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Vehicle electrification is one of the greatest developments in the automotive sector. Increasing apprehension about environmental fortification has prompted the research that greatly propelled the electric mobility around the globe. By 2025, 7 million electric vehicles are projected to be on the road in the US, with 5 million charge ports to support these vehicles. The increased demand EVs will place on the grid will be enormous. A single electric vehicle can draw as much power as three new houses. Rapid chargers, in particular, draw very large loads. Utilities theoretically have the excess generation capacity to power around 75% of America’s vehicles if they were EVs. But if those EVs charge around the same time, especially during times of overall peak demand, utilities won’t be able to meet the demand.
Vehicle-to-grid is the ability of plugged-in electric vehicles to charge and discharge their energy on command, in conjunction with bi-directional (moving electricity in either direction) charging stations. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is a technology that permits energy to be pushed back from the battery of an electric vehicle to the power grid. It is a system that has ability of bi-directional and controllable electrical energy flow among vehicle and electrical grid. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is not new, but it is extremely nascent. To many, it is the natural progression from “smart charging,” whereby electric vehicles (EVs) are only recharged at the best time for the network, to a more holistic grid scheme.
The vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept is a system in which “gridable” electric vehicles interact with the electric grid in more sophisticated ways than just charging. V2G systems could charge intelligently at times of low cost and low demand, provide ancillary grid services like load balancing and frequency regulation, and offer vehicle owners emergency backup power or even a source of income.
V2G systems act like battery energy storage systems. Just like battery energy storage systems such as Tesla’s Powerwall and Powerpack, V2G EVs could store energy from intermittent renewable sources like solar and make that energy available whenever it’s needed. Most vehicles are parked most of the time, but unlike internal combustion powered vehicles, EVs have the potential to provide useful services while parked. Electric vehicles could act as distributed battery energy storage systems while plugged in, providing “spinning reserves” to the grid to meet sudden demands for power.
Since at any given time 95 percent of cars are parked, the batteries in electric vehicles could be used to let electricity flow from the car to the electric distribution network and back. A 2015 report on potential earnings associated with V2G found that with proper regulatory support, vehicle owners could earn $454, $394, and $318 per year depending on whether their average daily drive was 32, 64, or 97 km (20, 40, or 60 miles), respectively.
EV batteries may actually last longer when grid-connected. Uddin et al found that “the smart grid is able to extend the life of the EV battery beyond the case in which there is no V2G.” In simulations and a case study these researchers found both capacity fade and power fade were reduced when an EV was grid-connected in a V2G system
These systems reduce the negative impact that large numbers of EVs could have on the grid. They offer demand response capability by reducing their own rate of charge or sending power back to the grid when needed. V2G systems also help integrate intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind into the grid by acting as distributed battery energy storage systems.
V2G systems could offer load balancing capabilities by “valley filling” – charging when demand is low and electricity is cheap, and “peak shaving” – exporting power to the grid when demand is high and electricity is more expensive. Battery energy storage systems are already capable of providing voltage and frequency regulation – a necessity when integrating distributed generation sources with the grid. V2G systems could do the same.
The spread of the vehicle to grid technology market is now intensifying to homes, schools, and fleets. One ambitious and exciting experiment is underway by Dominion Energy, in Virginia. In an attempt to support the integration of a large offshore wind farm, the company has incorporated electric school buses as a grid flexibility asset. When the buses are not expected to be used, the utility will store any unneeded energy in the batteries, saving it for peak hours.
The idea is that at the end of the school rush the buses will return to their depots where they will be hooked up to so-called bidirectional V2G chargers, and, by extension, a digital distributed energy-management system. This “smart” system charges the electric batteries quickly at the optimal time, and then transfers the rest to the grid. Although the grid, called APEX and provided by a California-based company called Proterra, is in its infancy, the ambition is that it will eventually be expanded to manage all distributed assets, including wind and solar power technology.
Electrification of non-tactical vehicle fleets represents a key efficiency and energy security objective for the United States Department of Defense. To achieve electrification, the department targeted vehicle-to-grid services as a way to decrease the overall cost of operating the vehicle fleet and achieve rough parity with traditional internal combustion engine vehicle fleets.
While it is a fairly simple concept in theory, vehicle-to-grid is complex in execution. The most challenging aspects include determining the optimal schedules to bid in the market for charging and discharging the vehicles, which must be available for their primary intended purpose as a fleet. Additionally, vehicle-to-grid becomes more challenging when a variety of fleet vehicle and charging infrastructure types are used.
Most modern battery electric vehicles use lithium-ion cells that can achieve round-trip efficiency greater than 90%. The efficiency of the battery depends on factors like charge rate, charge state, battery state of health, and temperature. The majority of losses, however, are in system components other than the battery. Power electronics, such as inverters, typically dominate overall losses. A study found overall round-trip efficiency for V2G system in the range of 53% to 62%’. Another study reports an efficiency of about 70%.The overall efficiency however depends on several factors and can vary widely
Aside from problems with archaic grid models, there are no clear regulations in place for V2G and the infrastructure to make it possible is expensive. There is little desire to take up bidirectional inverters that can convert DC to AC and vice versa, because unidirectional inverters are most common to use for the fast-charging of vehicles. This lack of desire for bidirectional inverters only adds to the expense of V2G.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology market
Precedence Research predicts that the global vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology market will garner revenue around $17.43 billion by 2027 by recording a compound annual growth rate of 48% between 2020 to 2027.
