CHAPTER 3 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES

PHEVs Are on a Roll

Electric vehicles have come a long way in a short time, marked by energy efficiency
gains that could drive changes in business and technology models.

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T
he electric vehicle first made its
appearance about a century ago,
but it is only in recent years –
months, to be more precise – that it has
achieved breakthrough status as, quite
possibly, the single-most important tech-
nological development having a positive
impact on society today.
Climate change, over-dependence on
fossil fuels, and the current economic
crisis have combined to impact the auto-
mobile sector to a degree unforeseen,
a target of 1 million Plug-in Hybrid Electric
Vehicles (PHEV) in operation by 2015.
Spain expects to achieve the same num-
ber by 2014.
It is certainly true that there exist pres-
sures capable of driving the introduction
of the PHEV forward, but technological
advances are the factors that underpin
and give coherence to its development.
There are several progressive improve-
ments being made in technology, materi-
als, and power generation and supply,
tion mix; and the concept of smart grids
focused on more efficient electricity dis-
tribution. All of these improvements are
underscored by a much greater degree of
passion and personal involvement by the
end-user.
Stakeholders and Utilities
With technology as the underlying cata-
lyst, the scenario for electric vehicle use
will include the impact and involvement
of various stakeholders. This consists of:

There are several progressive improvements

being made in technology, materials, and power genera-
tion and supply, which will support the deployment and
use of electric vehicles in the coming years.
forcing technological innovation to direct which will support the deployment and society itself, government and munici-
its urgent attention toward the develop- use of electric vehicles in the coming pal entities, regulators, universities and
ment of electric vehicles as an alternative years. They include: advances in battery research institutions, vehicle manufac-
means of transport, and a substitute for manufacture and electronics (particularly turers, the ancillary automobile industry
internal combustion engines. Many coun- in terms of power); the development of and its technological partners, battery
tries are supporting the approach in their new communication protocols; ever more manufacturers, the manufacturers of
political, energy and industrial planning efficient and flexible information tech- components, electrical and electronics
directed toward the introduction of this nologies; the growth of renewable energy systems, infrastructure suppliers, com-
type of vehicle. For example, the U.S. has sources in the electrical energy genera- panies dedicated to mediation, billing and
payment methods, ICT (Information and
WRITTEN BY Communication Technology) companies,
and of course, utilities.
Enrique Diaz-Plaza — IBM If the electric vehicle is to become a
genuinely alternative means of trans-
Enrique Diaz-Plaza is a technical architect in the energy and utilities industry for IBM Spain. He belongs portation, then this will depend on the
to IBM’s worldwide Tiger Team which deals with Intelligent Utility Networks and related topics, such as involvement of, and interrelationship
AMM or demand response. He also collaborates in different European work groups focused on electric between, the above groups. One example
vehicles. Diaz-Plaza is an electrical engineer and is currently developing his Ph.D on these topics. The of this is the formalizing of various agree-
author would like to acknowledge the contribution of Lola Salcedo, information technology architect at ments between certain stakeholders at
IBM, for her support in preparing this article. both the national and international level

