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University of Kassel and partners equip grid operators for electromobility
Image: Fraunhofer Institute IEEIn which cases is a comparatively expensive network expansion the best solution? Under what circumstances can charging control improve network utilization? To what extent can grid expansion be avoided? And: What demands does controlled charging place on car manufacturers? The research project "Charging Infrastructure 2.0" aims to answer questions like these. A key objective is to provide network operators with a tool that they can use to dynamically adapt their network planning to the development of electromobility. In addition, the project partners want to create a knowledge base on which the automotive industry can develop product strategies for the charging technology of their vehicles.
Optimal overall economic solutions for networks and vehicles
"The tools for integrating electromobility into grids are well known: grid expansion, for example, charging control, bidirectional charging, or coupling vehicles with the energy system of buildings," says project manager Dr. Bernhard Ernst of Fraunhofer IEE. "Our project is now about bringing all of this together. The goal is to find macroeconomically optimal solutions for grids and vehicles."
In addition to Fraunhofer IEE, participants in the "Charging Infrastructure 2.0" research project include the University of Kassel, Thüga, the grid operators Stromnetz Hamburg and Stadtwerke München, and Volkswagen and Continental as representatives of the automotive industry. In order to involve further network operators and vehicle manufacturers, the project partners will solicit suggestions and assessments from other stakeholders in regular workshops and provide information on interim results of their work. The first event will take place in Stuttgart in mid-August 2019.
More flexibility in network planning
Grid operators face the challenge of responding flexibly to the spread of electric cars in their region with grid expansion and intelligence in the grids. Those who expand their lines in anticipation of a large number of new vehicles could be making a bad investment if the forecast does not materialize. Conversely, grid bottlenecks could occur if more residents than expected purchase an electric car. That's why the partners in the research project want to develop tools that give companies more flexibility in grid planning. They are to be tested in practice in Hamburg, Braunschweig and Wiesbaden at the end of the project.
The automotive industry also has to take grid operation requirements into account when developing charging technology in its vehicles. A further aim of the project is therefore to support car manufacturers and suppliers, also with a view to international markets, in finding the optimum technical solutions for car charging components from a system perspective.
In addition, the project partners want to make recommendations for standards - for example, on grid connection conditions, for communication between the vehicle and the grid or charging station, and for integrating electric vehicles into a smart home system.
"Both grid operators and the automotive industry are working to make their contribution to the grid integration of electromobility. So far, however, they have been doing so largely independently of each other. Our research project 'Charging Infrastructure 2.0' is now bringing both sides together," explains Fraunhofer researcher Ernst.
Contact:
Dr. Sebastian Wende-von Berg
University of Kassel
Department of Electrical Engineering/Computer Science
Wilhelmshöher Allee 73
34121 Kassel
Tel.: +49 561 804-6381
E-mail: sebastian.wende-von.berg[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
Contact person:
Dr. Bernhard Ernst
Fraunhofer IEE
Königstor 59
34119 Kassel
Tel. +49 561 7294-284
E-Mail: bernhard.ernst[at]iee.fraunhofer[dot]de