The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been selected to supervise the CarConnect plug-in vehicle (PIV) charging project.
The project intends to help the electricity industry understand how (PIVs charge at home in harmony with the electricity grid.
Scheduled to run for three and a half years, the project will develop and deliver an electricity network modelling tool that allows Western Power Distribution (WPD) to find which parts of their network are vulnerable to plug-in-vehicle loads and assess solutions to prevent network reinforcement works.
It will also develop a method to monitor the effect of plug-in-vehicles on low voltage networks that will inform the network modelling tool development.
In addition, the project will hire and manage a mass-market customer trial to prove the technical/economic viability of plug-in-vehicle/V2G demand control to prevent or defer network reinforcement.
It will work with about 700 EV drivers in its trials to make sure that such systems are acceptable.
CarConnect is hosted by WPD, the distribution network operator (DNO), and delivered by EA Technology, Drive Electric and Lucy Electric Gridkey.
TRL ultra low emission vehicles head Denis Naberezhnykh said: "DNOs need to start considering how plug in vehicles and charging infrastructure can be an active part of their network and be managed intelligently in order to minimise potential adverse impacts on the network.
"This project will enable them to develop tools for doing so and validate their effectiveness in the real world."
The project will develop and identify whether PIV demand control services, that can reduce stop or reverse charging at several times in a day, can be offered to address drivers' requirements for charge for journeys, sharing charge constraints within a group of customers and utilizing vehicle-to-grid systems to support in balancing supply and demand.
