Fast Charging Station

Related terms:

Energy Supply, Microgrid, Battery Electric Vehicle, Charging Infrastructure, Failure

Rate, Power Flow

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Pure electric vehicles

K.T. Chau, in Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Technologies for Improved
Environmental Performance, 2014

21.5 Charging infrastructure

The charging infrastructure of EVs is composed of two main areas: charging facilities
and charging devices. The charging facilities can be categorized into home charging
and public charging. The public charging facilities can be further identified as
opportunity charging stations, fast charging stations and battery swapping stations.
Meanwhile, the charging devices can be categorized as conductive chargers, induc-
tive chargers and wireless chargers.

21.5.1 Home charging

Charging at home is the most preferable way for people to charge their EVs since
it can be done by simply plugging the EV on-board charger to the outlet that is
installed or nearby the parked car. People can get their EVs fully charged up after a
night’s parking, hence allowing for over 100 km driving range. As the batteries are
slowly recharged, the power requirement is just a few kilowatts and the charging
time is from five to eight hours. In general, home charging favours an effective
utilization of electricity since EVs are usually charged at night or off-peak periods.
Thus, power utilities are willing to impose an incentive tariff and rebate to attract EV
users to charge their EVs during off-peak periods.

The basic requirement of home charging is the availability of a garage or a parking

lot that is fed with electricity. For those houses with a private garage, an indoor socket
outlet can be installed for recharging. For those apartments and multi-storey build-
ings with car parks attached, an outdoor socket outlet can be installed. The outdoor
socket outlets should have individual protection circuits, and can be independently
operated.

21.5.2 Public charging

Basically, the public charging facilities refer to a distribution of public charging
stations which can be readily accessed by EV drivers to recharge their EVs when
necessary.

Opportunity charging stations

Conceptually, EVs are expected to be fully charged at night or after five to eight hours’
parking at home. Practically, EVs may be used both day and night or desired to travel
a long distance per day. Opportunity charging is a concept that EVs can be recharged
whenever there are such opportunities. These charging stations are normally located
in places where EVs are likely to park for half an hour to several hours such as airports,
schools, shopping malls, supermarkets and tourist attractions.

EV drivers should not always expect to fully charge up their EVs within the parking
period. Instead, they should consider that this is a chance to increase the battery
usable capacity for the upcoming travel or simply as an additional reserve. Typically,
the driving range of EVs may be extended by about 40 km for an hour of opportunity
charging.

Fast charging stations

Fast charging is also known as rapid charging or quick charging and aims to
recharge EV batteries within a short period similar to that for gasoline refuelling of
conventional vehicles. The time necessary for fast charging is about 20 minutes for
charging up 80% capacity. Thus, the total travelling distance of EVs can be greatly
extended, provided that there are sufficient fast charging stations on the way. The
key to fast charging stations is the off-board fast charging module, which can output
35 kW or even higher. The corresponding voltage and current ratings are 45–450 V
and 20–200 A, respectively. As both power and current ratings are so high, such
recharging facilities have to be installed in supervised stations or service centres.

Although fast charging enables EVs to have a driving range similar to that of
conventional vehicles, it creates adverse impacts on our power system, namely har-
monic contamination and high current demand superimposing on the peak-hour
consumption, violating the principle of demand-side management.
Battery swapping stations

Instead of charging the batteries immediately, there is another way to refuel the
energy source of EVs: mechanically swapping the discharged batteries with fully
charged batteries. Of course, all these batteries should be owned by the service
station or battery company while the EV driver is only a battery borrower. The
discharged batteries will either be charged at the service station or centrally collected
and charged. Since the battery swapping process involves mechanical replacement
and battery recharging, it is also named as mechanical refuelling or mechanical
recharging. These battery swapping stations combine the merits of both slow charg-
ing and fast charging, namely slowly recharging the EV batteries at off-peak periods
while quickly refuelling the EVs within a very short time. With the use of robotic
machinery, the whole battery swapping process can be carriedout within a few
minutes, directly comparable to the existing refuelling mechanism for conventional
vehicles.

There are many obstacles to practically implementing battery swapping. Firstly, the
initial cost to set up this battery swapping system is very high, involving expen-
sive robotic machinery to swap the battery and a large number of costly batteries
for necessary operation. Secondly, due to the need to store both discharged and
fully charged batteries, the necessary space to build a battery swapping station is
much larger than that for a charging station. Thirdly, the EV batteries need to be
standardized in physical dimensions and electrical parameters before the possible
implementation of automatic battery swapping.

21.5.3 Battery chargers

Depending on whether the battery charger is installed inside or outside the EV, it
is generally classified as on-board and off-board. The on-board charger is designed
with a low charging rate, and is dedicated to charge the battery for a long period
of time (typically 5–8 h for full charge). Due to the limitation of allowable payload
and space of the EV, the on-board charger needs to be lightweight (typically less than
5 kg) and compact. On the other hand, the off-board charger is designed with a high
charging rate, and has virtually no limitation on its weight and size. Based on the
modes of power transfer from the power supply to the EV, the battery chargers can be
described as conductive, inductive or wireless chargers. In principle, both on-board
and off-board chargers can be based on these three modes of power transfer.

Conductive chargers
The conductive charger for EVs has the advantages of maturity, simplicity and low
cost because it simply makes use of plugs and sockets to conduct electrical energy
via physical metallic contacts.

According to the SAE J1772 standard, two AC levels (AC level 1 and 2) are defined
while two DC levels (DC level 1 and 2) are proposed for EV conductive chargers. Cur-
rently, AC level 3 and DC level 3 are under active discussion. As listed in Table 21.4,
AC level 1 and 2 are designed for single-phase on-board chargers, whereas DC level
1 and 2 are dedicated for off-board chargers. These charging levels essentially satisfy
all charging needs of various EVs (SAE Hybrid Committee, 2011).

