Overview
The growing number of electric vehicles also means new challenges for the energy sector: simultaneous charging of a large number of electric vehicles can lead to bottlenecks in distribution grids. Input and output must be balanced at all times to ensure their stability. That is why charging operations should already be taken into consideration in the capacity planning stages, and in the area of grid control.
Goals and approach
The Smart Grid Integration project involves conceiving methods to coordinate charging operations on various levels. The methods should make it possible to optimise charging operations while taking into account the current condition of the local grid and the individual needs of users. Against the backdrop of increasing decentralisation of the energy supply, such an optimisation would also contribute to the enhancement of resource and energy efficiency. The aim is to develop a systematic overall concept, which ties together charging and rate concepts. Similarly, it should produce regulatory measures such as law amendments aimed at realizing the procedures.
Innovations and prospects
Approaches are being developed which will potentially lead to a secure and low-cost supply of energy for electric vehicles in the long term. These approaches are based initially on centralised and later decentralised coordination of charging operations in real-time. The supply also involves the greatest possible use of power derived from local sources of energy.