The Nexus of Forces in Action – Use-Case 15: Mobile Smart Charging

 

Summary

Optimize vehicle charging and network loading.

Primary Industry Sectors

Energy – smart grid

Business Value

Sustainability, price/quality, network optimization

Key Business Functions

Load monitoring, load balancing, charging optimization

Primary Actors

Vehicle owner/driver

Secondary Actors

Distribution network operator, charging operator

Machine Actors

Battery, local controller

(Secondary) energy usage pattern analytics, mobility

Key Technologies

IoT (sensors), big data analytics

(Secondary) mobility

Main Scenario

Load Automobile Battery

The local controller controls one or more charging stations. The charging operator informs the vehicle via the local controller how much capacity is available to it. If the battery is nearly full the vehicle can inform the local controller that it needs less capacity and this can then be made available to other vehicles at other charging stations.

The charging operator determines the capacity to be made available on the basis of information provided by the network operator (maximum allowable capacity at that time), possibly combined with commercial information (e.g., current spot prices, predicted trends, flexibility agreements with vehicle-owners/customers where applicable). The network operator has predicted available capacity on the basis of currently predicted weather conditions and long-term usage patterns in the relevant area. The network operator is able to adapt to unexpected changes in real-time and restrict or increase the available capacity.

Key Data

Master Data

Vehicle registration, customer payment account, vehicle fleet owner

Current Observations Data

Current location recharge station, recharge energy service provider (may have options), car mileage, car energy efficiency usage, current load on network, near-term weather predictions

Historical Data

Network loading patterns, demographics, customer past usage and payment history, vehicle energy usage efficiency, vehicle recharge frequency pattern

Query Data

Identity of customer request to use recharge service, vehicle energy recharge accumulated financial charge

Action Taken Data

Reduce capacity to battery, reduce capacity to local controller, reduce capacity to charging station network, create temporary offer for owner/driver.

Real Business Examples

Netherlands Pilot Projects

Enexis Smart Grid (see the Enexis website).

Chargepoint

Chargepoint claim to have “built the largest and most open Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network in the world, with more than 15,000 places to charge, 1,900 customers, and a 70%+ share of all networked public charging stations, operating charging spots on four continents including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.” (See the Chargepoint website.)

Electric Vehicle (EV) Stimulation

EV stimulation measures involving placing of public recharging stations exist in many cities. Examples include:

Additional Considerations

Existing Interoperability Standards

Netherlands candidate European Standard – Open Smart Charging Protocol (OSCP) (see the Enexis website).

SAE J1772 covers the charging station to vehicle protocols. It is a North American standard for electrical connectors for EVs maintained by the Society of Automotive Engineers and has the formal title “SAE Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice J1772, SAE Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Coupler”. It covers the general physical, electrical, communication protocol, and performance requirements for the EV conductive charge system and coupler. The intent is to define a common EV conductive charging system architecture including operational requirements and the functional and dimensional requirements for the vehicle inlet and mating connector. (Source: SAE J1772 in Wikipedia.)

Comments on Context

The use of a charging system may require a security authentication protocol to ensure identity verification of the service user and provider.

Preconditions

  • All parties support a charging protocol; for example, SAE J1772 or OSCP.
  • The EV is coupled to the charging station and charging has been initiated.
  • There is in principle sufficient capacity in the local network to support all charging stations.