Table 21.4. Standard power levels of conductive chargers

AC level 1 DC level 1
Single-phase, 120 V, 16 A, 1.9 kW (max) 200–450 V, 80 A, 36 kW (max)
AC level 2 DC level 2
Single-phase, 240 V, 80 A, 19.2 kW (max) 200–450 V, 200 A, 90 kW (max)
AC level 3 DC level 3
Single-phase or 3-phase, > 20 kW 200–600 V, 400 A, 240 kW (max)

Safety is the key concern for conductive chargers. The SAE J1772 standard includes
measures to avoid electrocution. Namely, when the connector is mated, the power
pins are not accessible; when not mated, the power pins are not energized. Also,
there is a pilot pin to control the charging process and to detect the presence of the
EV. There are no voltages at the power pins when the pilot pin is decoupled and the
control signal does not activate power transfer.

Inductive chargers

Inductive charging allows electrical energy transfer from chargers to EVs by magnet-
ic induction. The principle of inductive charging is based on the magnetic coupling
between two windings of a high-frequency transformer. SAE published the J1773
standard, also termed the Magne Charge, for EV inductive chargers. Specifically,
the primary winding is installed in the charger coupler while the secondary winding
is embedded in the inlet of the EV. The main AC supply with a frequency of 50–60 Hz
is rectified and converted to a high-frequency AC power of 80–300 kHz within the
charger, then the high-frequency AC power is transferred from the charger coupler
to the EV inlet by magnetic induction, and finally this high-frequency AC power
is converted to DC power for battery charging. It can deliver high power at an
efficiency of 86% (6.6 kW for normal charging and 50 kW for fast changing).
The whole process is free from any metallic contacts between the charger and
the EV, hence offering a distinct merit over the conductive one: inherently safe
under all-weather operation (including rainy, snowy and dirty conditions). The main
drawbacks are the high investment cost, inevitable induction loss and high switching
loss.

To promote the concept of park-and-charge without plug, the inductive charger

is further extended to the plugless charger. Specifically, the primary winding is
installed on the floor of a parking lot while the secondary winding is installed on the
vehicle. When the two pieces are brought together in close proximity, power transfer
is activated to charge the batteries. It offers the advantages of better convenience for
users and larger tolerance for industry standardization. However, it further decreases
the overall efficiency of battery charging.

Wireless chargers

The most ideal situation for charging EV batteries is to charge the vehicle while it is
cruising on the road, the so-called move-and-charge. Thus, there is no need for an
EV driver to find a charging station, park the vehicle and then spend time recharging
the batteries. The power transmitter is placed underneath the surface of a section
of roadway, called the charging zone, and the EV wirelessly picks up the power for
battery charging.

The wireless power transfer technique for move-and-charge is based on magnetic

resonant coupling which is the near field wireless transmission of electrical energy
between two coils that are highly resonant at the same frequency. Differing from
the magnetic induction which is adopted by inductive chargers, the resonance at the
primary can enable high current operation in the primary circuit without suffering
from high losses while the resonance at the secondary can boost the efficiency
of the power transfer (Kurs et al., 2007). So, the resonant objects, namely the power
transmitters beneath the roadway and the receivers mounted on EVs, having the
same resonant frequency can wirelessly transfer power efficiently with high power
density, while dissipating relatively little energy in non-resonant objects such as
vehicle bodies or drivers.

Definitely, the wireless move-and-charge needs much research in both technologi-

cal and biological aspects, such as the varying displacement between the transmitter
and the receiver, the misalignment between the transmitter and the receiver, and the
biological response of humans to strong magnetic field. Nevertheless, this charging
concept has a promising future as it can potentially solve the fundamental problem
of EVs: short driving range per charge.

> Read full chapter

Electric road vehicle battery charging
systems and infrastructure
B. Lunz, D.U. Sauer, in Advances in Battery Technologies for Electric Vehicles, 2015

17.4.1 SWOT analysis for fast charging in comparison to stan-

dard charging
In the following section, a SWOT analysis is performed for the technology of fast
charging to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with
regard to that charging method (Lunz et al., 2010b). The strengths and weaknesses
relate to technical issues and are also called internal factors, whereas the opportu-
nities and threats focus more on the user and general conditions; these are called
external factors. Table 17.2 gives an overview of the results of the SWOT analysis
for fast-charging technology. In the following, the different aspects in the table are
explained.

Table 17.2. SWOT analysis for fast charging technology

Strengths
Internal •Off-board charger•High-
er power capability for de-
livering grid services for a
single car
Weaknesses
•Negative effects on bat-
tery lifetime due to tem-
perature rise and high-
er mean voltage•Active
cooling necessary•Use of
high-power cells becomes
necessary•Strong grid ac-
cess is necessary•Chick-
en-or-egg-problem: infra-
structure is needed before
vehicles can be used and
vice versa

External Opportunities Threats

•After a full discharge the vehicle is earlier •Construction of an expensive infra-

able to start again•Electric vehicle with
fast charging behaves more similarly to
an ICE-driven car•High energy cells with
higher maximum charging rate are de-
veloped•Chance for the electrification of
urban buses and fleets (cabs)
structure needed•Battery systems with
fast-charging capability are more expen-
sive•Need for fast charging only given
on a few days during the year for a
standard car user•Few cars available with
fast-charging possibility•Plug and cable
 hard to handle•Development of inexpen-
sive mobile storage systems with a very
high energy and therefore low power
density, which makes the cells not suit-
ed for fast charging•Not necessary for
PHEVs

It becomes obvious that fast charging has only very few technical strengths. The
higher power rating of the connection increases the power capability for grid services
for a single car. Due to the higher power rating the delivery can only be guaranteed
for a shorter time. As the power electronics of a fast charger are normally located in
the charging station and not in the car, a small weight reduction can be reached and
the off-board charger does not have to comply with the strict automotive standards.

