A significant demonstration of electric vehicles at a charging station interacting with smart grid protocols was just made, showing significant vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities.
First – it’s talking about a new DC fast charging station that uses the SAE Combo Charging system a.k.a. SAE DC Fast charge. This is the newer charging standard developed by the SAE J1772 committee and may (or may not) eventually supplant CHAdeMO. See EV Fast Charging, whether standardized or not
(greentransportation.info) for more information.
Second – This is a major demonstration of smart grid bidirectional capabilities. They talk about showing off both 60 kilowatt charge and discharge capability through the charging station. That’s a bit geeky, so let’s explain.
One of the dreams the powers-that-be have for the role of electric vehicles is for the aggregate of all EV’s to form a gigantic grid connected energy storage system. When electric vehicles are fully deployed there will be many gigawatt-hours of battery packs produced every year, with perhaps terawatt-hours of battery packs (or more) existing in the car fleet at any one time. Modern society needs energy storage systems to help with grid reliability, and especially to help with accommodating the intermittent nature of wind or solar power on the grid.
A part of the design of the SAE Combo Charging system is that it uses smart grid protocols between charging station and the car. This distinguishes it from the CHAdeMO system which uses CANBUS protocols instead.
The idea is for an electric car connected to a charging station to – depending on signals from the grid operator – to soak up electricity (say, if there’s too much electricity on the grid) – to ramp down the charging rate (say, if the grid doesn’t have enough electricity) – or to send electricity to the grid (again, if the grid doesn’t have enough electricity).
It’s more useful to the grid operator if an EV can provide a LOT of electricity to the grid when needed. Like, say, 60 kilowatts. That’s more useful than if the car can provide only 6 kilowatts.
Hence – this demonstration is very important for being a demonstration of a vehicle providing electricity to the grid, and providing a significant amount of electricity.
IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE
Electric Truck Manufacturer Boulder Electric Vehicle Successfully Demonstrates Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Charging Across the Nation
September 11, 2013 – Boulder Electric Vehicle has successfully demonstrated their Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) all electric trucks in three separate locations including Michigan, Colorado and California. The first full powered success transpired in Royal Oak, Michigan, on June 14, 2013. With 60 kilowatts of power going in and coming out of the vehicles, Boulder EV reached a new milestone and became the first EV truck manufacturer in the world to successfully demonstrate V2G bi-directional charging. “This first success happened in the labs of our EVSE partner Coritech Services. When we finally saw the power going in and coming out at the maximum allowable amounts as per the J1772 DC Combo connector spec, we were all as giddy as school kids,” said Boulder EV CEO Carter Brown.
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About Boulder Electric Vehicle
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Sponsored |
Boulder Electric Vehicle is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of viable medium and heavy duty electric trucks and vans. Currently manufacturing two models, the 500 Series and 1000 Series, these class 4 and class 5 vehicles have been successfully deployed with numerous fleets, all of whom are now realizing the economic and environmental benefits of going green with Boulder Electric Vehicle.
About Coritech Services Inc
Coritech Services has been providing integration solutions for over a decade. Our manufacturing and industrial plant integration experience, combined with our group of highly skilled professionals, position Coritech Services as an industry leader in system integration. We provide a complete turnkey project with all departments in-house, allowing us to maintain exceptional quality from start to finish.
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