Shaping a New Era in Energy

 white paper

(for example, Saab, Volvo, Wattenfall
and ETC Battery in Sweden; Renault,
PSA Peugeot Citroën, Toyota and EDF in
France; and Iberdrola and General Motors
at a global level) and the establishment
of consortiums such as EDISON (Electric
Vehicles in a Distributed and Integrated
Market using Sustainable Energy and
Open Networks) in Denmark.
If there is one dimension, however,
which will be impacted most throughout
the whole of the value chain, it is the elec-
trical one. From power generation to retail,
the introduction of this vehicle will require
changes in current business models, and
foreseeably, in utilities operational models.
The short-term aim is to provide electrical
energy for use in these vehicles in a more
reliable and efficient way.
Battery Charging Impact
Given that charging could be the action
having the greatest impact on the electri-
cal sector, there are various alternatives
for affecting this. These include:
• Substitution. This involves a rapid
exchange of vehicles and/or batteries,
and the subsequent charging of both in
an offline mode. It would require shar-
ing of cars (vehicle usage and substitu-
tion) and battery charging stations for
quick and automated battery exchange.
• Direct Charging. This includes regular
charging points situated in car parks,
shopping centers and residences, and
providing battery recharge while the
vehicle is parked. There also need to be
fast-charging points that could quickly
charge a battery in 10 to 15 minutes.
To examine the advantages and disad-
vantages of the above methods, it helps
to note the various pilot projects and
research programs underway at both the
conceptual and demonstration stages.
These indicate the possibility of a coexis-
tence scenario. Offline charging could be
the least invasive method given the cur-
rent system of fuel distribution. A network
of “electricity stations” (as opposed to
petrol stations) could provide a dedicated
system of energy generation in a given
location. As for direct charging, given the
itinerant nature of user demand and his
or her expected freedom to choose a par-
ticular charging method or location, this
introduces an element of greater uncer-
tainty, and impact on the electricity grid,
requiring a system that better adapts to
the lifestyle of the user.
Direct Charging and Its Impact
on the Electricity Grid
Direct charging depends on various
factors – notably battery characteristics
(directly related to vehicle performance)
and the range of time spans chosen to
carry out the recharge. Associated with
these are other variables: charging volt-

Different Battery Charge Profile

8.00

7.00
120V 15A Charge Profile
120V 20A Charge Profile
6.00 240V 15A Charge Profile
240V 20A Charge Profile
240V 30A Charge Profile
5.00
KW

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Hours/Day
Figure 1 Power output will determine charging times.

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CHAPTER 3
age, mode (DC, single-phase AC, and
three-phase AC) and the characteristics
of the charging systems employed: tech-
nology, components and their location,
connectors, insulation, and the power and
control electronics. All of these variables
will influence the charging times, and will
vary according to the power input (more
power, less time) as shown in Figure 1.
Therefore, depending on the kind of
recharging, there will be an impact not
only on the characteristics of the indi-
vidual charging points but also on the sup-
porting system.
Using extended range electrical vehi-
cles (EREV) such as the Chevrolet Volt or
Opel/Vauxhall Ampera as an example, it is
estimated that annual home energy con-
sumption from vehicle charging could be
around 20 percent of the total, although
some studies suggest this amount may
be twice as much, based on the customer
profile.
Based on the charging power input
– and this is, of course, related to the
methodology employed – it would be pos-
12000
Total Loading at Substation (KW)
11000
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
0 1
Figure 2 The charging method and time of day causes power to vary
Shaping a New Era in Energy
ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
sible to fully recharge an EREV battery in
about three hours. A fully charged battery
would enable operation solely on electri-
cal power for approximately 40 miles, a
distance representing about 80 percent
of daily car journeys based on the current
averages. For a scenario like this it would
be possible to use a charging method of
about 4 kilowatt/220 volts.
If we analyze the impact in terms of
energy supply and power capacity, there
appears to be no medium-term problems
in supporting these chargings, accord-
ing to the data above. This is, however, a
matter which depends on each individual
country and also on the power transmis-
sion interconnections between them. In
terms of the instantaneous power avail-
able, the charging method will have a
greater or lesser impact, particularly on
the distribution assets, depending on how
it is carried out. Figure 2 shows how the
power varies according to the charging
method and the time of day when it is in
use, taking into account the daily energy
demand curve. We can, therefore, identify
July 27th 2007 24hr: Total Loading for the Feder Under Study
Base Load Scenario
PHEV Case 1: (120V 15A) Charging @ 1am Penetration=10%
PHEV Case 1: (240V 20A) Charging @ 1am Penetration=10%
PHEV Case 1: (120V 15A) Charging @ 7pm Penetration=10%
PHEV Case 1: (240V 20A) Charging @ 7pm Penetration=10%
off-peak load
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Hours
different scenarios from the most favour-
able (slow charging at off-peak times) to
the most unfavourable (fast charging at
peak times). With the latter we may find
ourselves with distribution assets (e.g.,
transformers) incapable of supporting the
heavy load of instant energy consumption.
It is necessary to link electric vehicle
charging to the daily energy demand
curve and instantaneous power availabil-
ity in such a way that charging impacts
the system as little as possible and maxi-
mizes the available energy resources. Ide-
ally, there would be a move toward slow
charging during off-peak periods. Fur-
thermore, this kind of charging would not
impact users as 90 percent of vehicles are
not used between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Oper-
ating under such conditions would also
permit the use of excess wind-generated
power during off-peak times, enabling a
clean locomotion device such as the PHEV
to also use renewable (clean) energy as its
primary source.
This all sounds reasonable, but the itin-
erant nature of roaming vehicle demand,
off-peak load

