Interoperability increases V2G flexibility

It’s safe to assume that most of us haven’t given much thought to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. It’s one of those technologies that’s evolving and starting to catch on. It has many benefits, but also many challenges. What is V2G? It’s a bidirectional charging technology that can either charge a parked electric vehicle (EV) or feed its power back into the grid, but implementation is complicated. Interestingly, V2G is at the point where there will be enough EVs available to play a significant role in improving the flexibility of the power grid.

Several recent press releases have reported on the growing trend of electric vehicle sales in recent years. Around 14 million electric vehicles were expected to be sold worldwide in 2023. The electric vehicle industry was excited about this number, which increased the total number of electric vehicles on the road to around 40 million. Forecasts indicate that this trend will continue to grow. As the number of electric vehicles increases, both electric vehicle manufacturers and grid operators are excited about the possibilities that V2G technology offers.

Batteries on wheels

A single EV capable of powering a home is important to the homeowner, but it hasn’t really caught the attention of utilities. But if you could connect a few hundred or thousand EVs, that would be electrifying. These connected EVs make it a whole different ball game. Imagine if V2G technology could suddenly scale to megawatt-hours of energy storage. That’s getting attention from everyone from EV fleet operators, third-party aggregators, grid operators, etc.

It’s similar to having mobile microgrids available across the grid, as EVs move between different charging points during a typical day. They can be deployed wherever there are public parking points equipped with V2G. These mobile batteries can have a stabilizing effect on the power grid. This is especially important as the power grid transitions to more renewable energy from wind and solar. V2G technology can reduce grid challenges, rather than exacerbate them.

It is important to note that V2G technology not only offers stored energy but can also provide auxiliary grid services. As more renewable energy sources emerge, the need for auxiliary grid services increases. They solve local network problems such as frequency handling, voltage handling, congestion management and power flow handling, to name a few. However, there are some infrastructure issues that still need to be addressed.

Hardware mishmash

The EV infrastructure is burdened with proprietary technologies. In short, the EV industry has not addressed interoperability. An example would be the public EV charging process. A driver of an EV from carmaker A can only use a compatible, non-standard public charger. The same goes for EVs from carmaker B, and so on. There is no universal charger that accepts any EV plugged into it. Furthermore, there is no standard hardware for connecting/disconnecting the charger.

Speaking of which, very few public charging devices today are capable of bidirectional charging, which is key to V2G technology. That’s not to say the technology doesn’t exist. It does, but it’s limited, and standards are still being developed. Additionally, there are only a handful of electric vehicles that come with their own bidirectional charging capabilities, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning or Nissan Leaf. Interestingly, Tesla has included this feature in its Cybertrucks. There’s been speculation that more of its future models will include this feature.

Speaking of Tesla, they announced the news of V2G interoperability with a series of announcements last year. Their first announcement revealed that they were sharing the design and specifications for the plug/port charging hardware with their EV industry network. They then renamed that hardware the North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector. Then, in another announcement, they said that seven automakers had adopted the NACS standard. That group has grown, and it’s now easier to list who isn’t in it than who is!

Then came SAE International’s “J3400 Technical Information Report.” It recognized the NACS connector as the standard connector for electric vehicles and renamed it the J3400 connector. The SAE report stated that now any North American manufacturer could use the J3400 connector in their electric vehicles and charging stations. This also met with widespread industry acceptance. Automakers began shipping adapters for current EV models and stated that they would use J3400 hardware in their 2025 EVs.

A difficult situation

When it comes to standards, we need to ask how V2G technology is controlled in the network? How can vehicles be charged/discharged at different times? How will EV batteries combined work as a single power source? What about communication protocols? These are just a few of the basic questions asked by network operators and third-party developers. This shows how much we need these standards and protocols, and standards organizations are working to solve these and other problems.

With that in mind, it’s time to talk to the experts. Charging Ahead caught up with Mark Siira, Chair of the IEEE 21 Standards Coordinating Committee, to get his perspective on this complex topic. Mr. Siira and the 21 Committee have been working on the standardization/interoperability standards that are essential to making EV infrastructure more efficient and user-friendly.

Mr. Siira opened the discussion by saying, “When we look at the EV infrastructure issues, it is clear that interoperability and standards are becoming increasingly important to enable the EV industry and the power grid to work together. Standards establish common terminology and frameworks necessary to ensure safety and guarantee the reliability of the product. They also provide clarity on specifications and requirements. Standards improve the overall quality of the installations that the industry relies on. This is especially important when we consider how rapidly demand for EVs has grown over the past five years and where it is headed over the next decade.”

Siira continued, “As standards are developed, the opportunity for EV manufacturers to collaborate increases. This is important to overcome the proprietary technologies used by many in the EV industry. Developing standards ensures that all future EV systems are interoperable and interoperable by design. These connection standards are needed so that the automotive and power grids can work together. The IEEE SA is working on several elements that have been identified as requiring smoother interface points. One of the most successful standardization projects has been the J3400 connector, but that is just the beginning. Another area that is attracting attention from the standards community is EV charging stations.”

Mr. Siira explained: “Proprietary technologies are slowing down the progress towards fast chargers as a user-friendly facility. Initially, suppliers developed proprietary technologies for charging their EVs. This was not a problem when the EV charger was in the owner’s garage, but it has become a problem outside the home. Consumers want reliable fast charging stations wherever they travel, like petrol stations for ICE vehicles. This requires EV technology that works across the entire EV infrastructure. At first glance, an EV charging station may not seem complicated, but it is not. Large charging stations integrate a wide range of digital technologies that connect to each other throughout the station and to the power grid on the other side of the meter, requiring a lot of operational coordination.”

Siira concluded: “User-friendly charging sites need advanced energy management systems to make this happen. This starts with monitoring and controlling EV charging profiles, where forecasting the energy demand of charging stations will be critical. Many of these charging sites will have additional power sources such as BESS (battery energy storage systems) or other DERS (distributed energy resources systems). These must work seamlessly together, helping the site to work together with the grid. All of this and more is why standards are important as EV deployment continues to grow.”

Contribution to network stability

There is no doubt that proprietary technologies are necessary for innovation and provide stability for product development, but with many technologies there is a point at which the transition to interoperability is necessary for both the developer and the customer. This has been the case with many other technologies, and it is happening with EV technology. We have seen what happens with the interface between EV and the power supply.

Consumers are struggling with non-standard chargers and their hardware. This leaves potential EV buyers sitting on the sidelines and waiting to see what happens. Another problem is the charger itself. Most (i.e. Level 1 and 2) are unidirectional and compatible only with specific EVs. Everyone needs to be on the same page about compatible hardware. This requires interoperability and standardization of the EV infrastructure.

Standards organizations like IEEE SA, SAE International, ANSI, IEC to name a few are working on these and other EV technology issues. V2G technologies are available and have the potential to make a significant difference for owners with revenue and improved network stability through network support services, but interoperability is key. V2G will bring much needed flexibility and resilience to the network!