Electric vehicles (EV) and electric vehicle charging User Cases driven approach

Towards unlocking the full potential of EVs for European citizens and businesses

Transport accounts for 25% of EU GHG emissions[1]. As such, transitioning to cleaner and smarter mobility is a major priority in achieving the goals laid out in the European Green Deal. Rapid innovation in the electric vehicle market promises to be key in this transition. Over the last few years, cost of ownership has declined while both viability, in relation to distance per charge, and acceptability have increased which has helped the number of EVs on the road grow. However, as the market continues to grow one particular market dynamic needs specific focus: electric vehicle charging. By the end of 2019, there were 195,000 public EVC points across the EU or 7 EVs per charging point, however, this number will have to grow rapidly to deal with the projected 30M electric vehicles that will be on Europe’s roads by 2030[2]. Ensuring that EV drivers can easily find and use charging stations during a journey is of upmost important. Furthermore, the required growth in EVCs has the potential to have a dual impact on the energy market. EVs could, particularly at the peak, put enormous strains on the energy network through charging requirements facilitated by EVCs. However, on the flip side developing smart charging capabilities as well as battery storage potential of these EVs means that vehicle to home (V2H) and vehicle to grid (V2G) could potentially counteract such pressure while facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid.

As such, it is an imperative for policy makers to put in place a considered framework that ensures sufficient coverage of EV charge points that takes account of these other important variables. Therefore, the Commission deems it a priority to consider how access to high quality EVC can be expanded in a way that is user centric, interoperable and sustainable (in relation to pressures on the energy system) in order to unlock the full potential of EVs for European citizens and businesses. This is no easy task considering the wide array of actors involved (e.g. EV manufacturers, energy DSOs / grid operators, local government etc.) and the resources required across multiple use cases. At the same time, it is evident that EV drivers will require a combination of critical services, including charging, parking, paying etc. for which many of these services (e.g. sector convergence, wireless dynamic charging) and associated business models are yet to be fully defined or, in some cases, discovered. That said, there might also be a non-disclosed variety of techno-economic challenges that emerge as progress is made.

The aim of this paper is to define principal categories for EV charging points that are illustrated by different use cases and that hint at the major challenges. The proposed categories are below explained as a starting point:

1. Grid Operators
2. Business, Retail, Fleet charging
3. On-the go charging
4. Charging at home, in a commune, housing companies

[1] Commission Staff Working Documents: Preparing the ground for raising long-term ambition EU Climate Action Progress Report 2019

[2] Recharge EU: how many charge points will Europe and its member states need in the 2020s

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Conclusions:

Smart energy management

The goal of optimal energy management in the context of EV charging is related to two concepts, the first one is optimisation of RES resources utilisation for EV charging, the second one is optimisation of overall charging process and the flexibility services provision to the market.

Off-peak charging can avoid peak energy demand spikes and enable price optimization that delivers lower costs for consumers as well as grid operators through lower hourly day ahead rates on the wholesale energy markets.

Charging based on carbon intensity and within available regional flexibility markets or contributing towards the available flexibility markets while adding flexibility resources. If the smart energy management adequately addresses carbon neutrality, the stakeholders are positively contributing to the UN’s sustainable development goals 7, 11 and 12

Key takeaways:

• Promotion of smart energy management by grid operators to consumers
• Multisided participation in services provision from prosumers side
• Clear demand signals are needed from the grid operators as well as market signals

Bidirectional charging

Energy management systems (EMS) and bidirectional charging will enable EVs to play a complimentary role in the energy system where residual power can be used to (i) power household appliances (V2H) and / or (ii) be fed back into the grid which taken together can help maintain grid power balance contributing to system flexibility and evolving demand response evolving models.

Key takeaways:

• Represents a fairly complex value chain. Promotion of agreements of bidirectional charging with grid operators, business like taxi, retail, large corporates and consumers
• Interoperable solutions should be priorities
• Harmonisation

Usability

Requirement for user experience to be seamless in relation to the way to reserve, the tariffs (e.g. pay as you go) and charge options available (e.g. fast AC vs slower DC) and the payment methods.

Key takeaways:

• Sharing of best practices
• Barriers removal for multisided participation in services

Incentives and other services

Opportunities to promote usage (e.g. through positioning of parking places in the shop), other value-added services (e.g. marketing offers) and transition to a green economy by enabling charging through local renewable energy sources.

Key takeaways:

• Sharing of best practices

Local infrastructure

A high priority is residents without driveways. Local municipalities should work across sectors to consider infrastructure (e.g. integration into existing utility network or roll-out of bespoke stations) and soft (e.g. permits) solutions in both public and semi-public areas.

Key takeaways:

• Raising awareness of need to address this particular use case with urgency
• Creation of a fora across municipalities

Investment, business models and legalities

In the case of Housing companies, they want to serve the EV needs of their tenants but currently face deterrents such as the investment required, an unclear business model as well as legal uncertainty.

The evolving market design will impact business models evolution and demand response models.

Key takeaways:

• Support cooperation across the value chain, supports pilots and trials in sandboxes to experience on business models

Cross cutting issues

Digitization (e.g. smart meters, thermostats, connected charging points etc.) and data essential.

Data governance and consent to data sharing remains to be a blocking factor for innovative energy services

• Creation of a European Data Space for Energy
• Establish transparent and replicable standards for data semantics, security and trust
• Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes funding of research and innovation actions

Standardized data communication protocols and interfaces across the actors / different sectors involved is instrumental, open access to SMEs and innovators desirable

• Standards put in place
• Validation of emerging interfaces and protocols through pilots / experiments with further outlook on scaling up

All user cases require strong collaboration across key stakeholders involved including OEMs, grid operators, local government etc.

• Creation of an open platform to agree on interfaces and a governance model
• IO Energy to support open APIs

The co-existence of different e-vehicles, including LEVs (light electrical vehicle) requires every time more, a Standardisation in terms of the e-charging points

• The increase of electric vehicles should be supported by infrastructures able to offer charging solutions for all of them

Electrification is a significant prospective contributor to shared passenger mobility with potential positive benefits in terms of efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and reduction of carbon emissions. That is especially the case in the last mile solutions and in an urban environment.

• Complement other modes of mobility of transport in the sharing economy
• Work towards increasing user acceptance of shared goods through demonstration and promotion
• Deliver one-stop-shop solutions

Regulations and usage schemes

A real deployment of electrical vehicles should be supported for the regulations that make possible a real usage of the infrastructures (common card to access to the charging points, maintenance requirements, etc).