Akkodis Research Develops Grid-Friendly Bidirectional Charging Solutions for Energy and Transportation Industries

Business Challenges

Grid Stability

The electric mobility and energy markets are facing common challenges. While sector coupling (the increased integration of energy end-use and supply sectors) is still in its initial conceptual phase, eliminating centrally generated control energy increased energy demand and peak loads. Due to the ramp-up of electric mobility, new distributed control mechanisms must be found to guarantee grid stability.

Electric mobility creates new challenges and offers the potential to become an integral part of regulating grid stability. The acceleration of e-mobility is making a vast distributed battery system whose storage capacity can be charged and discharged via bidirectional charging (BDL) energy interface using suitable control. The bundling of the resulting storage capacity creates enormous mobile storage resources and flexibility.

The potential of conventional vehicles' charging infrastructure and digital connect interfaces could be used for a range of network-related system services, such as congestion management.

The current project explores the following core aspects:

• The technical options that can be implemented at the vehicle-charging point/grid operation interfaces;
• The requirements that a battery's long-term use places on the battery management system;
• The extent to which distribution system operators (DSOs) can benefit from the flexibility potential of regenerative electric mobility.

As a project manager across several partners, Akkodis is responsible for the entire project's success. To achieve this, our team requires clear communication and coordination with all parties to ensure that all work packages are completed on time and meet the necessary quality standards.

Connecting the E-Vehicle and the Charging point

In addition to managing the project, Akkodis must drive the development of EVA Charge, a hardware and software solution for communication between an electric vehicle and a charging point. The most widely used standard for charging communication worldwide and in Europe is ISO15118-2 Ed-2014. EvaCharge complies with this standard and is a leading charging communication controller with over 10,000 charging point installations.

Bidirectional charging (BDL), i.e., integrating electric vehicles into the power grid, is a new function defined in the new ISO15118-20 standard and implemented with EVA Charge. The demands placed on the technology are high, as it must enable a seamless and reliable charging process that meets the needs of drivers and energy providers.

Akkodis is also responsible for developing a concept that includes a test vehicle, EVA Charge charging communication, and a dedicated charging station. We must build this concept quickly and set it up for presentation to validate the function and convince potential clients.

The diverse tasks that Akkodis undertakes require relevant skills, know-how, and resources. Careful planning, clear goals, and close cooperation with the partners are essential to overcome these challenges.