As negative internal factors, the effects on the battery system have to be addressed.
Because of the higher losses and therefore the higher battery temperature during
fast charging, the battery lifetime is negatively affected (Vetter et al., 2005). By apply-
ing higher currents to the battery, the mean voltage during the charging operation is
higher compared to a standard charging method. A more complex cooling system is
necessary to overcome the battery degradation through the temperature rise. In case
of standard charging, an air-cooling system might be sufficient, whereas for fast
charging the use of water cooling or the use of refrigerants become necessary. This,
of course, increases the battery system weight and also the costs. In an EV, normally
high-energy cells are used that can deliver enough power for the driving operation
of the car. High-power cells are required to achieve very high charging powers. That
means that the battery system design is then defined by the charging operation.
High-power cells have a lower energy density, and therefore more material has to
be used for the same storage capacity. This leads to higher costs for these cells.

For fast-charging stations a strong grid access is necessary. The required connecting
power is not available everywhere, which causes extra investments for the grid
infrastructure. A fast-charging station with three 200 kW chargers, for example,
needs an extra transformer on the medium-voltage grid. Furthermore, a chick-
en-or-egg problem exists: Either a fast-charging infrastructure is needed before the
vehicles can be used, or vehicles capable of fast charging have to exist before the
infrastructure is built.

When it comes to the external factors that might influence the introduction of
fast-charging technology, the user acceptance first has to be addressed as an op-
portunity. Car drivers are used to the nearly unlimited driving range of their internal
combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In the introduction phase of marketing electric
vehicles, it could be beneficial to generate the same feeling by providing drivers with
fast-charging stations.
Another driver for fast charging could be the development of cells with high energy
density and, at the same time, high charging capability. This would overcome the
problem of over-designing the battery pack only to achieve fast charging. Unfortu-
nately, high power and high energy are mutually exclusive.

All discussions thus far referred to standard passenger vehicles. However, there are
other applications, where fast charging is an interesting and worthy option. A sector
where fast charging would make sense today is in urban bus traffic and vehicle fleets
such as cabs and delivery vehicles. In contrast to the driving behavior shown before,
these vehicles drive more kilometers per day and the duration of trips are easier to
plan. In this scenario, the batteries for buses do not have to be designed to hold all
the energy needed for one day. When the bus is fast-recharged three times a day,
for example, only a fourth of the net battery size is required.

We must, however, mention the high costs for the infrastructure required for fast
charging. The costs are mainly for the grid access, power electronics, and connectors
of the charging station. It is unclear what kind of company or business can support
a fast charging station if it is only needed rarely. As cars with fast-charging capability
are going to be more expensive than cars with only standard-charging capabilities,
it may be the case that only few car manufacturers will equip their cars with
the fast-charge technology. This could make the business model for fast-charging
station operators even more doubtful.

Another problem with promising vehicle users fast-charging options is that they may
make use of this option once a year or so, for vacation or traveling over the holidays.
This would require an infrastructure designed for these extreme peak loads for a very
few days in a year. This infrastructure would be extremely expensive and it is unclear
who would pay for it.

From a user’s perspective the fast-charging plugs can be hard to handle. A plug
connection that can transfer powers above 100 kW is always relatively heavy and
complicated to use due to the needed conductor diameter in the plug itself and in the
cable. Another threat for fast-charging technology is the development of inexpensive
batteries with a very high energy density. With that, electric vehicles with a longer
driving range become possible and make fast-charging stations needless.

Fast-charging stations are not really needed for PHEVs. The ICE of a PHEV always
guarantees the mobility of the car user even if the battery is fully discharged. With
fast charging only a very little gain in the all-electric operation fraction can be reached
which does not justify the higher costs and complexity to make a PHEV capable for
fast charging.

> Read full chapter

Design and simulation issues for secure
power networks as resilient smart grid
infrastructure
O. Mohammed, ... A. Elsayed, in Smart Energy Grid Engineering, 2017

Electric vehicles
The global call for reduced CO2 emissions, the investments that pioneering auto-
motive companies have been making in the advancement of plug-in all electric, and
hybrid EV technologies, and the problems inherently associated with fuel availability
and price stability will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the number of
EVs in the near future. The problem of coordinating the charging process of a large
number of EVs has lately acquired the attention of many researchers, and is still
under study.

It has not yet been determined whether EVs will be charged casually at home, like
any other home appliance; at a fast charging station, similar to a gas-fueling station
for conventional vehicles; at a place where a discharged EV battery is replaced with
a completely charged one; or at a smart charging park where EVs are coordinated
centrally at a smart garage that enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-grid
(V2G) services. Each of these different techniques has supporters and opponents for
reasons that are outside the scope of this chapter. However, the last model relates
to DC distribution, since some of the researchers who work on the concept of smart
charging parks believe that they should operate as DC microgrids, with a common
DC bus at which the EV batteries, and any DG units, should be integrated.

It is worth mentioning that a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept has been recently intro-
duced, where aggregated batteries of grid-connected vehicles serve as a bulk energy
storage that is able to support the grid operation. Imagine a parking lot where 20
TESLA model S cars are parked, with a 70 kWh battery bank in each car, there is a bulk
storage of 0.7 MWh (assuming 50% available capacity) available for different ancillary
services for the grid. This point seems to be a strong supporting point to allow V2G
to dominate. However, this strategy is facing stronger challenges, which is lacking
public acceptance. V2G techniques imply violation of the recommended charging
pattern and an increased number of charging/discharging cycles. Consequently,
this causes accelerated wear and tear of the batteries, reducing their lifetime and
performance. Taking into account the current battery technology, it seems that
this strategy will—for a while—remain not practically applicable, unless incredible
incentives are offered for the car owners.
> Read full chapter

Risk-based lifecycle assessment of hy-

brid transportation infrastructures as
integrated with smart energy grids
N. Ayoub, H.A. Gabbar, in Smart Energy Grid Engineering, 2017

