How to Build an Electric Car Charging Infrastructure: Smart Grids, Fast Charging and Universal Access
In a slew of announcements this week, a picture of what the future of plug-in vehicle charging might look like is starting to emerge.
The Problem:
There are 54 million garages for the 247 million registered cars in the US, meaning that the majority of cars are parked overnight in parking structures, parking lots or curbside.
As a result, most potential plug-in vehicle consumers do not have an adequate place to charge their vehicles. This problem is even more pronounced in urban areas like San Francisco, where only about 16% of cars are parked in garages overnight and the rest end up curbside or in parking lots.
Also, although the US power grid probably has enough overall capacity to supply energy to a nation of plug-in vehicles, it may not have the ability to charge them when they all plug-in and demand energy at the same time — say 6 pm every weekday.
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The Vision:
Imagine pulling into any old parking spot downtown, plugging your electric car into a box on the curb, running some errands, and coming back ten minutes later to find your car completely charged and your bank account automatically debited for the balance of your electricity use without you having to swipe any cards.
Now imagine you park your plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) overnight on the curb outside your apartment after driving all day. You’ve driven enough that your batteries have stored excess energy from the combustion of a fuel (gas, ethanol, biodiesel, whatever).
As soon as you plug that PHEV in, it communicates to the power grid that it has excess energy. As it turns out, the power grid has a need for that extra energy at the moment you plug your car in. In response your car gives some of its stored energy back to the grid. Your account is then credited for the amount of energy you supplied back to the grid.
Later, in the wee hours of the morning when the energy demand is quite low, the grid tells your car (along with a smallish group of other plug-ins) that it can start charging. Ten minutes later, when your group of cars is done charging, another smallish group of plug-ins is told they can begin their charge cycle. And so on and so forth until all the cars that need to be charged are charged.
If three collaborating companies have their way, this may indeed be what the future looks like.
At the Plug-In 2008 conference hosted in San José, CA, this week, Coulomb Technologies and V2Green announced a partnership to create an intelligent charging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles.
Their partnership will combine Coulomb’s charging station and communications network technology with V2Green’s bi-directional net metering technology to make the complex communications between plug-in cars and the power grid an effortless endeavor for drivers and a boon for the already overloaded grid.
Coulomb and V2Green’s announcement comes on the heels of news earlier in the week that eTec will be working with V2Green to develop a smart power grid charging infrastructure that would adapt to the needs of the power grid and be able to charge electric cars in 10 minutes.
The collaboration between eTec and V2Green is funded by the US Department of Energy and is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of charging electric vehicles quickly using eTec’s proven Minit-Charger system as well as test the benefits and problems associated with net metering of a connected car battery.
Not coincidentally to the site of the Plug-In 2008 conference, the City of San Jose is leading the “charge” on developing infrastructure for plug-in vehicle charging (PDF) and announced a partnership with Coulomb Technologies to provide city residents with smart charging stations located on streetlights, curbside and in parking lots.
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Image Credit: Coulomb Technologies
@Nick,
Wow - great post. We recently wrote this up, but didn’t take the time to come up with an original idea on it. I like the idea of selling off your excess capacity.
@Greg,
Yup, this is infantile. Much more progress will be made before any of this goes into use. Its just great to see people passionate about it.
@John R
Please start commenting on my blog. I really like your energy and feedback…
Many thanks for your efforts
Please read–Americans need to know!!!!!!!!
NHTSA Hearings 8/4/08
I just returned from the NHTSA hearings held today (August 4, 2008) in Washington D.C., regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for NEW Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (CAFÉ) for years 2011-2015.
IMPORTANT FACTS: You will not believe what you are reading.
1) The 414 pages DEIS analysis was based on an average gasoline price of USD $2.16/gallon for 2011-2020. A calculation approved by the NHTSA administrators/managers. Would you believe it???????????
2) The new CAFÉ rules were also established, negotiated and pre-approved by the NHTSA’s management along with the influence of domestic automotive companies and their lobbyists. We have now established fuel standards for 2011-2020 that presently are already met in the rest of the Western world (see below)
As one guest speaker said today “are they on another planet?”
NHTSA “NEW Fuel Standards” (2011-2015) decision:
Automobiles are to achieve 31.2 mpg by 2011 and 35.7 mpg by 2015. Light trucks are to achieve 25 mpg by 2011, and 28.6 mpg by 2015.
The NTHSA is also setting a goal of 35 mpg on average for 2020.
America needs to know:
The European Union is currently establishing standards, with a goal of reaching 48.9 miles per gallon for new passenger vehicles as early as 2012. The current EU standard already requires more than 40 miles per gallon about 15% higher than the U.S. goal set for 12 years from now.
Japan currently has a standard of about 40 miles per gallon. Japan aims to further improve fuel efficiency by 17% by 2015, reaching 46.9 miles per gallon.
China has a current average of slightly under 35 miles per gallon. Chinese fuel standards are on target to reach the government’s goal of 35.8 miles per gallon by 2009. China will not only meet, but exceed, the goal just established by the United States for 2020 — more than a full decade earlier.
Australia is targeting 34.4 miles per gallon by 2010.
Canada is targeting 34.1 miles per gallon by 2010.
Under the current administration, purchasing an electric vehicle is becoming more of a necessity rather than an alternative.
BG Automotive Group, Ltd.
(www.BGelectricCars.com)
54 million go in a garage and the msjority go outside or in a parking structure…
Has anyone addressed what will be done with the dead batteries?
My concern is that we will end up with yet another addition to the waste disposal/hazardous waste challenges we already face. Will we end up with battery dump superfund areas in 50 years?
We really must make sure we are looking at long term solutions, and not create more stupid problems due the short sighted nature of our goals.
Here is an information project on development of recharging infrastructure here in the US http://EVtransPortal.com/cerip.html
with links to existing charging stations, companies providing related products and services, and technology in development.
If you look around suburban or rural areas, you’ll see that there are more than one car for most of those garages. So those 54 million garages may house well over 100 million cars. (Or, if those suburban garages are as full of junk as many are, those garages may be the place in the driveway of which well over 100 million cars are parked.)
Nonetheless, the creation of an electric car infrastructure for urban areas is absolutely essential. One important immediate step would be requiring new parking garages to include a method for distributing electricity throughout the structure. In a lot of cities, one important step to limit the impact of new construction in established neighborhoods has been to require larger buildings to have built-in underground parking. Now is the time to require the new condo building that is going up to build in an electrical access point for each of the parking spots in its underground garage, complete with the ability to submeter each spot.
“Also, although the US power grid probably has enough overall capacity to supply energy to a nation of plug-in vehicles, it may not have the ability to charge them when they all plug-in and demand energy at the same time — say 6 pm every weekday.”
This is the exact problem I’m investigating for my master’s thesis. Anyone have original research I can review?
[...] How to Build an Electric Car Charging Infrastructure [...]
I gotta shed roof fulla solar cells, an exchangeable seta batteries in da shed, and each night when I come home I switch the used batteries for charged ones. If the sun don’t shine I gotta transistor thingy that switches on the juice from the wall, so I got juice in the morning. Gotta new meter installed that charges me less for night-time juice outta da wall - bought another rechargeable battery just for that. Hey! no gas bills! No gas fumes! No noisy engine! I gotta good thing going for around town - now, I take my Mercedes out for the weekend stuff, long distance and all, but its gonna last forever with no around town driving to wear it out! Next I gotta try da train for medium travels and intercity business stuff, and keep da Mercedes for personal pleasure drives only! Cya!