| dc.description.abstract | While the expanding electric vehicle (EV) fleet shows great environmental advantages, it also creates an increase in electricity demand that is causing pressures on the electricity grid. The concept of controlled charging, i.e. coordinating the moment and capacity of EV charging, has the potential to reduce or mitigate these pressures, especially when charging is constraint to the physical and technical boundaries of the electricity grid. This concept is known as grid-aware charging. While there are several studies that focus on applying controlled charging for grid provision, the literature is lacking a study that focusses on stimulating these grid-charging services. This study aims to fill this gap with the following research question:
How can the adoption of grid-aware charging strategies be stimulated in the Netherlands?
To answer this research question, desk research is performed to identify typical Dutch driving profiles, Linear Programming models are proposed that coordinate charging based on price, using on hourly electricity prices, to minimize charging costs, a quantitative analysis is performed to identify the influence of the driving behavior on these profiles and costs, and nine expert interviews are conducted to identify concrete roles and tasks for involved stakeholders to stimulate grid-aware charging.
The results show that charging costs reductions for a delayed, smart, and V2G strategy are 37%, 62%, and 137%, respectively. All three controlled charging profiles show significant peak reductions in electricity extraction in the evening, and charge during hours where the electricity prices are lower, i.e. night, morning, and afternoon. The V2G strategy discharges the battery during the evening. It was observed that mileage has a linear effect on the absolute charging costs but does not strongly influence average charging costs. Furthermore, the height and volatility of electricity prices influence both charging costs and discharging profits. The expert interviews show that for a successful scale up of grid-aware charging, market parties should function as aggregator, coordinating the charging for consumers. Governments should focus on stimulating the market, creating market boundaries, and creating consumers awareness on the advantages of grid-aware charging. Furthermore, transparent collaboration based between the market, DSO, and government is crucial for the effective stimulation of grid-aware charging in the Netherlands.
The proposed LP model contributes to the body of literature that simulates charging behavior based on a minimization of costs. Further research could focus on the environmental benefits of the proposed charging profiles by the increased consumption of renewable electricity. | |
