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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2

Scalability and Effectiveness of Smart Charge Management

The rise in electric vehicle (EV) adoption presents growing challenges for power grids, particularly from simultaneous residential charging, which can cause voltage fluctuations and increase feeder peak loads. Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, initiated a pilot program to evaluate managed residential EV charging through Smart Charge Management (SCM). This study analyzes real-world charging behavior data from the pilot and feeder-level base loads from BGE to simulate residential charging scenarios through 2035 across the Washington, DC–Baltimore region. Grid impacts under unmanaged charging are compared to three SCM strategies: TOU-immediate, TOU-distributed, and Load Balancing. Results show that the magnitude of peak reduction is highly feeder-dependent. Some feeders achieve reductions of more than 40% at high enrollment levels, while others show improvements closer to 10–15%. This heterogeneity reflects differences in baseline feeder load shapes, EV penetration, and plug-in behavior across customers. Results also highlight trade-offs between shifting load away from peak periods and minimizing secondary demand peaks, offering practical insights for future utility program design.

Electric vehicle↗

evmc-supply-curves (Electric Vehicle Managed Charging Supply Curves) [SWR-25-69]

Data and a supporting lightweight Python package that describes possible costs for enabling EV managed charging from 2025 to 2050 for three dispatch mechanisms: Time-of-Use (TOU), Real Time Pricing (RTP), and direct load control (DLC) and four flexibility scenarios (Flat and Low, Mid, and High Flex).

Matsuda-Dunn, Reiko [National Renewable Energy Lab↗

Electric Vehicle Managed Charging: Forward-Looking Estimates of Bulk Power System Value

When and where electric vehicle charging occurs has significant implications for power systems supporting widespread electric vehicle deployment with high shares of wind and solar generation. Numerous studies have estimated the value of scheduling or otherwise managing electric vehicle charging in such power systems. This study improves on those earlier works by leveraging detailed simulation models for electric vehicle adoption, electric vehicle use, electric vehicle charging, and bulk power system operations; and linking them with methods for describing charging flexibility at both the individual vehicle and aggregate levels. This study closely analyzes electric vehicle managed charging (EVMC) performance along the dimensions of flexibility type (within-charging session or within-week scheduling), dispatch mechanism (direct load control or one of several price-based mechanisms), and participation rate, under the assumptions of ubiquitous chargers and all trips completed on time. The study is located in a passenger light-duty vehicle adoption scenario with 100% electric vehicle sales by 2035, and in an envisioned 2038 New England power system for which within-region generation is 84% clean.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Response Characterization for Grid Integration: Implications for Smart Charge Management

The rapid expansion of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has created a unique challenge for electrical grids due to their significant power demand. At the same time, PEVs also create a unique opportunity to ease their own burden on the power grid, as they create a growing fleet of distributed energy resources capable of providing grid services such as demand response, frequency regulation, and renewable balancing. For aggregators and grid operators to effectively integrate PEVs into grid management, it is essential to first understand and characterize how they would respond in such situations. This study examines 25 models of PEVs across 25 makes, spanning model years from 2013 to 2025, to characterize their responses to the basic controls used in vehicle-grid integration (VGI): stopping, starting, and modulating the charge rate. Each vehicle was tested in a controlled laboratory setting to evaluate its performance in response to varying the maximum allowable current via the SAE J1772 control pilot signal, as well as its response to wake-up commands outlined in SAE J1772. Results show measurable differences across vehicle makes in the accuracy, latency, and precision with which PEVs respond to changes in ampacity, as well as varying sleep and wake-up behavior. The test results show that all vehicles respond to changes in ampacity, though with varying accuracy, precision, latency, and resolution. Wake-up behavior also differs across makes and models. These findings indicate that effective grid integration strategies must account for these differences. The results provide a foundation for understanding current vehicle behavior and advancing smart-charging methods while also highlighting the need for further testing, broader standardization, and manufacturer collaboration to ensure the successful integration of PEVs into the electrical grid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Charging-management And Infrastructure-planning (cmip) Model

