internet, chances are it’ll be using OCPP, and many Chargepoints out there will use the 1.6 version of the protocol. The standard is broken down into multiple profiles, such as the Smart Charging, and it’s what they use at Electric Miles to intelligently control the charging or do load management.
But there’s one piece missing to achieve full intelligence, and that’s an insight into the car’s current state of charge. This is currently possible through a patchwork of OEM APIs or data-based and UX workarounds.
Data communication services
Currently, a ChargePoint and the Central Service can’t actually identify the EV that is currently plugged in
The current connection between a ChargePoint and an EV is pretty dumb, like plugging in a kettle. ISO 15118, also known as Plug and Charge, has a number of benefits. Currently, a ChargePoint and the Central Service can’t actually identify the EV that is currently plugged in. They can know to schedule a charge for 2 am, and they know that a car is plugged in; they can’t easily know it’s actually the car they’re expecting. They can make good assumptions using existing methods, but ISO 15118 will provide an authentication layer between Chargepoint and EV to actually prove it.
Once that communication is established, it can also provide data communication services as well as electricity; for example, it will provide a route for the EV to report its current state of charge back to the Chargepoint.
Advantage of V1G
In isolation, this standard will help provide more intelligence to a local charging solution, but what if they want to take advantage of V1G by connecting to a flexibility-enabled service like Electric Miles or even V2G, as that becomes more established in the future? Or what if they’re a fleet managing charging across a number of locations and EVs?
OCPP 2.0 will enable the reporting of all of this data from ChargePoint back to the Central System, meaning they get a live state of charge, whether there’s an OEM API or not and they can make fine-grained decisions on charging based on any number of inputs such as pricing, flexibility, grid carbon generation, and a driver’s schedule; such as the patented technology of using multiple connected calendars.
Smart Appliances–Demand Side Response
BSI standards that will define how Demand Side Responses services work and how Devices should integrate with them
Now that EVs are an end-to-end integrated part of the grid and can take part in flexibility services, how do they ensure that they can do so in an interoperable way? For this to be successful, they will need common standards, no matter who my local energy provider is. This is where PAS 1878 and 1879 come in; BSI standards that will define how Demand Side Responses services work and how Devices should integrate with them.
They define an “energy smart appliance” or ESA as a communications-enabled device able to respond automatically to price and/or other signals by modulating or shifting its electricity consumption. The standards broadly cover four areas:
- Grid stability
- Cyber security
- Interoperability
- Data privacy
Responsibilities for DSR services
PAS 1879 is ‘a common definition of demand side response (DSR) services for actors operating within the consumer energy supply chain’. It is to be used by organizations with responsibilities for operating a DSR service.
PAS 1878 is a classification for ESAs. It ‘specifies requirements and criteria that a device needs to meet in order to perform and be classified as an ESA’.
Responsive to renewable generation
It’s nice to know they’re getting an increasing number of standards and technologies to help them
So a DSO could provide compliant services so OEMs can build EVs certified to work with them. Also, as a consumer, they know the data is protected and private. This should enable customer confidence in deploying flexibility services, which will enable not just EV ownership going mainstream, but could help build a grid that’s flexible and responsive to renewable generation.
It’s an exciting time to be involved at the intersections of these two revolutions, and while at Electric Miles, they work hard to solve the pain points, it’s nice to know they’re getting an increasing number of standards and technologies to help them.
Smart Charging Service for EV Owners
At Electric Miles, not only do they provide a full-featured Smart Charging service for EV Owners that ensures that they always have enough charge in the vehicle and at the lowest possible price, but they’ve also secured 8 megawatts of Demand Side Response Energy Flexibility using EVs.
They’re going to start trials in 2021, offering EV owners in certain congested postcodes the opportunity to participate in a V2G test using the platform. This means the platform won’t just benefit customers with lower electricity costs but also help the National Grid and the environment.
