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:
- San Francisco (see the SFEnvironment website)
- Amsterdam (see the Amsterdam Vehicle Charging website, Dutch only)
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.