Smart Vehicle to Grid Interface Project: Electromobility Management System Architecture and Field Test Results

This paper presents and discusses the electromobility management system developed in the context of the SMARTV2G project, enabling the automatic control of plug-in electric vehicles' (PEVs') charging processes. The paper describes the architecture and the software/hardware components of the electromobility management system. The focus is put in particular on the implementation of a centralized demand side management control algorithm, which allows remote real time control of the charging stations in the field, according to preferences and constraints expressed by all the actors involved (in particular the distribution system operator and the PEV users). The results of the field tests are reported and discussed, highlighting critical issues raised from the field experience.Comment: To appear in IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEEE IEVC 2014

Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles: New Parameters for Automotive Design

As the influence of vehicle emissions on our environment has become better understood, the UK government has recently placed urgent emphasis on the implementation of low carbon technologies in the automotive industry through: the UK Low Carbon Industrial Strategy. The overall objective is to offer big incentives to consumers and support for the development of infrastructure and engineering solutions. This scheme however does not consider how the development of functional and experiential user value might drive consumer demand, contributing to the adoption of low carbon vehicles (LCVs) in the mass market. With the emergence of the North East of England as the UK’s first specialised region for the development of ultra-low carbon vehicles (ULCVs), ONE North East, as a development agency for the region's economic and business development, and Northumbria University Ideas-lab have supported a project to facilitate innovation through the collaboration of technology, research and development (R&D) and business. The High Value Low Carbon (HVLC) project aims to envisage new user value made possible by the integration of low carbon vehicle platforms with new process and network technologies. The HVLC consortium represents vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers as well as technology based companies and through an ongoing process of design concept generation the project offers a hub for innovation led enterprise. Whilst new technological developments in areas such as power generation, nano materials, hydrogen fuel cells, printed electronics and networked communications will all impact on future automotive design, the mass adoption of low carbon technologies represents a paradigm shift for the motorist. This paper aims to describe how the mapping of new parameters will lead to new transport scenarios that will create the space for new collaborative research on user experiences supported by innovative technologies and related services

SOLAR-POWERED MOBILITY: CHARTING THE COURSE FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE WITH SOLAR VEHICLES

Solar-powered vehicles utilize photovoltaic panels to harness solar energy, offering a promising solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable transportation. This research project focused on the challenges and limitations of solar-powered vehicles and aims to provide solutions for their widespread adoption. The research questions explored in this study are: (Q1) How do different geographical locations and climate regions affect the feasibility and practicality of solar-powered vehicles due to variations in sunlight availability? (Q2) How has the adoption of solar-powered vehicles contributed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions? (Q3) What policies and incentives can promote the adoption of solar-powered vehicles? (Q4) What strategies and technologies promote effective recycling of retired electric vehicle batteries? Through a comparative analysis in Q1, Q2, and data analysis in Q3, and Q4, the research questions were analyzed, and provided the findings for each question as: (Q1) In comparing the two states, California and Washington, solar irradiance varies across regions, with California experiencing higher solar power generation (average just below 8.6MW) compared to Washington state (4.53). Northern US cities have an average annual solar irradiation of 4.0 to 4.6 kWh/m²/day, while southern cities receive 4.7 to 6.1 kWh/m²/day. (Q2) Comparing the categories of transportation with gases, light-duty vehicles contribute 45% of GHG emissions, with CO2 accounting for 97% of vehicle emissions in the 2021 sample data that are released in the environment and the composition of these gases that influence harmful emissions, there are significant differences to consider. However, (Q3) The Advanced Clean Cars Rule II (ACC-II) in California aims to achieve 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035, with an intermediate target of 36% sales of zero-emission vehicles by 2026. In contrast, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Plan focuses on installing 250,000 zero-emission vehicle chargers, including 10,000 fast chargers, by 2025. (Q4) Battery demand is projected to increase by approximately 3818.42% from 0.01856 TWh in 2020 to 0.7087 TWh in 2030 due to the rise in electric vehicle sales. The conclusion for each question is (Q1) The areas with high solar irradiance (like California (average just below 8.6MW) have the potential to harvest more effective energy. However, in areas (For e.g., Washington with 4.53MW) with low solar irradiance, it is challenging for these vehicles. (Q2) CO2 has the highest contribution (97%) among the gases released with highest the proportion of internal combustion vehicles (Light Duty vehicles {45%}), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the shift to zero-emission vehicles and the adoption of solar-powered vehicles presents a perfect opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With carbon-neutral operation, enhanced energy efficiency, and seamless integration with renewable energy grids, solar vehicles hold tremendous promise for a cleaner and sustainable future. (Q3) By Implementing effective policies and providing financial incentives, governments can attract investments and accelerate the transition towards solar vehicles for e.g. California plans to install 10,000 direct current fast chargers that demonstrates a progressive strategy for adopting these vehicles. (Q4) The growing demand for electric vehicles has increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries, projected to soar by an astounding 3818.42% by the year 2030, resulting in a strain on critical material supplies. Promoting battery recycling is essential to meet the demand, reduce reliance on new materials, and support a sustainable energy transition. Areas for further study include: Developing vehicles that can harness solar irradiation and combine it with electricity generated from various sources, including roof solar panels, nuclear power plants, and wind, to optimize solar energy utilization. Additionally, exploring energy management systems (EMS) can intelligently regulate energy flow, storage, and consumption in these solar-powered vehicles, ensuring efficient use of the available energy. Also, integrating hybrid systems into solar vehicles will allow them to benefit from multiple power sources, enhancing efficiency and adaptability, regardless of varying sunlight availability. By adopting this approach, the transportation sector can progress towards a greener and more sustainable future