15.2 HTS infrastructure

The penetration of EVs requires an evolutionary change and restructuring in the
existing infrastructure and forecasting models to support the newly required func-
tionalities. To fully integrate and deploy EVs, a supply chain infrastructure, mod-
ern telecommunications, and sensing technology are required [34]. There is rarity
in research that considers infrastructure forecasting for HTS. The energy impact
of public charging infrastructure on EVs was examined by Dong and Lin. They
concluded that providing a widespread public charging service can reduce PHEVs'
gasoline consumption by 30% or more than having home charging infrastructure
only. Hence having this infrastructure at home helps increase the energy cost savings
for EVs' drivers [35]. For Portugal specifically, the impact of energy supply infra-
structures and energy supply chains on CO2 emissions and energy use, regarding
conventional and electrical vehicles was estimated by Lucas and his colleagues
[36]. They concluded that the EVs' energy supply infrastructures are more carbon-
and energy-intensive per megajoule (MJ) of supplied fuel than conventional ones.
Those contradict with the findings of San Román et al. of using EVs as energy
storage agents through recharging during off-peak hours. This can make EVs as
load-shaving agents in the peak hours using the V2G concept [37]. This contradiction
shows the need for a reliable assessment methodology before application. There
are several research works that consider the economic environmental impacts of
transportation systems and EVs' infrastructures, as in Refs. [10,38–43]. Conversely,
it is less extensive to find research work that considers the economic analysis, as
well as engineering-side analysis. For example, Schroeder and Traber have estimated
the return on investment (ROI) of the fast-charging station and found that the
current market is vague for activating a large scale of fast-charging infrastructure
due to the high-risk factor of market penetration of EVs [44]. Before presenting the
RBLCA framework for HTS, we are presenting the infrastructure requirements in the
following sections.

15.2.1 Infrastructure Engineering Model

Enforcing EVs in the transportation system as well as using them as load-shifting
tools require substantial infrastructures related to SGs and transportation systems
that should be identified, eg, smart meters and fueling stations. To develop the
engineering model for the required infrastructure, we need to estimate each in-
frastructure layer in the four infrastructure layers shown in Fig. 1. To do this, the
expected number of vehicles with their related fueling infrastructure have to be
identified. In Fig. 1, we have detailed the required infrastructure for EVs in four
layers: natural gas (NG) supply chain infrastructure, fueling infrastructure, charging
and discharging infrastructure, and SG infrastructure. It is well known that PHEVs
share the characteristics of both conventional EVs having an electric motor and the
internal combustion engine vehicles that can run using NG, gasoline, and electricity.
Therefore, we have considered natural gas vehicles (NGVs) as well as PHVEs to
connect to a gas grid as a consumer and to a power grid as a consumer and supplier.
Hence, the HTS will require the following infrastructure components:

Fig. 1. Schematic representation for the infrastructure engineering model.

1. Supply chain infrastructure: pipelines, trucks, tanks, etc.

2. Fueling infrastructure: fueling stations for all fuel types.

3. Charging and discharging infrastructure: electricity plug-in devices at homes,

parks, and fueling stations.
4. SG infrastructure: smart meters.

15.2.2 Fueling Infrastructure

The size of the individual fueling stations is a function of the number of vehicles
served, fuel economy, travel distance, and the fueling pattern [45]. According to Ref.
[46], the sustainable growth of alternative vehicles during market transition until
maturity requires 10–20% of fueling stations to be alternative fueling stations. Due
to the problems facing the fueling station business, it is difficult to attain this
high percentage that may impose a potential risk of applying the HTS. One way to
overcome this issue is applying, by the government, new rules for promoting fueling
infrastructure or setting a subsidy scheme. For example, Ontario government helps
electric car owners to install charging stations at their homes and businesses to
encourage sustainable transportation and fight climate change. Starting Jan. 2013,
homeowners and businesses who have received a provincial EV rebate and have
installed or are planning to install an EV charging station will be eligible for rebates
of up to 1000 USD or 50% of the total purchase and installation cost, whichever
is lower [47]. Since infrastructure development is expensive, there is a need to
direct investments toward the establishment of fueling facilities in areas resulting
in maximum impact [48]. A ratio of 1000 vehicles per station for all alternative fuels
and all fueling stations from each type is reasonable capacity [1].

Applying HTSs will lead to an increase in the number of EVs running in the streets.
This requires large numbers of charging and discharging stations to be distributed
around the city or the region that will apply the system. Those stations will be
essential to be installed in both private residences and in the public areas. In
advanced countries, charging stations' infrastructure for EVs is not high, as they can
be built at every place having access to electricity, including homes, parking lots, gas
stations, super markets, etc. [1].

> Read full chapter

Sustainable transport, electric vehicle

promotional policies, and factors inf-
luencing the purchasing decisions of elec-
tric vehicles: A case of Slovenia
Matjaž Knez, in Electric Vehicles: Prospects and Challenges, 2017

6.2.1 Review of policies for promoting the use of electric vehi-

cles in Slovenia
The accession of Slovenia to the EU and the signing of the international agreement
on environmental goals (Kyoto Protocol) constitute the starting point of policies
for the promotion of electric vehicles in Slovenia. Slovenia's accession to the EU in
particular is an important milestone, as with this act, Slovenia chose to respect the
developmental guidelines on electric vehicles already in place in the EU. Slovenia has
modified its legislation by transferring important regulations directly or indirectly
connected with the area of electric vehicles promotion into her legislation (European
Parliament, 2011).

