Exclusive Operation Strategy for the Supervisory Control of Series Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Supervisory control systems (SCSs) are used to manage the powertrain of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). This paper presents a novel SCS called Exclusive operation strategy (XOS) that applies simple rules based on the idea that batteries are efficient at lower loads while engines and generators are efficient at higher loads. The XOS is developed based on insights gained from three conventional SCSs for series HEVs: Thermostat control strategy (TCS), Power follower control strategy (PFCS) and Global equivalent consumption minimization strategy (GECMS). Also, recent technological developments have been considered to make the XOS more suited to modern HEVs than conventional SCSs. The resulting control decisions are shown to emulate the operation of approximate global optimal solutions and thus achieve significant improvement in fuel economy as compared to TCS and PFCS. In addition, the generally linear relationship between required power and engine power for the XOS provides auditory cues to the driver that are comparable to conventional vehicles, thus reducing barriers to adopting HEVs. The simplicity and effectiveness of the XOS makes it a practical SCS

Power quality and electromagnetic compatibility: special report, session 2

The scope of Session 2 (S2) has been defined as follows by the Session Advisory Group and the Technical Committee: Power Quality (PQ), with the more general concept of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and with some related safety problems in electricity distribution systems. Special focus is put on voltage continuity (supply reliability, problem of outages) and voltage quality (voltage level, flicker, unbalance, harmonics). This session will also look at electromagnetic compatibility (mains frequency to 150 kHz), electromagnetic interferences and electric and magnetic fields issues. Also addressed in this session are electrical safety and immunity concerns (lightning issues, step, touch and transferred voltages). The aim of this special report is to present a synthesis of the present concerns in PQ&EMC, based on all selected papers of session 2 and related papers from other sessions, (152 papers in total). The report is divided in the following 4 blocks: Block 1: Electric and Magnetic Fields, EMC, Earthing systems Block 2: Harmonics Block 3: Voltage Variation Block 4: Power Quality Monitoring Two Round Tables will be organised: - Power quality and EMC in the Future Grid (CIGRE/CIRED WG C4.24, RT 13) - Reliability Benchmarking - why we should do it? What should be done in future? (RT 15

Comparison of intelligent charging algorithms for electric vehicles to reduce peak load and demand variability in a distribution grid

A potential breakthrough of the electrification of the vehicle fleet will incur a steep rise in the load on the electrical power grid. To avoid huge grid investments, coordinated charging of those vehicles is a must. In this paper, we assess algorithms to schedule charging of plug-in (hybrid) electric vehicles as to minimize the additional peak load they might cause. We first introduce two approaches, one based on a classical optimization approach using quadratic programming, and a second one, market based coordination, which is a multi-agent system that uses bidding on a virtual market to reach an equilibrium, price that matches demand and supply. We benchmark these two methods against each other, as well as to a baseline scenario of uncontrolled charging. Our simulation results covering a residential area with 63 households show that controlled charging reduces peak load, load variability, and deviations from the nominal grid voltage

City of Vancouver EV Infrastructure Strategy Report

The role of the local government in supporting the growth and maintenance of a strong plug‐in electric vehicle market in Vancouver is evaluated in this report. This report identifies areas of action in which a local government, such as Vancouver, can impact their region based on a thorough understanding of the current plug‐in vehicle market, international demonstration projects, and research efforts. Specifically, workplace and public charging is needed to reinforce and fulfill the gaps from home‐based charging in dense urban regions. Local government can encourage investments in workplace and public charging by providing clear regional guidelines for installers and customers, providing appropriate incentives to businesses, allowing for an innovative marketplace in the vehicle charging industry, and collaborating with the regional utility to identify specific opportunities for optimization and encouragement of utility rates and vehicle‐grid interactions

Indicator model for benchmarking the transition to a low carbon urban mobility system: Application results from three Scandinavian cities

Cities today consume over 80% of the world’s energy and are responsible for 75% of the total GHG emissions. Over 80% of the population in Europe live in Urban areas. The mobility system, being at the heart of urban activities is responsible for the movement of people, goods and services and is responsible for attracting investments into cities. Playing such a key role in urban development, the sector contributed to over 25% of the GHG emissions from urban areas in Europe. The European Union has thus set out specific targets to decarbonize the mobility sector. With the increasing need for the transition to a low carbon mobility system, it has been identified that there is a need for a benchmarking model that is tested on sectoral frontrunners to enable performance evaluation and guide transitions. Being informed by this need, this study aims at the development of a benchmarking model based on the Avoid-Shift-Improve framework for the evaluation of a low carbon mobility system. The model has been developed based on specific measures targeted at addressing behavioural and technological change required in the mobility system to help aid the GHG emission reduction of urban mobility system have been identified. The model has been tested on the three Scandinavian capital cities of Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, considered as sectoral forerunners due to their diverse activities to reduce GHG emissions from the mobility system. The results of the tests show that the model is able to predict the priorities of the city and the resultant low carbon mobility score is correlated positively with GHG emission reductions. The study also highlights the specific areas of improvement for the three cities and the different considerations that go into the selection of specific measures to improve the system