CMIP model explores various charging infrastructure network designs to serve a free-floating car-sharing fleet and determine the charging downtime experienced by the fleet for each design. Development of the CMIP model had two major steps: (1) describing modeling assumptions and (2) developing an integer program (IP) that jointly optimizes decisions about locations to install DC fast chargers and EV-to-charger assignments. The CMIP model integrates an EV charging model, EV energy consumption model, and heterogeneous, real-world vehicle use data with an integer programming optimization model to identify optimal location of new charging stations and calculate vehicle downtime for charging. The CMIP model can be applied to understand: (a) the reduction of EV fleet downtime if an additional fast-charging station is added to the current infrastructure and (b) to what extent total vehicle downtime would be sensitive to additional charging infrastructure.

Roni, MohammadS↗

A framework for integrated dispatching and charging management of an autonomous electric vehicle ride-hailing fleet

The convergence of electrification and automated driving will introduce opportunities to improve the operation and energy-efficiency of transportation systems. This paper discusses the challenges of dispatching autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs) in a ride-hailing fleet and their interactions with charging infrastructure. An integrated decision-making framework for dispatching and charging has been proposed using system optimization approaches. An agent-based platform has been developed for simulating and testing the proposed methods. A case study using New York City taxi data has been performed with different fleet sizes, dispatching strategies, and charging networks. Advantages of optimization-based approaches for AEV fleet management have been studied and demonstrated, for example, for a fleet of 1,750 AEVs to meet 100,000 daily requests, optimization-based centralized fleet management would result in 14% more ride requests satisfied and 43% fewer zero-occupancy miles traveled than if AEVs make independent decisions based on heuristic strategy. Benefits on reducing fleet size and charging downtime from optimization approaches are also comprehensively illustrated.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Integrated Dispatching and Charging Management of an Autonomous Electric Vehicle Ride-Hailing Fleet

Electrification and autonomous driving are two important trends in transportation systems. The convergence of these two technologies will introduce opportunities to improve transportation systems' operation and energy efficiency. One potential application is the commercial ride-hailing fleet with autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs). In order to harvest promising benefits from introducing AEVs into ride-hailing fleets, some unavoidable challenges will need to be resolved to ensure the fleets operates functionally and efficiently. This paper discusses the challenges of dispatching AEVs and their interactions with charging infrastructure. An integrated decision making framework for dispatching and charging has been designed using a system optimization approach to study the AEVs' management within the period when they drop off passengers and pick up the next passengers. Its potential fleet-wide benefits have been illustrated by comparing operations under a heuristic approach. A simulation platform has been designed to test different decision making strategies for the ride-hailing AEV fleets operational performance. Using this platform, detailed case studies have been performed with different fleet sizes, dispatching strategies, and charging infrastructure network settings. Comprehensive analyses from various aspects have been conducted to understand the AEVs' fleet operation performance, (e.g., zero occupancy vehicle miles traveled, successfully served ratio of ride-hailing requests, fleet vehicle charging downtime, and charging infrastructure utilization). Results have provided a deep understandings on operation's dynamics under various fleet system configurations and also have demonstrated advantages of the optimization-based approach for the AEV fleet management. Studies in this paper inform better designs on the future of sophisticated management strategies and charging infrastructure to support ride-hailing AEV fleet operation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Electric Vehicle Charging Management in Smart Energy Communities to Increase Renewable Energy Hosting Capacity

