SEST Best Paper Award for Smart Solar Charging research
Best Paper Award
The paper The Impact of Transitioning to Shared Electric Vehicles on Grid Congestion and Management received the Best Paper Award at the international conference on Smart Energy Systems and Technologies (SEST). Nico Brinkel and Wilfried van Sark from Utrecht University and Tarek AlSkaif from Wageningen University & Research wrote the article using data from the project Smart Solar Charging, in which a sustainable energy system on district level is investigated. Utrecht Science Park is one of five living labs where this system is further developed.
Shared electric vehicles have a beneficial effect on the power grid
The study compares the charging profiles of shared electric vehicles and regular electric vehicles. User data indicates that both charging demand peaks and grid congestion decrease substantially when more shared electric vehicles are charging in a grid. Shared vehicles have a higher charging flexibility and can be charged outside of peak moments of high energy demand.
The results point to implementation of more shared electric vehicles to avoid grid congestion problems and to stimulate positive effects of electric vehicles on the electricity grid. Higher integration of shared electric vehicles can lead to a more stable electricity system. One example is delivery of energy from the vehicle back to the grid when energy demand is high. This energy system is being developed in the five living labs of project Smart Solar Charging in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