The first of all electric vehicle types on the Slovenian roads were battery electric
vehicles, which were modified cars that previously ran on petrol (internal combustion
engine) (Fale, 2014). These cars were modified by individuals who were not support-
ed by the relevant authorities. These converted cars are all individual projects that
are now being used mainly for promotional activities (Pecjak, 2014). Much more
attention, however, has been given to fuel cell technology (and consequently fuel cell
vehicles) than to battery electric vehicles. In 2005, the Slovenian Hydrogen and Fuel
Cell Technology Platform (SIHFC) was established by the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry alongside the relevant ministry. The SIHFC united companies exploring fuel
cells and educational institutions dealing with research projects regarding fuel cells
(SIHFC, 2014). The SIHFC also organized the first event, where the technology of
electric vehicles, electric vehicles made by car manufacturers (cars that could actually
be bought at that time), and electric vehicles converted by individuals were presented
to the public (Elaphe, 2009).

One of the largest problems in the transition to alternative fuels is generally the
infrastructure itself and, consequently, the accessibility of alternative sources. This
is especially important for transport in the business sector where companies cannot
allow their cars to be stuck by the side of the road with an empty battery or without
hydrogen. It means that for the transition to cleaner technologies, hybrids are
the most appropriate choice, since they offer the best possible solution until the
infrastructure required by BEV or fuel cell vehicles is established. As an example
of the aforementioned, let's mention the case of the New York Police Department,
which uses Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles as their patrol cars.

Currently, the infrastructure is better developed for battery electric vehicles. In

January 2012, the first fast-charging station for battery electric vehicles was opened
in Maribor (Praper, 2012). With the introduction of charging points, there has been
an increase in the use of battery electric vehicles, which are mainly used by electricity
distribution companies for promotional activities (Avtovizije, 2014). At present, there
are over 150 charging points for electric vehicles in Slovenia; however, the number
of charging points is still lower than that proposed by the EU Commission (Elektro
crpalke, 2014; Gregorcic & Slovenian Press Agency, 2013; Polni.si, 2014).

Potential electric vehicle buyers can apply to an Eco Fund for financial subsidies
and loan schemes to help with their purchase. The Eco Fund approves loans for
electric vehicles if its emissions do not exceed a predetermined level. These loans
are intended specifically for hybrid vehicles, as they do not exceed the strict rules
governing emissions (Fale, 2014). Since 2011, the general public and companies
have had the chance to receive financial grants for the purchase of electric vehicles
that meet predetermined criteria or for customizing any vehicle into an electric one
in compliance with the relevant criteria (Eco Fund, 2013c; Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia, 2011). Grants are available only for battery electric vehicles
and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Unfortunately, these grants remain rather unexploited
(Purgar, 2012), as the share of electric vehicles is still relatively low.

The Eco Fund also gives grants to transport companies for the conversion of buses
to biogas or compressed natural gas. In 2012, there were no applicants, so no grants
were approved or given (Eco Fund, 2013c).

The question must be asked as to whether the public is properly informed about the
possibility of receiving grants to purchase electric vehicles (Krause, Carley, Lane, &
Graham, 2013). Moreover, Hackbarth and Madlener (2013) revealed that households
are willing to pay considerable amounts for greater fuel economy and emission
reduction, improved driving range and charging infrastructure and for enjoying
vehicle tax exemptions and free parking or bus lane access. However, they are usually
insufficiently informed about the public incentives and policies promoting electric
vehicles. The possibility of companies receiving grants for electric vehicles can also be
very important for their promotion, particularly in large and well-known companies.

Besides the government, which operates electric vehicle promotion policies, local
authorities also play a key role, as they are an important partner in international
projects, carrying out demonstration projects and adopting goals concerning the
introduction of electric vehicles into everyday use (Civitas Elan, 2010; Klajnscak,
2014). The City Municipality of Ljubljana has adopted an electromobility plan in
which there are clearly determined measures to encourage the use of electric vehicles
in the city (Razpotnik, Loose, Jazbinsek Srsen, Simonovic, & Klancar, 2013). Car
dealers, who represent car manufacturers, often do not take part in policies for
promoting the use of electric vehicles. Even when they organize special offers for
replacing old vehicles with new, cleaner vehicles, a problem arises, as most of the
car dealers behind such offers do not sell electric vehicles (Car Dealership Real, 2014;
Gregorcic, 2013a).

Past and present electric vehicle promotion policies were adopted as a result of
cooperation between public and private institutions, e.g. research institutes and car
industry representatives. For this purpose, electric vehicle development strategies
were drawn up; financial grant schemes were accepted alongside with other mea-
sures and activities. Review of these measures and activities is presented on Table
6.2.1.
Table 6.2.1. Presentation of activities and measures for promoting the use of electric
vehicles in Slovenia

Activity/measure Description Type of included Competent au- Interesting details

and its time span electric vehicle thority
Loan scheme Citizens and legal Hybrid vehicles, Eco Fund of the In 2009, a new
(available since entities can ask for Battery electric Republic of Slove- criterion for ap-
2004) a loan to buy elec- vehicles (since nia proving loans came
tric vehicle, which 2009) into force: CO2 lev-
price does not ex- els of electric vehi-
ceed € 40,000 cles cannot exceed
120 g/km (from
2010, 110 g/km);
Legal entities were
included in loan
scheme in 2007
Promotional event In these events, All electric vehicles Various organiza- In 2010, event
CEVELJ the public was on the market tions changed its name
(2007−2010, presented with from CEVELJ into
2012−2013; technology of ECOmeet
annual events) electric vehicles,
electric vehicles
made by car man-
ufacturers (cars
that could actually
be bought at that
time) and electric
vehicles converted
by individuals
Taxation of vehi- Tax rate of ve- All electric vehicles Financial Admin- The lowest tax rate
cles (adopted in hicles depends of on the market istration of the is 0.5% for petrol
2009 by Govern- CO2 emissions of Republic of Slove- or LPG vehicles
ment of the Re- these vehicles (the nia with CO2 emis-
public of Slovenia; higher the CO- sions 110 g/km
came into force in 2 emissions are, or under and the
2010) higher the tax rate highest tax rate is
is); Tax rates are 31% for diesel ve-
also depended on hicles with CO-
the type of in- 2 emissions over
ternal combustion 250 g/km
engine (diesel en-
gines have higher
tax rate than petrol
engines if the CO-
2 levels are in the
same tax class)
Financial subsi- Citizens and legal Battery electric Eco Fund of the Until 2014 price
dies (available since entities can ask for vehicles, plug-in Republic of Slove- of electric vehi-
2011) a financial subsidy hybrid vehicles nia cle had to be un-
to buy electric ve- der € 50,000 (VAT
hicle or to convert included) if citi-
vehicle into elec- zens or legal enti-
tric vehicle; Total ties wanted to re-
sum of money for ceive financial sub-
financial subsidies sidy; In 2014, there
is € 500,000 per has been a slight
year (€ 200,000 change in the
for citizens and € amount of financ-
300,000 for legal ial subsidies for
entities); Amount vehicles because of
of financial subsi- the new EU regula-
dies is dependent tion
on type of elec-
tric vehicle and
on class of the
vehicle; The low-
est financial sub-
sidy is € 1000
and the highest is
 € 5000; In 2014,
financial subsidy
for battery elec-
tric automobile is
€ 5000, for plug-in
electric automo-
bile € 3000 and for
converting auto-
mobile into elec-
tric automobile €
5000; There are
several conditions
that citizens or le-
gal entities need
to comply with in
order to receive
and keep subsidy