Abnormal climates due to global warming have emerged as a big concern in the global community. To mitigate climate change and achieve sustainability, distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar and wind, have been recently deployed in power systems. As the penetration level of DERs has increased, however, it caused a multitude of issues in the power systems, such as voltage fluctuation in the distribution network limiting renewable hosting capacity. On the other hand, the electric vehicle (EV) industry is rapidly growing to facilitate the transition to a carbon-neutral community, illuminating the potential of EVs as a flexible grid asset to mitigate some of the issues and improve grid operation, if properly exploited. To explore the potential of EVs, this paper proposes an EV scheduling strategy. By using an optimal EV charging scheduling proposed, distribution system operators (DSOs) can minimize their operating costs and stably operate the system with a high level of DERs. To validate the method, a modified IEEE 33-bus system with DERs is developed. The case study shows the proposed scheduling strategizes EV charging to reduce the cost of PV curtailment. In the study, the method outperforms the renewable-only case with curtailment by 4.97% in DSO cost. It also demonstrates its potential to increase the renewable hosting capacity by harmonizing EV charging with renewables.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,POWER TRANSMISSION AND↗

Demonstration of Utility Managed Smart Charging for Multiple Benefit Streams (Final Report)

In the summer of 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded funding to Exelon’s Maryland utilities—Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Delmarva Power & Light (DPL), and Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco)—to implement the Smart Charge Management (SCM) pilot. This initiative aimed to design and implement managed electric vehicle (EV) charging strategies, evaluate the grid impacts of EV charging, and assess the utilities' ability to control EV load based on real-time grid conditions. The SCM pilot explored four aspects for continued improvement: (1) cybersecurity and managed charging functionality testing of two vendor platforms—WeaveGrid (telematics-based) and Shell Recharge Solutions (network-based)—which pursued charge scheduling and optimization through distinct approaches; (2) an analysis by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) modeling team of three potential SCM enrollment scenarios within BGE and Pepco service territories over the next decade to assess future scalability; (3) employing customer engagement strategies, including surveys and a responsive pricing approach; and (4) the launch and implementation of pilots in Exelon’s Maryland territories in collaboration with WeaveGrid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Functional Assessment of Shell Recharge Solutions' SKY™ Platform OpenADR Capability

The project’s overall objective is to research, develop, and conduct a wide-scale demonstration of a utility smart charge management (SCM) system to develop optimal managed charging structures for grid value, evaluate the impact of EV charging on local distribution utility operations, and evaluate the utilities’ ability to control electronic vehicle (EV) charging load based on grid conditions. This report covers Argonne’s validation testing in the first period of the project, the objective of which was to determine the current managed charging functionality of the EVSE hardware, the network and the vehicle telematics software solution and understand gaps that need to be addressed prior to a large-scale demonstration.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Optimal charging scheduling and management for a fast-charging battery electric bus system

Herein we discuss how battery electric buses (BEBs) are rapidly being embraced by public transit agencies because of their environmental and economic benefits. To address the problems of limited driving range and time-consuming charging for BEBs, manufacturers have developed rapid on-route charging technology that utilizes typical layovers at terminals to charge buses in operation using high power. With on-route fast-charging, BEBs are as capable as their diesel counterparts in terms of range and operating time. However, on-route fast-charging makes it more challenging to schedule and manage charging events for a BEB system. First, on-route fast-charging may lead to high electricity power demand charges. Second, it may increase electricity energy charges because of charging that occurs during on-peak hours. Without careful charging scheduling and management, on-route fast-charging may significantly increase fuel costs and reduce the economic attractiveness of BEBs. The present study proposes a network modeling framework to optimize the charging scheduling and management for a fast-charging BEB system, effectively minimizing total charging costs. The charging schedule determines when to charge a BEB, while the charging management strategically controls the actual charging power. Charging costs include both electricity demand charges and energy charges. The charging scheduling and management problem is first formulated as a nonlinear nonconvex program with time-continuous variables. A discretizing method and a linear reformulation technique are then adopted to reformulate the model as a linear program, which can be easily solved using off-the-shelf solvers, even for large-scale problems. Finally, the model is demonstrated with extensive numerical studies based on two real-world bus networks. The results demonstrate that the proposed model can effectively determine the optimal charging scheduling and management for a fast-charging BEB system, which carries the potential for use in large-scale real-world bus networks.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Managing Workplace Charging: Argonne National Laboratory’s Reservation-Based Smart EV Charging Platform

