Rolf Bienert, Managing & Technical Director at the OpenADR Alliance, looks at the need for innovation and standardisation across EV charging, from the plug to the customer interface.
As adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) increases, a multi-layered approach for the development of the charging infrastructure is essential. With governments investing in charging networks to meet net zero goals and consumer demand, new technologies will also play a very important role in creating an infrastructure that offers flexibility and resilience as pressure on the grid increases.
Despite relatively flat sales in the UK, for example, the government has announced several initiatives to boost EV development. The latest in November is a £10m funding package designed to support cutting-edge technologies that will strengthen the charging network and enable EV charging devices to operate without large grid connections or even off grid.
New solutions for future challenges
Any projects that encourage off-grid solutions, smart charging and energy controls to reduce network strain and ease the need for expensive grid upgrades are crucial for future development.
As an industry alliance, we see EV charging innovation happening in real time, from testing and trials to adoption. It’s exciting to see so many innovative – and often start-up – companies developing new ideas to meet EV charging challenges, with applications like automated load management and dynamic charging.
One example is EVoke Systems, a member of the Alliance and software-based EV charging network operator, which enables grid-integrated flexibility using open standards like OpenADR 3 and IEEE 2030.13. The platform dynamically adjusts charging in response to grid conditions and distribution network capacity, ensuring the EV load operates within defined envelopes and functions as a predictable, dispatchable flexibility resource.
Collaborating with Argonne National Labs and supported by the US Department of Energy, EVoke has deployed managed charging at Barclays Capital’s campus, reducing peak demand by 200 kW (40%) including deterministic load reductions of 200 kW in less than two seconds, demonstrating readiness to support real-time grid services.
It illustrates how intelligent software can optimise EV charging, showcasing how optimised energy use and reduced peak demand can lead to measurable operational savings.
Changing behaviour
As electrification grows and the grid faces growing pressure, charging optimisation and capacity utilisation becomes ever more important. At the same time, drivers want easy, accessible and value-for-money charging, while site owners want to deliver this while making a profit. The grid needs stability and flexibility to cope with fluctuating supply and demand, especially during peak times.
This requires a behavioural shift to ensure a win-win for drivers, site owners and the grid.
Electricity suppliers must incentivise vehicle owners to charge outside peak periods using dynamic pricing signals, time-of-use tariffs and other load balancing mechanisms. Off-peak charging incentives are crucial, but only if there’s a significant difference between peak and off-peak pricing. It’s essential to make these decisions easy for people.
Effective load control relies on standardised information exchange on pricing signals, energy consumption and capacity. Utilities and DSOs must communicate quickly and securely using open standards for energy flexibility in EV charging.
Standardisation across the charging system, from the plug to the customer interface, is key to delivering accessible, customer-friendly and scalable solutions.
Standards offer seamless integration and collaboration between manufacturers and grid operators and support V2G (vehicle-to-grid) applications where EVs effectively become energy resources in their own right, storing energy and then passing it back to the grid during peak demand.
This is an interesting concept given the recent power outages in Spain and Portugal, and more recently in Germany. While the causes varied, the result was extended power outages for many customers. Vehicles, in theory, could have powered homes during these outages, potentially incentivising further investment in V2G.
With reports predicting huge growth in the global V2G market, V2G is reshaping EV-grid interactions, supporting grid stability, demand-side management and renewable energy integration. It’s a win-win. V2G requires bi-directional energy flow between the grid and the battery, so EVs must be designed for this. Standards are crucial for ensuring the infrastructure is suitable.
Several schemes are underway, some driven by the automotive companies like Ford and Toyota, while the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam operates a pioneering V2G pilot, integrating bi-directional charging with a 3MW/2.8MWh battery storage system (using 2nd-life Nissan Leaf batteries). This allows visitors to feed energy from their EVs back into the stadium’s grid to support peak loads.
Managing EV charging demand effectively is critical for stabilising the grid and ensuring reliability, efficiency and control. Embracing new technologies is vital for success, while as an industry, we need to collaborate to ensure systems that are fit for purpose.
Learn more: OpenADR Alliance
For more EV news: https://essmag.co.uk/category/energy-efficient-transport/
