via University of Queensland
The University of Queensland has launched a world-first international trial to see if the spare battery capacity in electric vehicles (EV) could be used to support the uptake of renewable energy, support the grid, and potentially power homes in the future.
In a project co-funded by the iMOVE Cooperative Research and an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship, UQ has partnered with analytics platform Teslascope to recruit Tesla owners internationally to take part in the study which will closely look at driving and charging behaviour across the globe.
Dr Jake Whitehead, E-Mobility Research Fellow at UQ, said while EVs are increasingly coming to market with more than 400km driving range, most are only driven less than 50km a day.
“This provides a unique opportunity to leverage this spare energy capacity to absorb renewable energy generated in the middle of the day and overnight, and potentially even export energy to power homes and support the grid in the future using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers,” Dr Whitehead said.
Dr Whitehead said with increasing numbers of electric vehicles globally, many questions are being asked around how this EV technology cannot only deliver the necessary emissions reductions in transport to reach net zero emissions by 2050, but also how they can provide other energy services.
“We have a unique opportunity through this project to better understand EV driving and charging behaviour in different markets, and what are the opportunities to use EVs to provide energy services and generate extra income for owners in the future,” he said.
iMOVE managing director Ian Christensen said transport accounted for about 24% of direct carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion globally, with demand for transport expected to grow significantly in the coming decades.
“Electrification of transport has been identified as one of the major pathways for reducing emissions – and by leveraging EV battery spare capacity and using smart charging technology, excess solar could be absorbed by vehicles parked during the day, and potentially discharged to support the grid during the evening using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) infrastructure,” Mr Christensen said.
“For smart charging infrastructure to deliver these benefits, EV uptake must be significantly increased, and importantly, EV owners must be willing to use their vehicles as ‘batteries-on-wheels’,” he said.
Dr Whitehead said the study aims to initially recruit 500 Tesla owners.
He said the study would use Teslascope’s platform to collect vehicle usage data without any hardware, but by directly pulling data – with owner’s permission – through the vehicle’s API. In exchange for agreeing to participate in study, users will be provided with a free 12-month premium subscription to Teslascope.
Tesla owners can express interest in participating in the trial here: https://teslascope.com/research
For the initial phase of the study, Tesla owners in Australia, the United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Germany and the UK are eligible to apply. As more manufacturers integrate API access into their vehicles, the intention is to expand the program to include other vehicle brands.
All user data will be kept secure and confidential.
“With the support and trust of users we will be able to leverage these learnings to influence government policy – including the rollout of public charging infrastructure. We also aim to use the findings of this research address some of the common misconceptions about how EV owners use their vehicles, and highlight how this technology provides far greater benefits, than risks, to the energy sector,” Dr Whitehead said.
Original Article: Can EV spare battery capacity support the grid?
More from: University of Queensland
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Uptake of renewable energy
- Ram HD With Hydrogen Fuel Cell Coming to the US: Report
A heavy-duty Ram with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain will be a radical high-tech departure from pickup truck norms.
- U.S. Unveils Ambitious Plans to Boost Domestic Lithium Production
The U.S. is investing heavily in lithium production to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles and utility-scale battery storage, though facing challenges from environmentalists and indigenous ...
- Kenya ranks among leading African nations in renewable energy uptake
Kenya is among African countries that are leveraging on renewable energy adoption, only ranking behind Senegal and Morocco. The fifth Global Energy Review Report from think-tank Ember shows that Kenya ...
- Safeguarding rights of energy, oil products user good for economy
While the numbers are impressive, consumer rights must be protected as we aim to fulfil the commitment of a 100 percent clean energy transition by 2030. Embracing a rights-based strategy that ensures ...
- Origin Energy to unveil transition plan funding as investors demand returns
Origin Energy will within weeks unveil how much renewable energy it intends to develop and how it will fund the pipeline, as Australia’s largest energy company moves to demonstrate it can deliver a ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Uptake of renewable energy
[google_news title=”” keyword=”uptake of renewable energy” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Spare battery capacity in electric vehicles
- Electric Car Battery Life: Everything You Need to Know, Including How Long They Last
The battery packs of electric vehicles are quite resilient, with the lithium-ion type used in most modern EVs capable of lasting at least a decade before needing replacement.
- Battery company reveals mass-producible energy storage system with unprecedented capacity — here's the difference it can make
"We are committed to reaching net-zero emissions in our value chain by 2040." Battery company reveals mass-producible energy storage system with unprecedented capacity — here's the difference it can ...
- EV batteries likely to outlive the cars they power
As more Canadians switch to electric, experts and studies show drivers’ concerns over battery degradation are unfounded ...
- Old electric-vehicle batteries can find new purpose — on the grid
An algorithm can monitor the health of retired vehicle batteries used to store surplus power fed into the electrical grid.
- Electric vehicles could be charged in seconds with new batteries
New battery technology could speed up the time it takes to charge electric vehicles ... a possible replacement for the current lithium-ion batteries on the market. Scientists have developed a new coin ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Spare battery capacity in electric vehicles
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nano factory” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]