Vehicle to grid market perceives substantial growth due to exponentially growing number of EV charging stations across the world. EVs have less range than hybrid and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. As a result, several charging facilities are essential to be installed on the road and off the road to progress their adoption rate. The intensifying number of charging stations will result in additional vehicles being integrated into the grid which in turn bolsters the demand for the vehicle to grid technologies.
Increasing awareness for smart power generation coupled with rising adoption of autonomous vehicles has significantly triggered the demand for V2G technologies. Governments are expected to expand incentives to accelerate the adoption of battery-powered vehicles resulting in an expansion of the V2G market.
However, on account of ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the global automobile sector is facing a slowdown due to the lockdown in numerous countries that has constrained the production of electric vehicles. The operations of certain vital players impacted by COVID-19 outbreak comprise BMW AG, Nissan Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., Tesla, Inc and Daimler AG. Nonetheless, government incentive packages in the future might help the EV market get through an economic crisis carried by COVID-19 by investing profoundly in charging infrastructure. China is set to invest to encourage its automotive sector. The Chinese government has highlighted “new infrastructure” as part of a stimulus policy to lift its economy after the slowdown instigated by COVID-19 and trade tensions. Therefore, most governments from pretentious areas have resorted to infrastructure refurbishment as an economic impetus method.
The market is driven by the change in grid structure allowing decentralized power generation, ability to meet peak electricity demands, and improvements in EV battery technology.
Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) captured significant revenue share in the global vehicle-to-grid technology market in 2019. The main factor behind this is the early implementation of vehicle-to-grid technology in the vehicle. On the other hand, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) exhibits the fastest growth during the forecast period owing to large battery size and high power return capacity.
By component, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) contributed significant revenue share in 2019 owing to their increasing usage for connecting electric vehicle to the grid. The EVSE are the main component that connects EV to the electric grid and thus increasing trend for renewable and smart energy generation will flourish the demand for EVSE components.
However, the high initial cost of the technology is expected to hinder the market growth. In addition, harsh driving pattern of the motorist may decrease the performance of the autonomous vehicles that again leads to restrict market growth. Repairing companies, automobile owners, and oil industries show resistance to the high cost of existing technology. Nonetheless, the increased battery life and change of preference in the customer’s choice expected to fuel the market in the coming years.
Regional
North America and Europe are the major markets in the global V2G technology market. Early adoption for new technologies and environmental awareness among the public are the key factors contributing to the market growth. Government initiative in terms of incentives offered by them to promote the electric vehicle adoption in the region. Furthermore, the auto-manufacturers in the regions are offering long-term warranty to their customers that again fuel the market growth.
Globally, Europe dominated the overall vehicle to grid market with around 36% market share in terms of revenue in 2019. Asia Pacific is projected to record robust growth and anticipated to reach market value around USD 5,521 million by 2027. The adoption rate of electric vehicles is growing, and numerous countries across the world are investing intensely in R&D. Nations like France, Canada, the Netherlands, and India have introduced numerous campaigns to boost the adoption of electric vehicles.
As per one survey, there are around 50 V2G physical projects delivering clear use cases worldwide. Out of these 50 projects around 25 are in Europe, 7 in Asia-Pacific and 18 in North America. Northern European states lead with Denmark, Netherlands, UK and Germany the market leaders in the Europe. Activity in the U.S. is primarily in Hawaii, California, and Delaware. This project data depicts that Asian contribution has been more concentrated as a manufacturing partner than being a home for implementation, with some notable exceptions.
In Denmark, Nuvve Corporation declared 4 years of successive vehicle to grid operations of electric vehicles in September 2020. The company has been carrying out current frequency regulation service for Energinet, the Danish grid operator, for 4 successive years. The initial fleet of vehicles commenced service in September 2016 at a municipal water and gas Utility Corporation in Denmark named Frederiksberg Foraying.
Asia Pacific seeks opportunistic growth during the forecast period owing to green revolution drives in several countries. China, Japan, and India are some of the Asian countries that have invested significantly in the smart mobility solutions.
Technological advancement and high per capita income are other prime factors accelerating the market for electric vehicles and thus V2G technology market.
Industry Players
Some of the key players of the market are Nissan Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, NUVVE Corporation, ENGIE Group, OVO Energy Ltd, Group Renault, and Honda Motor Co., Ltd , AC Propulsion Inc. , Coritech Services, Daimler AG, DENSO Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Liikennevirta Oy (Ltd.), NUVVE Corp. , Qualcomm Inc., and Tesla Inc.
References and Resources also include:
https://www.idealenergysolar.com/electric-vehicles-and-the-future-of-the-grid/