Additionally, international project cooperation between public and private sector was
also established on this basis. These projects were mainly focused in research and
development and cooperation of different EU member states with private sector.
Review of Slovenian international project cooperation is presented on Table 6.2.2.

Table 6.2.2. Presentation of Slovenia's involvement in international projects under

the umbrella of EU

Project title Time span Field of re- Type of Share of Role of Type of
search included funds, con- Slovenia organiza-
electric tributed by tion from
vehicle EU Slovenia
(public/pri-
vate)
MAG−DRIVE From Oct. Propulsion Battery 71.3% Coordina- Public and
2010 to Sep. system electric tor country private orga-
2016 vehicles nization
SMARTV2G From Jun. Charging of Battery 76.8% Participant Private orga-
2011 to May electric ve- electric country nizations
2014 hicles vehicles,
Plug−in
hybrid
vehicles
EUROLIION From Feb. Propulsion Battery 71.5% Participant Public orga-
2011 to Jan. system electric country nization
2015 vehicles
CAPIRE From Dec. Identifying Electric ve- 78.9% Participant Private orga-
2010 to Nov. obstacles hicles in country nization
2014 for general
introduc-
tion of
electric
vehicles
HYSYS From Dec. Propulsion Fuel cell ve- 50.6% Participant Public orga-
2005 to Nov. system hicles country nization
2010

Adapted from European Commission: CORDIS (2011). SMARTV2G. Avail-

able from: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/99306_en.html Accessed 25.06.14;
European Commission: CORDIS (2013a). EUROLIION. Available from:
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/109414_en.html Accessed 25.06.14; Eu-
ropean Commission: CORDIS (2013b). MAG−DRIVE. Available from:
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/110008_en.html Accessed 25.06.14; Euro-
pean Commission: CORDIS (2013b). HYSYS. Available from: http://cordis.eu-
ropa.eu/project/rcn/78586_en.html Accessed 25.06.14; European Com-
mission: CORDIS (2014). CAPIRE. Available from: http://cordis.eu-
ropa.eu/projects/rcn/96977_en.html Accessed 25.06.14; Fale, M. (2014). Review of
policies for promoting the use of electric vehicles. Celje, VII, 83 (in Slovenian
language).

While the participating partners have defended the success of these activities, the
real effects are seen through electric vehicle sales, which have not met the predictions
made by car sale companies (Gregorcic, 2011b). The first electric vehicles, which were
actually customized vehicles, were registered for the first time in 1993. However, a
growth in the number of electric vehicles registered for the first time has been seen
only since 2004. The number of first-time registered electric vehicles in Slovenia is
presented in Fig. 6.2.2. As is evident from the graph, most of the registered electric
vehicles are HEV. BEV started to appear in 2011, and there are still no fuel cell
vehicles in Slovenia (Portal NIO, 2012).

Fig. 6.2.2. Number of electric vehicles (category: automobiles), registered for

the first time in Slovenia (per year).Adapted from Portal NIO (2012). First reg-
istered vehicles in 2012, by month. Available from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/pr-
vic+registrirana+vozila+v+letu+2012+po+mesecih Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian
language; Portal NIO (2013). First registered vehicles in 2013, by month. Available
from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/prvic+registrirana+vozila+v+letu+2013+po+mesecih
Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian language; Portal NIO (2014). First registered ve-
hicles in 2014, by month. Available from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/prvic+registri-
rana+vozila+v+letu+2014+po+mesecih Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian language;
Fale, M. (2014). Review of policies for promoting the use of electric vehicles. Celje,
VII, 83 (in Slovenian language).
If the share of electric vehicles out of all the vehicles registered for the first time
in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, and Great Britain, as presented in Fig. 6.2.3, is
compared, a huge difference can be noted.