Application of a simplified thermal-electric model of a sodium-nickel chloride battery energy storage system to a real case residential prosumer

Recently, power system customers have changed the way they interact with public networks, playing a more and more active role. End-users first installed local small-size generating units, and now they are being equipped with storage devices to increase the self-consumption rate. By suitably managing local resources, the provision of ancillary services and aggregations among several end-users are expected evolutions in the near future. In the upcoming market of household-sized storage devices, sodium-nickel chloride technology seems to be an interesting alternative to lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. To accurately investigate the operation of the NaNiCl2 battery system at the residential level, a suitable thermoelectric model has been developed by the authors, starting from the results of laboratory tests. The behavior of the battery internal temperature has been characterized. Then, the designed model has been used to evaluate the economic profitability in installing a storage system in the case that end-users are already equipped with a photovoltaic unit. To obtain realistic results, real field measurements of customer consumption and solar radiation have been considered. A concrete interest in adopting the sodium-nickel chloride technology at the residential level is confirmed, taking into account the achievable benefits in terms of economic income, back-up supply, and increased indifference to the evolution of the electricity market

Energy Storage Technologies for Smoothing Power Fluctuations in Marine Current Turbines

With regard to marine renewable energies, significant electrical power can be extracted from marine tidal current. However, the power harnessed by a marine current turbine varies due to the periodicity of the tidal phenomenon and could be highly fluctuant caused by swell effect. To improve the power quality and make the marine current generation system more reliable, energy storage systems will play a crucial role. In this paper, the power fluctuation phenomenon is described and the state of art of energy storage technologies is presented. Characteristics of various energy storage technologies are analyzed and compared for marine application. The omparison shows that high-energy batteries like sodiumsulphur battery and flow battery are favorable for smoothing the long-period power fluctuation due to the tide phenomenon while supercapacitors and flywheels are suitable for eliminating short-period power disturbances due to swell or turbulence phenomena. It means that hybrid storage technologies are needed for achieving optimal performance in marine current energy systems

Gaussian Process Regression for In-situ Capacity Estimation of Lithium-ion Batteries

Accurate on-board capacity estimation is of critical importance in lithium-ion battery applications. Battery charging/discharging often occurs under a constant current load, and hence voltage vs. time measurements under this condition may be accessible in practice. This paper presents a data-driven diagnostic technique, Gaussian Process regression for In-situ Capacity Estimation (GP-ICE), which estimates battery capacity using voltage measurements over short periods of galvanostatic operation. Unlike previous works, GP-ICE does not rely on interpreting the voltage-time data as Incremental Capacity (IC) or Differential Voltage (DV) curves. This overcomes the need to differentiate the voltage-time data (a process which amplifies measurement noise), and the requirement that the range of voltage measurements encompasses the peaks in the IC/DV curves. GP-ICE is applied to two datasets, consisting of 8 and 20 cells respectively. In each case, within certain voltage ranges, as little as 10 seconds of galvanostatic operation enables capacity estimates with approximately 2-3% RMSE.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatic

Study of challenges in technology development and market penetration of hybrid electric vehicles in Canada

Growing concerns of the economic and environmental impact of petroleum combustion by on-road transportation have accelerated the development of alternative fuel vehicles; of these, the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is currently the most commercially successful technology. It integrates an electric drivetrain to the internal combustion engine for optimized engine operation giving significantly higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions. However, despite their well recognized benefits, Canadian consumers have shown reluctance in adapting HEVs so far. This thesis discusses the immediate need for Canada to adopt more efficient and eco-friendly transportation systems and analyzes the cost effectiveness and tailpipe emissions of HEVs that offer a suitable alternative. The factors inhibiting market acceptance of hybrids are have been reviewed and a set of comprehensive policy guidelines and measures have been proposed to provide financial incentives, enforce emission regulations and support technology development of hybrid vehicles. As part of the highlighted target, challenges in key areas of HEV technology have been discussed and one such challenge is addressed by proposing a more robust electric motor drive for vehicle traction