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) partnered with Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) to produce a case study on Argonne’s workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging program, designed to optimize employees’ ability to reserve EV chargers and allow Argonne to implement a workplace managed charging solution. Formally known as EVrez, the program offers Argonne’s employees access to more than 50 Level 2 chargers and 4 DC fast chargers (DCFC). Employees must reserve and manage their EV sessions through the EVrez mobile app platform. This report outlines the EVrez program, from inception to maturity, highlighting key learnings and best practices from the Argonne team. As other workplaces seek to offer their own workplace charging offerings, this report highlights foundational steps and considerations.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Evaluating the Impact of Managed EV Charging for Reliable Operation of Bulk Power Systems with High Non-Dispatchable Generation

The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and variable-generation (VG) sources introduces new challenges for power-system operations. This study introduces a modeling framework and evaluates five EV charging strategies under projected 2040 grid conditions in the Evergy service territory with high non-dispatchable generation. Using realistic EV behavior and generation models, their impacts on system peak demand, ramp rate, and reserve capacity are evaluated. Results show that only the peak-avoidance strategy effectively reduces system peak demand, while decentralized strategies-particularly cost based dynamic charging-can exacerbate peaks due to synchronized user behavior. However, ramp-rate minimization strategy significantly reduce the stress on dispatchable generation achieving the lowest maximum absolute ramp rate (MARR) (56.81 MW) and lowest reserve requirement (2.39 GW). In contrast, unmanaged and TOU random strategies increase the stress on dispatchable generation sources with increased MARR and reserve requirements. These findings highlight the importance of coordinated, system-aware managed charging strategies to ensure reliable and affordable grid operation in the presence of EVs and VG sources.

14 - SOLAR ENERGY↗

Depot Charging Schedule Optimization for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Battery-Electric Trucks

Charge management, which lowers charging costs for fleets and prevents straining the electrical grid, is critical to the successful deployment of medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric trucks (MHD BETs). This study introduces an energy demand and cost management framework that optimizes depot charging for MHD BETs by combining an energy consumption machine learning model and a linear program optimization model. The framework considers key factors impacting real-world MHD BET operations, including vehicle and charger configurations, duty cycles, use cases, geographic and climate conditions, operation schedules, and utilities’ time-of-use (TOU) rates and demand charges. The framework was applied to a hypothetical fleet of 100 MHD BETs in California under three different utilities for 365 days, with results compared to unmanaged charging. The optimized charging solution avoided more than 90% of on-peak charging, reduced fleet charging peak load by 64–75%, and lowered fleet energy variable costs by 54–64%. This study concluded that the proposed charge management framework significantly reduces energy costs and peak loads for MHD BET fleets while making recommendations for fleet electrification infrastructure planning and the design of utility TOU rates and demand charges.

Song, Shuhan↗

Flexible Charging to Unify the Grid and Transportation Sectors for EVs at Scale (FUSE)

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption will expand beyond light-duty vehicles charging at lower-power public locations and family residences to include medium- and heavy-duty applications with more powerful charging at public stations and private depots. The Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) and Smart Charge Management (SCM) pillar in EVs@Scale supports multiple projects. The FUSE project is developing and evaluating enabling technologies, charging solutions, and infrastructure design approaches to investigate the intricacies and potential benefits of vehicle grid integration and the application of smart charge management to charging of electric vehicles at scale. This presentation summarizes the findings of this research in 2024.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

EVs@Scale FUSE Fall '24 Deep Dive

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption will expand beyond light-duty vehicles charging at lower-power public locations and family residences to include medium- and heavy-duty applications with more powerful charging at public stations and private depots. The Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) and Smart Charge Management (SCM) pillar in EVs@Scale supports multiple projects. The FUSE project is developing and evaluating enabling technologies, charging solutions, and infrastructure design approaches to investigate the intricacies and potential benefits of vehicle grid integration and the application of smart charge management to charging of electric vehicles at scale. This presentation delves into the technical findings of this research in 2024.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSI↗