Fig. 6.2.3. Share of electric vehicles in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, and

Great Britain (category: automobiles; per year, in %).Adapted from Por-
tal NIO (2012). First registered vehicles in 2012, by month. Available
from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/prvic+registrirana+vozila+v+letu+2012+po+mesecih
Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian language; Portal NIO (2013). First registered
vehicles in 2013, by month. Available from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/prvic+reg-
istrirana+vozila+v+letu+2013+po+mesecih Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian lan-
guage; Portal NIO (2014). First registered vehicles in 2014, by month. Available
from: http://nio.gov.si/nio/data/prvic+registrirana+vozila+v+letu+2014+po+mesecih
Accessed 17.03.14 in Slovenian language; Statistik Austria (2014). Kraft-
fahrzeuge-Neuzulassungen. Available from: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/sta-
tistiken/verkehr/strasse/kraftfahrzeuge-_neuzulassungen/index.html Accessed
06.05.14; KBA Umwelt. (2004). Umwelt—Zeitreiche 2004. Avail-
able from: http://www.kba.de/cln_031/nn_191064/DE/Statistik/Fahrzeuge/Neuzu-
lassungen/Umwelt/n__umwelt__z__teil__1.html Accessed 06.05.14; KBA
Umwelt. (2013). Umwelt—Zeitreiche 2005 bis 2013. Available
from: http://www.kba.de/cln_031/nn_191064/DE/Statistik/Fahrzeuge/Neuzulas-
sungen/Umwelt/n__umwelt__z__teil__2.html Accessed 06.05.14; Statistical data
sets GOV.UK (2014). Table VEH0130. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/gov-
ernment/statistical-data-sets/veh01-vehicles-registered-for-the-first-time Accessed
06.05.14; Fale, M. (2014). Review of policies for promoting the use of electric
vehicles. Celje, VII, 83 (in Slovenian language).

The share of electric vehicles in Slovenia per year does not reach the shares of
electric vehicles in other countries where electric vehicle promotion policies are
being implemented. The share of electric vehicles in 2013 in Austria, Germany, and
Great Britain was more than three times higher than in Slovenia, which means that
Slovenian policy is insufficiently promoting electric vehicles and that the policy is
not motivating enough to increase electric vehicle demand.
> Read full chapter

Energy Management Systems for Hy-

brid AC/DC Microgrids
Moein Manbachi, in Operation of Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Distribu-
tion Networks, 2018

13.10 Isolated AC/DC Microgrid Case Study [14]

In this part, a modified 33-node distribution system [16] is applied for the case
study. This AC/DC microgrid includes a DC microgrid at one of its feeders and a
bidirectional inverter which is located between the AC microgrid and DC microgrid
(node-2 and node-19). It is possible to consider this grid as an isolated microgrid
or an AC/DC microgrid in an islanded mode considering the fact that typical iso-
lated microgrids have sufficient generation to supply loads during peaks. Fig.
13.14 presents case study SLD and Table 13.10 gives AC/DC microgrid general
information. Fig. 13.14 illustrates locations of control actuators such as onload tap
changer of transformer (OLTC), voltage regulator (VR), BESS, capacitor banks (CBs),
EV charging stations, bidirectional inverter, and AC/DC generating sources. The AC
microgrid in this system is comprised of 3 MW natural gas engine generator that
is connected to a low voltage grid by a 3750 kVA MV/LV transformer. The AC grid
includes various types of components, such as electric vehicle level 1 and level 2
chargers, a BESS, an OLTC with 32 tap steps, a VR with 16 tap steps, and CBs. The DC
microgrid has different generating units and loads such as a PV, a wind turbine, a DC
fast charger, a BESS, an integrated LED system that supplies lighting for a parking
lot and a neighbor building, and a DC load [14]. Fig. 13.15 shows DC microgrid’s
generating power and loads captured from smart meters in quasi real-times (every
15mins) for a whole day, and Fig. 13.16 gives maximum generation limit and daily
load profile of the AC grid for 96-time intervals of the targeted day collected by the
AMI.

Figure 13.14. Case study: 33-node islanded AC/DC microgrid [14].

Table 13.10. General information of hybrid AC/DC microgrid [14]

AC Microgrid DC Microgrid Bidirectional Inverter/DC-DC

Power Converters
DG + diesel 3000 kW+- PV 250 kW Capacity 280 kW
1000 kW
BESS 4000 kWh Wind 100 kW Efficiency 97 (%)
Average load 2553 kW BESS 500 kWh PV 700/380-
VDC
Charging sta- Node: Fast charger 0-50 kW BESS 2*125 kW
tions 10-17-24-30 DC/DC
CBs 0-250 kVAr LED 3.8728 kW Charger/- 380/380 VDC
DC Load
OLTC/VR 32/16 DC Load 89.5562 kW LEDs 24/380 VDC
Tap-
0.95-1.05 
P.U

Figure 13.15. DC microgrid active power generations and consumptions for 96-time
intervals [14].

Figure 13.16. AC microgrid maximum generation limit and load profile for 96
operating time intervals [14].
The reason for using 96-time intervals a day lies in a fact that most AMI data,
especially in North America, are collected every 15 min from the smart meters using
data collectors.

PV generation, DC fast charging station data and DC load data are captured by the
AMI [17] for a whole day. For wind power generation, data of the same day reported in
[18] is used in this study. ZIP coefficients from [19] are applied for LED aggregated
load. Various types of ZIP coefficients are introduced and explained in [20] for
various types of electric vehicles in different scenarios. To find ZIP coefficients for
level 1 and 2 charging stations, this study calculates the average ZIP values of all four
scenarios explained in [20]. For normal operating condition of the AC loads, the ZIP
coefficients in [21] are applied. Table 13.11 represents ZIP coefficients used in
this case study. Moreover, Table 13.12 depicts hourly electricity prices of the studied
day taken from [14].

Table 13.11. ZIP coefficients of AC/DC Microgrid [14,20,22]

Coefficients: Z I P
AC microgrid loads 0.418 0.135 0.447
AC EV charging stations 0.16 0.26 0.58
DC microgrid loads 0.1 0.65 0.25

Table 13.12. Hourly electricity price of AC/DC microgrid [14]

Hour Price (¢/kWh) Hour Price (¢/kWh) Hour Price (¢/kWh)

1 6.61 9 24.48 17 26.14
2 5.53 10 24.58 18 43.39
3 6.06 11 24.18 19 31.27
4 9.5 12 27.54 20 24
5 14.84 13 25.04 21 22.41
6 18.58 14 27.45 22 21.49
7 23.16 15 25.01 23 21.47
8 24.72 16 25.02 24 20.54

13.10.1 Islanded AC/DC Microgrid Case Study Results

In this part, the proposed energy management solution is utilized to obtain AC/DC
microgrid optimal operation in islanded mode using explained objective functions
and constraints. Proposed energy management engine programmed in MATLAB
and AC/DC backward-forward sweep (BFS) technique is used for the power flow.
Optimization algorithm setting parameters and final results of the optimization en-
gine can be found in [14]. Fig. 13.17 shows hybrid AC/DC microgrid dispatch results
for different time intervals of the studied day. Accordingly, Fig. 13.18 demonstrates
how EMS performed to charge/discharge BESS in AC and DC grids and Fig. 13.19
presents AC to DC and DC to AC conversions using proposed EMS.