together with relatively limited battery
life, means that other variables such as
home charging versus remote charging
with the ability to measure consumption
and set tariffs must be taken into account.
What will be the charging price? How will
charging be carried out when the vehicle
is not parked at home, nor at its usual
charging centre? What method will be
used for making payments? Who will be
involved in developing all this infrastruc-
ture and how will it all interrelate?
Smart Charging
One system providing answers to these
questions is smart charging. Based on the
concept, purpose and architecture of the
smart grid, such technology can optimise
charging in the most favorable way by
considering several parameters. These
may include: the current state of the elec-
trical system; the battery charging level;
tariff modes and associated demand-
response models which may be applied
(such as time of use, or TOU, tariffs); and
the ability to use energy distributed and
stored locally through an energy manage-
ment system.
Smart charging would be capable of
deciding when to charge in relation to dif-
ferent variables (for example, price and
energy availability), and which energy
sources to use (in-home energy storage,
local and decoupled energy supply, plug-in
to the distribution grid, etc.) Supporting
the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) paradigm would
enable managing and deciding not only
when and how to best charge the vehicle,
but also when to store energy in the
vehicle battery that can later be returned
to the grid for use in a local mode as a
distributed energy source.
For all of this to be effective, a power
and control electronics system (in both
local and global mode), supported by
information systems to manage those
issues, is required. This will enable the
optimal charging process (avoiding peak
times, and doing fast charging only when
necessary) and an intelligent measur-
ing and tariff system. The latter may
be either managed by utilities through
advanced meter management (AMM), or
virtually through energy tariffs and physi-
cal economic transactions. Such systems
should allow for the interaction of various
agents: end users, utilities, energy service
companies (ESCO), infrastructure provid-
ers, banks and other method-of-payment
companies.
Conclusion
Although there are still many unre-
solved issues around the introduction of
electric vehicles (for example, incentives,
carbon caps, tax collection, readiness of
systems and business processes), the chal-
lenge associated with this means of loco-
motion and its effect on current business
systems and models is a fascinating one.
From an electrical viewpoint, there would
not appear to be any significant impact
on energy management in the medium
term, but perhaps more so in terms of
power requirements. As an example, some
regions have adjusted to the massive
introduction of air conditioning systems
over recent years. While we are reassured
as to the viability of electric vehicles, we
are also alert to the possible significant
impact of widespread vehicle charging,
above all when considering a fast charging
scenario.
The special characteristics of battery
charging and its itinerant nature, the
predicted volumes of power outlet and
energy, the current state of tariff systems,
the available technology, and the vision
and state of deployment of smart grids
and AMM, all add up to suggest a smart
white paper
charging type of system would be the
best option — though certainly complex to
implement. Given the prominent role that
information and communication technolo-
gies will play in such a system, it will be
necessary to achieve consensus among
various stakeholders over methodologies
to be used, standards development, and
in establishing a regulatory framework
capable of supporting all the mechanisms
and systems to be introduced.
We have already made good progress,
and the electric vehicle could become
an example that drives change in other
business and technology models. It may
well stimulate more rapid development
of smart grids, encourage the creation of
more efficient energy services and tech-
nologies, and lead to greater development
and use of renewable energy sources,
including a generation and distribution
scenario based on the V2G paradigm.
It also may open the door to new busi-
nesses and stakeholders as well (such as
the ESCOs) to introduce more dynamic,
interactive demand response programs
and broaden the function of battery stor-
age as a provider of spinning reserves and
ancillary services. These are all aspects
for which it is now necessary to establish a
basis for implementation and a short-term
viability plan that will allow for the use of
this technology with the aim of reaping its
recognized benefits. Are we ready to step
up to the challenge? n
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