V2G
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Volkswagen Unveils PHEV Prototype at Launch of German Government PHEV Fleet Project
June 26, 2008
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| The Golf TwinDrive PHEV. |
Volkswagen chairman and CEO Prof. Martin Winterkorn and German Federal Environment Minister (Bundesumweltminister) Sigmar Gabriel introduced a prototype VW plug-in hybrid electric vehicle—the Golf TwinDrive—at the launch of a four-year PHEV fleet and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstration project supported by the German Federal Government.
Eight German alliance partners are participating in the “Fleet test: electric drive vehicles” (“Flottenversuch Elektromobilität”). Volkswagen AG is leading the project, with E.ON (energy provider) and LTC/GAIA and Evonik/Li-Tec (lithium-ion battery providers) as principal partners. Also contributing from the research side are Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Heidelberg Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (Ifeu), the German Center for Aerospace Technology (DLR), and the Westphalian Wilhelms University at Münster.
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EPRI and Ford to Develop Approaches for Integrating PHEVs Into Grid
March 27, 2008
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Ford Motor Company have entered a three-year agreement to develop and evaluate technical approaches for integrating plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the nation’s electric grid system.
EPRI will form a collaborative of utilities in the New York-New Jersey area that will test Ford Escape PHEVs. Subsequent trials will be conducted with customers of the participating utilities. Ford is also working with Southern California Edison (SCE) to facilitate advancing PHEVs, and is the first major automotive manufacturer to partner with the utility industry. (Earlier post.)
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MPSC Initiates Pilot Program to Integrate PHEVs into the Electric Grid
March 12, 2008
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) initiated a pilot program designed to integrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into Michigan’s electric grid. The pilot program will be part of the MPSC’s ongoing smart grid collaborative, established in 2007.
The Commission notes that achieving a high penetration of PHEVs that retains the stability of the electric grid is dependent on smart grid infrastructure research and development. Therefore, the MPSC is requiring all regulated electric distribution companies to participate in the smart grid collaborative, expanded by the order to include PHEV pilot projects. The MPSC encourages other interested parties to participate as well.
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V2Green Technology to Monitor Performance of 13 PHEVs in Seattle Project
February 22, 2008
V2Green’s vehicle-to-grid management technology (earlier post) will be used to monitor the performance of 13 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in a Seattle demonstration project and control their charging.
Under a contract with the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, V2Green will provide a logging system to collect real-time vehicle performance data provided by the V2Green Connectivity Module (VCM) installed in each PHEV. A cellular modem will upload the data to the V2Green server where it is archived and made available for the Idaho National Laboratory’s analysis.
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Renault-Nissan and Project Better Place Sign MoU for Mass Marketed EVs in Israel; Implementing New Ownership Model
January 21, 2008
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| The Project Better Place team converted a standard Renault Megane into an EV for demo purposes. Click to enlarge. |
The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Project Better Place have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to catalyze the mass-market deployment of electric vehicles in Israel. The solution framework comes in response to the Israeli State’s challenge to the auto industry and its supply chain to migrate the country’s transportation infrastructure to renewable sources of energy.
As part of the solution framework, the Israeli government will provide tax incentives to customers, Renault will supply the electric vehicles, and Project Better Place will construct and operate an Electric Recharge Grid across the entire country. Electric vehicles will be available for customers in 2011.
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Smart Grid Consortium to Develop Smart Grid City; Support for PHEVs with V2G Part of the Design
January 17, 2008
The Smart Grid Consortium, established in December 2007 by Xcel Energy, will select a mid-size community of approximately 100,000 residents to become a Smart Grid City: a testbed for emerging smart grid technologies and deployment strategies.
Potential benefits include lower bills; smarter energy management; better grid reliability; greater energy efficiency and conservation options; increased use of renewable energy sources; and support for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and intelligent home appliances.
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Regional Transmission Organization Demonstrates Vehicle-to-Grid Operation
November 19, 2007
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| The V2G system consists of AC Propulsion’s bi-directional on-board charger and an Automatic Generation Control element developed by MAGIC. A later stage in the project will integrate aggregators into the control path. Click to enlarge. |
PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, last week hosted a presentation and demonstration of an electric vehicle adapted to plug into and receive power dispatch commands from the power grid (Vehicle-to-Grid, V2G).