Figure 13.17. Hybrid AC/DC microgrid dispatch results for quasi real-time intervals.

Figure 13.18. Charge/discharge of batteries in AC and DC microgrids.

Figure 13.19. AC to DC and DC to AC conversions, resulted from proposed hybrid

AC/DC EMS.

Fig. 13.20 depicts how performing VVO in the AC/DC microgrid decreased power
grid losses. Fig. 13.21 proves the fact that all AC/DC microgrid nodes are within the
ANSI-band (0.95-1.05 P.U.). Finally, Table 13.13 gives islanded AC/DC microgrid case
study results.
Figure 13.20. VVO impact on AC/DC microgrid active power loss minimization.

Figure 13.21. Node voltages of the hybrid AC/DC microgrid case study.

Table 13.13. Proposed energy management engine result summary

Summary of Results Before EMS After EMS

Average losses 2735.59 kW 2528.12 kW
Average AC grid VVOAver- 0 kW0 kW 55.638 kW1.407 kW
age DC grid VVO
GHG reduction (%) 0 3.23(%)
Total AC2DC 0 kW 1201.66 kW
Total DC2AC 0 kW 412.19 kW
ENS AC 18258.91 2667.41 (KWh*24, i.e., for a
whole day)
ENS DC 911.64 213.81 (KWh*24, i.e., for a whole
day)
Reliability improvement 0 16287.78
Objective function improve- (Non-optimized) 18. 05 (Optimized)
ment (%)

13.10.2 Result Analysis and Discussions

In order to assess how proposed energy management solution could optimize
AC/DC microgrid performance, it is necessary to classify operating time intervals
into four main scenarios: total generation in both AC and DC microgrids is greater
than total AC and DC loads (case1), total DC generation is greater than total DC
load, but total AC generation is lower than total AC load (case2), total AC generation
is greater than total AC load, but total DC generation is lower than total DC load
(case 3) and both total AC and DC generations are lower than total AC and DC loads
(case4).
Now, it is conceivable to analyze proposed EMS solution results in grid operating
time intervals:

1. From time interval-1 to time interval-13 (case 1):During this time interval, both
AC and DC microgrids have extra generation. Hence, both microgrids charge
their BESS that provides the system with lesser cost. The energy management
engine primarily charges the BESS at the AC side. AC grid can charge the BESS
at the DC side as it has extra power generation.
2. From time interval14 to time interval35 (case 3):In this time interval, BESS in
DC microgrid should be discharged to supply demand. The AC grid has extra
power generation to supply the first part of this period. So, proposed EMS
discharged DC BESS at the end of this time interval.
3. From time interval 36 to time interval 39 (case4):Here, the AC grid cannot be
discharged (because of high operating cost). The reason lies in the fact that the
system operator already knows that the grid needs BESS power for peak time
intervals. The BESS at DC microgrid discharges in this period but, it uses VVO
to save the energy consumption and keep BESS charge a bit more.
4. From time interval 40 to time interval 63 (case 2):Here, the AC microgrid
cannot discharge as well (because of the same reason). VVO at the AC micro-
grid decreases load curtailment. Moreover, DC with extra generation enables
supplying a part of AC consumption. Consequently, BESS at DC microgrid
should be charged. Thus, proposed algorithm charges DC BESS in times with
cheaper electricity price and lower grid operating costs.
5. From time interval 64 to time interval 83 (case 4):AC microgrid peak takes
place during this period. Therefore, the BESS of the AC microgrid discharges
during peak when power price is high but, in order to decrease the amount
of discharge and extend discharge time intervals, VVO performs at both
AC/DC sides. DC BESS should be discharged as well. As such, proposed EMS
discharges DC BESS when overall DC microgrid cost is at its highest rate. To
reduce the amount of discharge and reduce DC load shedding VVO at DC side
is performed as well.In brief, proposed EMS method has a lower operating cost
compared with conventional EMS solutions, as it creates its objective function
using precise cost functions.
6. From time interval 84 to time interval 96 (case 3):At this time period, the AC
microgrid is able to charge its BESS and transfer its extra generation to the DC
microgrid if required. BESS in DC side cannot discharge, as it has discharged
during peak time intervals. Thus, DC grid requires AC microgrid power. Hence,
proposed EMS performs VVO at DC side first and then try to supply the rest of
needed power from the AC grid. The operating cost of performing VVO at DC
side is low enough so that proposed EMS performs VVO to primarily minimize
losses and then supplies required power from the AC grid.
 As a result, proposed energy management system solution could optimize AC/DC
microgrid operation using an effective AMI-based method. By evaluating case study
results (Table 13.13), it can be concluded that the proposed EMS solution could
optimize the grid 18% more than using conventional EMS. The greatest impact
of performing such an energy management solution that utilizes loss reduction
is that it minimizes energy not supplied (ENS) and GHG emissions. In addition,
by using precise load models and receiving AMI data, the proposed solution could
elevate system precision, especially in control commands that the AC/DC microgrid
should enforce to control components every 15 min. In short, the main impacts of
the proposed EMS solution include but are not limited to optimizing the AC/DC
power transfer, minimizing operating costs of the grid, minimizing GHG emission,
minimizing energy not supplied, minimizing grid losses, and saving consumers’
energy.

> Read full chapter

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