EV’s grid integration is still an e-mobility barrier finds Eurelectric

Integrating EV charging into the power system remains a key barrier in the face of the e-mobility ecosystem, states the latest e-mobility report from Eurelectric and EY.

According to Eurelectric, EVs are booming in Europe. Sales grew by 25% in 2023, with EVs accounting for more than one in five new cars sold. Infrastructure is keeping up, with fast chargers being 10 times more powerful than just five years ago.

However, as per the report How do we solve the challenges of data interoperability in e-mobility, a key challenge stopping e-mobility from reaching its full potential is that of EV charging to grid integration.

Commenting in a release, Serge Colle, EY’s global energy & resources leader, said: “E-mobility is about more than just the technological switch away from combustion engines.

“It’s about connecting the worlds of transport, energy and the built environment. This, however, depends on data interoperability and information sharing and getting there is a challenge. Overcoming this will help improve the overall EV experience and unlock value for ecosystem players.”

Specifically, the report highlights two significant challenges: connecting charging infrastructure to the power grid and smart grid integration.

Connecting charging infrastructure

According to the report, charging infrastructure networks need to be scaled quickly but are hindered by delays in handling network connection requests. Inefficient processing and lack of transparency about available grid capacity mean connection queues are getting longer.

The report cites evidence from a 2023 report by the Council of European Energy Regulators, demonstrating regional disparities across Europe’s highways in time needed for connection request approvals.

For example, it can vary from five months in Spain to 20 months in Portugal, 14 in France and 13 in the Netherlands. In response, adds the report, to help identify and prioritise charging locations, CPOs are calling for:

• Better coordination and tracking of connection requests;
• Heat maps at the distribution level, to understand capacity constraints by illustrating levels of grid congestion in different areas;
• Transparency over connection costs;
• A central point of contact;
• A streamlined process across municipal bureaus and departments to negotiate and speed up installation.

In addition, states the report, industry participants want national road maps that help them decide where best to site and develop charging infrastructure, especially for public transport and commercial fleets.

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Lack of smart grid integration

According to the report, there are currently not enough private EV charging points integrated into smart ecosystems. As a result, EVs are charging at their maximum rate; stopping only when the battery is full.

Alternatively, the report cites the capability of smart EV charging to establish communications and a flow of data between the charger, the vehicle, the CPO and the energy provider.

Instead of simply charging until the battery is full, smart EV charging would allow CPOs to optimise the time and duration of charge and adjust energy consumption.

Smart energy management, an extension of smart charging, would also allow energy consumption to be optimised, based on grid constraints and other factors, enabling CPOs otherwise bogged by high levels of EV charging demand to determine the best and cheapest time to charge.

For private or fleet charging, adds the report, it opens capabilities such as demand-side flexibility, which allows CPOs and other service providers to manage site-level limitations to energy capacity.

Said providers can then reduce or vary charging capacity at individual charge points at times of localised grid congestion, or integrate power from onsite solar panels or batteries to increase availability.

Going beyond smart grid integration, adds the report, V2G capabilities will allow EVs to receive signals to push stored electricity from the EV battery to the grid for local balancing and frequency regulation purposes.

Vehicle-to-home (V2H) is a further extension, using bidirectional charging to transfer the energy stored in the EV battery to the home and vice versa. Although not widely feasible today, standards or platforms will help to better manage EV charging and future increased load.

According to the report, data interoperability will be key for battling the above challenges, promoting collaboration and information sharing between stakeholders to enable services and facilities that support EV rollout, such as charging station optimisation, intelligent grid integration and optimised charging experiences.