The vehicle, a modified AC Propulsion eBox EV (earlier post), was developed by the Mid-Atlantic Grid-Interactive Car (MAGIC) Consortium that includes the University of Delaware, Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), PJM and AC Propulsion. The partners had earlier demonstrated V2G operation in a demonstration sponsored by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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UQM Technologies to Develop Advanced Grid-Connect Interface for the California Energy Commission and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
November 05, 2007
UQM Technologies has received a $1,046,500 cost-share contract from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop an advanced grid-connect inverter under the Advanced Power Electronics Interface (APEI) Initiative.
UQM’s cost share on the program will be $439,000 or 42%. The development effort will span a two year period.
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Xcel Energy Announces Six-Month Test of V2G and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles
October 22, 2007
Six plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will be on the road by the end of 2007 as part of a demonstration test of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology by Xcel Energy. The project, which will convert six Ford Escape Hybrids to PHEVs equipped with V2G technology so each can charge and discharge power to and from the grid, is one of the nation’s first real-world demonstrations of the V2G technology.
With operations in eight states, Xcel Energy will study how the vehicles perform in varied geographic regions and climates over a six-month period. Three company employees will serve as test drivers, using three of the PHEVs in typical home settings. The remaining three PHEVs will be used in the company’s fleet.
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US House Committee Advances Energy Storage Systems Research, Development and Demonstration Bill; Vehicle-to-Grid Services Included
October 17, 2007
The US House Committee on Science and Technology advanced two energy bills—one focused on energy storage technologies and the other on industrial energy efficiency research—for consideration by the full House. Last week, both of these bills were cleared by the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
H.R. 3776, the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act of 2007, authorizes the Department of Energy to carry out a program for research, development and demonstration of energy storage systems for stationary and vehicular applications. Among the provisions of the bill are:
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Software Startup Targets Vehicle-to-Grid Management
October 05, 2007
V2Green is a Seattle-based start-up that is developing a suite of software infrastructure products—the V2Green System—to manage the impact of plug-in hybrids on the grid and to generate vehicle-based power services.
The V2Green System establishes intelligent, two-way communication between plug-in vehicles and the grid. Once vehicles are “grid-aware”, utilities can implement real-time monitoring and charging control strategies, including Smart Charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services to meet the needs of both drivers and utilities. V2Green will license the system to electric utilities.
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RMI Forms Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Team; Focus on “Smart Garage”
September 29, 2007
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| Chart shown by RMI on the conceptual impact on minimum and peak grid load in California with PHEVs and V2G services. Red is baseline load; yellow, load with off-peak PHEV smart charging; and green, peak load reduction from V2G. Click to enlarge. |
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has formed a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) team to lead a consortium of companies to design and develop an optimized PHEV platform. Originally part of RMI’s transportation consulting team, the PHEV team is working with Alcoa, Johnson Controls, Google, and the Turner Foundation to explore the possibilities of bringing a lightweight, more efficient, fully functional PHEV to the US market.
RMI sees the PHEV as playing a critical role in bringing together two critical pieces of the energy system—power generation and transportation—and the company is working in a broader partnership with Johnson Controls and PG&E on the concept of the “smart garage”.
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PG&E and Tesla to Research Smart Recharging Vehicle-to-Grid Technology
September 12, 2007
Pacific Gas and Electric Company is partnering with Tesla Motors to further evolve vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology by researching smart charging—a form of V2G designed to allow remote control charging of electric vehicles connected to the power grid.
V2G is conventionally considered as the delivery of power from a vehicle back to the power grid. However, vehicles can also provide short-term ancillary services to the grid even without delivering power back to the grid. By allowing the vehicle charging rate to be ramped up and down remotely through smart metering, a vehicle can perform a grid ancillary service called regulation. Regulation is currently performed 24/7 by power plants in order to fine tune the balance between generation and load.