Driving emissions down: Whole-supply-chain mitigation of greenhouse gases from passenger vehicles

Greenhouse-gas emitting human activities have caused the warming of the earth surface temperature by 0.97°C relative to pre-industrial levels. In order to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change, most countries are committed to pursue action to limit global warming to well below 2°C under the Paris Agreement. Global transportation is the single largest user of energy as well as the largest carbon-dioxide emitting end-use sector, chiefly driven by passenger vehicles. Emissions caused by vehicles do not only occur at the vehicle tailpipe though. Pollutants are released along the entire vehicle supply chain, ranging from electric power plant discharges for electric vehicle charging, to industrial emissions from vehicle manufacturing and fuel processing. Detailed process models are used in this work in order to quantify the environmental burden of vehicle emissions along the entire supply chain. It is further investigated how these emissions can be mitigated, focusing on material efficiency and fueling behavior. These and other polluting processes are usually insufficiently considered in aggregate models of climate change mitigation. Therefore, it is also explored how the representation of vehicle supply chain emissions can be improved in these models. Finally, an integration of supply chain emissions with a climate change mitigation model of the US economy is achieved and several insights are gained from that exercise. It is shown that these emissions can significantly affect the composition of the US vehicle fleet and thus, the optimal climate change mitigation pathway of the US vehicle sector. In summary, this work contributes to a better understanding of future emissions of low-carbon vehicle systems. The results can guide future transport policy and investment decisions regarding low-carbon vehicle technology portfolios and their supporting infrastructure

Supercharged? Electricity Demand and the Electrification of Transportation in California

The rapid electrification of the transportation fleet in California raises important questions about the reliability, cost, and environmental implications for the electric grid. A crucial first element to understanding these implications is an accurate picture of the extent and timing of residential electricity use devoted to EVs. Although California is now home to over 650,000 electric vehicles (EVs), less than 5% of these vehicles are charged at home using a meter dedicated to EV use. This means that state policy has had to rely upon very incomplete data on residential charging use. This report summarizes the first phase of a project combining household electricity data and information on the adoption of electric vehicles over the span of four years. We propose a series of approaches for measuring the effects of EV adoption on electricity load in California. First, we measure load from the small subset of households that do have an EV-dedicated meter. Second, we estimate how consumption changes when households go from a standard residential electricity tariff to an EV-specific tariff. Finally, we suggest an approach for estimating the effect of EV ownership on electricity consumption in the average EV-owning household. We implement this approach using aggregated data, but future work should use household-level data to more effectively distinguish signal from noise in this analysis. Preliminary results show that households on EV-dedicated meters are using 0.35 kWh per hour from Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE); 0.38 kWh per hour from Southern California Edison; and 0.28 kWh per hour from San Diego Gas and Electric on EV charging. Households switching to EV rates without dedicated meters are using less electricity for EV charging: 0.30 kWh per hour in PGE. Our household approach applied to aggregated data is too noisy to be informative. These estimates should be viewed as evidence that more focused analysis with more detailed data would be of high value and likely necessary to produce rigorous analysis of the role EVs are playing in residential electricity consumption

Cities and climate change: Strategic options for philanthropic support

Now, more than ever, cities are at the front lines of U.S. climate action. As national action stalls, there is still a daunting amount to be done in reducing human-generated climate emissions. Fortunately, this report comes in the wake of a groundswell of initiatives to engage on climate change by cities, countries, and states across the U.S. Several important and thorough reports on the types of mitigation actions cities can take have recently been released. We already have examples of cities taking significant leadership roles in reducing their own climate emissions, from New York and Boston to Austin, Boulder, and Los Angeles - yet U.S. climate emissions continue to rise, and cities have an outsized role to play. The purpose of this project is to review current U.S. city climate activities in order to identify areas where additional investment by foundations could help accelerate city action to reduce urban greenhouse gas emissions. The focus of the inquiry is on aggressive actions cities can take that significantly increase their “level of ambition” to achieve emissions reductions on an accelerated timetable. City strategies on climate adaptation are not encompassed in this project. [TRUNCATED