Skip to main content

EV tests to optimise their performance with power grids

Researchers at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released a technical report that could help improve the performance of electric vehicles (EVs) and the efficiency of the electric utility grids that power them.The report documents a series of test procedures designed to enable engineers, designers and utilities to evaluate the performance of various EVs and hybrids to optimise how they connect with electric utility grids today - and "smart grids" in the future.
April 26, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Researchers at the 5275 US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released a technical report that could help improve the performance of electric vehicles (EVs) and the efficiency of the electric utility grids that power them.

The report documents a series of test procedures designed to enable engineers, designers and utilities to evaluate the performance of various EVs and hybrids to optimise how they connect with electric utility grids today – and “smart grids” in the future. As more vehicles with large batteries come into use and smart grid technology advances, grid operators in the future may be able to take advantage of the two-way flow of power from EVs and hybrids plugged into utility grids to smooth spikes in demand and improve the reliability of their systems. Evaluating today’s vehicle technologies will advance the goal of transforming the nation’s transportation system to maximize efficiency and use of clean energy.

Engineering vehicles capable of interconnecting to the power system for bi-directional power flow is a key component of emerging “vehicle-to-grid” systems, in which plug-in EVs communicate with the power grid to deliver electricity or modulate their charging rates. The global vehicle-to-grid (V2G) market is expected to grow at a rapid pace, reaching the US$2.25 billion mark in 2012 and accelerating to $40.4 billion by 2020, according to a new market analysis from GlobalData.

“This report offers the first nationally available set of test procedures for V2G applications,” NREL Director of Energy Systems Integration Ben Kroposki said. “Unleashing the potential of electric vehicles to optimise grid performance will be instrumental as the world moves to a smart grid with much higher use of renewables, energy storage and load control.

The NREL report, Interim Test Procedures for Evaluating Electrical Performance and Grid Integration of Vehicle-to-Grid Applications, is available at %$Linker: External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal this link Interim Test Procedures for Evaluating Electrical Performance and Grid Integration of Vehicle-to-Grid Applications false http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/51001.pdf. false false%>.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Doosan introduces its new power generation
    January 6, 2017
    From the construction site, to the concert stage, to the front lines of disaster relief efforts, the new EU Stage IIIA engine emission compliant generators from Doosan Portable Power are said to offer customers, including rental companies, contractors and event organisers, robustness, reliability and high performance. The G80-IIIA (80kVA prime power) and G100-IIIA (100 kVA prime power) generators are said to share a similar design and characteristics to the larger G150-IIIA and G200-IIIA models launched in
  • Doosan introduces its new power generation
    February 7, 2013
    From the construction site, to the concert stage, to the front lines of disaster relief efforts, the new EU Stage IIIA engine emission compliant generators from Doosan Portable Power are said to offer customers, including rental companies, contractors and event organisers, robustness, reliability and high performance. The G80-IIIA (80kVA prime power) and G100-IIIA (100 kVA prime power) generators are said to share a similar design and characteristics to the larger G150-IIIA and G200-IIIA models launched in
  • Transtec and FHWA release Intelligent Compaction Measurement paper
    February 23, 2018
    Intelligent Compaction Measurement Values – ICMV – can be difficult to understand. What’s more, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive documents explaining ICMV. For these reasons, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and pavement engineering firm Transtec Group have released a technical brief to demystify ICMV. ICMV is a generic term for advanced measurement systems instrumented on vibratory rollers as a key components of intelligent compaction (IC) systems. It is based on the acceleration
  • Oregon’s electric vehicles cruise the West Coast Electric Highway
    December 3, 2014
    Many US states offer cash-back deals and tax breaks to encourage people to buy more electric vehicles. But Oregon has shunned financial incentives and opted to drive up EV sales through increasing the number of recharging stations.