Vehicle-to-Grid Optimisation Solution from CENERO

This technology requires a simply functioning system consisting of a charging station and an electric vehicle, both of which can process bidirectional power flows. The coupling point of the two components is a combination of digital charging and load management. The former controls the charging process of the EV, the latter the grid-compliant allocation of energy quotas for the charging process. The operation of bidirectional charging facilities offers a technologically and economically transferable, semi-public electric charging concept. These enable scalable efficiency potentials on a fleet scale, i.e. when several bidirectional charging units are integrated. In combination with digital charging and load management, it is possible to, for instance, balance expensive electricity peak loads by using stored power in the car battery. This so-called peak shaving is one possibility. Another is the expansion of the use of the company's own electricity, which can be temporarily stored in the car batteries of a fleet when there is a lack of demand and can be called up later if there is a lack of supply. The grid-stabilising purchase of electricity from the distribution grid, which is already being practised in the area of flexible loads, also offers a further outlook on possible economically viable applications.

The technology level of bidirectional charging concepts and the resulting electrical load sharing applications are currently still in the prototype stage in Europe. Due to the lack of unified standards, very few manufacturers are currently involved in test concepts. As a result, there are no commercially used charging systems available at present. However, important foundations for the expansion of this branch of technology are already being laid in some research projects. Important matters to be addressed in this context are the integration of bidirectional charging into digital charging and load management systems, the calibratable measurement of bidirectional charging flows, and the development of economically viable billing and financing models which also take into consideration for instance, the wear and tear on the battery from charging and discharging. 

It is important to coordinate the system in such a way that the greatest possible energy efficiency is achieved through the use of the battery capacities and that it is economically viable as an investment incentive. At the same time, it must be guaranteed that the users of EVs are not restricted in their mobility. The complexity of system implementation continues to increase with the size of the EV fleet and the addition of renewable power generation. The development of a bidirectional charging concept with high application specifications, but also the highest possible transfer potential, represents a strong differentiation factor in the field of e-mobility services. For example, transferable options for measuring bidirectional charging flows in compliance with calibration laws or concepts for dealing with statutory electricity price allocations represent significant unique selling points in the current market environment.

Bidirectional charging offers great potential for emission savings in appropriately holistic concepts that integrate multiple EVs, renewable electricity generation and possibly the addition of extra storage capacity. These concepts must be linked to a powerful load management system, yet offer great economic and ecological savings potential when used in commercial, industrial or residential settings. On the suppliers' side, they open up new business opportunities in the field of energy services; on the customers' side, they offer a more sustainable mobility concept with which they can reduce their energy costs. SPARCS offers the platform to set up and monitor such a concept within the framework of a real world laboratory and to draw conclusions on future optimisation potentials. Significant advantages lie, for example, in the facilitation of interface programming that brings together the vehicle, the charging station and the load management as one complete system.