RESEARCH PROGRAMME WITHIN THE ECAR IRELAND PROJECT

Transcription

1 RESEARCH PROGRAMME WITHIN THE ECAR IRELAND PROJECT Mr. Senan McGrath Chief Technology Officer ESB ecars Abstract Ireland is one leading countries in the world with regard to the provision of an electrical vehicle charging infrastructure. This has presented many challenges but it has also meant that Ireland is in a favourable position with respect to the limited supply of electric cars. Being at the forefront of developments also creates the need/ opportunity for many diverse research needs. Many projects are multi-partner and receive some funding from the EU programmes such as FP7 and Interreg. Others involve only Irish organisations. The paper focuses on the research projects that are underway and the context in which they arise. It seeks to give an overview of a comprehensive research plan and does not detail results. 1. Introduction The roll-out of a national electric vehicle charging infrastructure places Ireland at the forefront of developments worldwide. Arguments about standards for plug and sockets on the one hand and Fast Charging systems on the other have frozen activity in many countries and indeed among many manufacturers. While this debate had slowed down the Irish roll-out by a couple of months some key decisions made in Ireland and in a small number of other countries may lead to the creation of de facto standards. The infrastructure roll -out is now well underway and electric cars are being sold to customers. 2. Irish National Infrastructure The national plan is to install 1500 AC public charging points across the country. About 500 se will be in the greater Dublin Area but to create a national infrastructure every town with a population of over 1500 people will have at least one public charge point (see Fig 1). Fig 1: Public Charger Locations Fig 2: 3ф 32A Charger (2 outlet) The typical public charger has two outlets and each outlet is capable of providing 3ф 32A (i.e. 22kW). Each socket is Type 2 and Mode 3 safety is standard. This means that the

2 31 st August 1 st University College Cork Proceedings ITRN2011 charge point can supply anything from 16A single phase (3.7kW) to 32A three phase (22kW). For the latest cars it is battery management system that controls the charge and so selects what is acceptable to it. A car that has a three phase on-board system could be recharged (80%) in an hour while a car that can only accept 16A single phase could take 6 hours to get the same charge. These chargers will be located in places where people want to park (on-street, supermarket car parks etc) and will provide drivers with the opportunity to recharge where they park. The Home Chargers are being installed on a dedicated circuit with its own RCD and MCB. They are single phase 16A and use Type 2 Mode 3 sockets. HOME / WORK PUBLIC FAST 6 8 hours AC 1Φ 16A Mode 3 Type 2/ fixed cable 1-6 hours* AC 3Φ 32A Mode 3 Type 2 80% in 20 minutes DC 50kW AC 3Φ 63A Mode 3 fixed cable (Future) Fig 3: Irish Charging Infrastructure Details For those travelling journeys beyond the range of a single charge they need to have an opportunity to recharge within a reasonable time. The best available technology today will allow a battery to be recharged to 80% capacity in about 20 minutes. European and US auto companies have been debating the merits of DC charging but the Japanese have been moving ahead. The Chademo standard (the only one in existence today) was launched in internationally in March 2010 and a European Steering Group was established in December the same year. ESB has been a member of both from the start. Fig 4 Home Charges Fig 5 DC Fast Charger Cashel

3 The Irish plan will see a Fast Charger every 60km between major urban centres. These will be located in places such as petrol stations and will make it possible for an ecar owner to drive to most parts of Ireland. 3. Research Projects In addition to the infrastructure roll-out the ecar Ireland project involves a substantial amount of research needs/ opportunities in many areas. Table 1 gives the range of research activity underway or planned as part overall project. Research Area Electric Vehicle Use Driver Behaviour (driving, parking, charging) Urban Freight Delivery Charging technologies Design of Charging Infrastructure Charging Infrastructure Planning Impact on Electricity Grid IT systems for operation of Public Charging Product/ Service Development Activities Measurement of distances (journey and daily); Parking locations and duration; Energy use Private Cars, Commercial vehicles, Taxis, Buses (future), two-wheelers (future) Driver attitudes (before and after experience) to electric vehicle and charging infrastructure usage Use of small electric vans for inner-city deliveries AC and DC Systems and electrical power levels to be used Electrical characteristics of both on-board and off-board chargers (charging profiles, harmonics etc) Induction Charging Functional Design of charge points for Public, Home and Work place charging Electrical Safety and Protection requirements Macro level planning (how many points and where) Micro level planning (street level planning) Study of Distribution Network impact of increasing penetration of electric vehicles Smart Charging opportunities for Grid services and for increasing use of renewable electricity Charge Point Operation and Management Systems Payment Systems Integration with Electricity Market System Facilitating development of Apps Development working with Irish companies and agencies who are seeking to develop products and services for electric vehicles Table 1: Research Activities associated with ecar Ireland Project 3.1 Green emotion ESB is a core member 42 member Green emotion consortium that won the largest electric vehicle project funded under the EU FP7 initiative. The Irish sub-consortium, which will receive 1.5million in funding, consists of Codema (the City of Dublin Energy Management Agency), Cork City Council, ESB and Trinity College Dublin..

4 31 st August 1 st University College Cork Proceedings ITRN2011 Fig. 6 Green emotion Project Partners Industries: AREVA T&D, Better Place, Bosch, IBM, SAP, Siemens Utilities: Dansk Energy, EDF, Endesa, Enel, ESB, Eurelectric, Iberdrola, RWE, PPC Electric Vehicle Manufacturers: BMW, Daimler, Micro-Vett, Nissan, Renault Municipalities: Barcelona, Bornholm, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Malaga, Malmö, Rome Research Institutions & Universities: Cartif, Cidaut, DTU, ECN, Imperial, IREC, RSE, TCD, TECNALIA EV Technology Institutions: DTI, FKA, TÜV Nord This project involves coordinating the demonstration activity already planned in 10 European locations, collating hard data in a standard manner from in-vehicle data loggers, charge points and drivers through surveys. Softer data on what activities by municipalities and others have helped or hindered the deployment of electrification of road transport is also a feature. Roaming and Interoperability are key elements project and the standardisation of ID systems, clearing houses and IT systems etc are all part project. In addition newer technology such as fast charging, induction charging and Battery Swop systems will be developed by some partners and trialled in some demonstration regions. Customer Behaviour, Energy efficiency economic and environmental analysis will be done by such leading European universities such as Imperial College London, Trinity College Dublin and the Danish Technical University. ESB will lead a number of specific tasks Co-ordinating all field trials for electric fleets in all demonstration regions commercial and utility vehicles, buses, taxis and two-wheeled vehicles. Study of practices for installation and electrical connection of charging infrastructure to the electricity systems and recommendations for the future Field testing of newer charging systems such as induction and more advanced fast charging that will be developed by other partners Co-ordination of all special events across Europe on dissemination of project activity Cork City Council will lead a task to identify successful actions in the demonstration regions that have helped with the conception and development of an electromobility vision and policy during the lifetime demonstrations. The EU Commission is anxious that all FP7 projects interact with other relevant projects world-wide and to this end an External Stakeholder Forum has been established. About 40 people actively involved in other projects in Europe and beyond have been identified and have participated in the Forum meetings the first of which was held in Dublin. 3.2 Enevate This is an Interreg funded project for the North West Europe Region. ESB is the formal Irish partner but Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton Street (DIT) are also involved. The project scope includes studying the vehicle manufacture parts supply chain for electric vehicles and identifying opportunities and issues for North West Europe arising from this. This is the work package in which EI is most heavily involved. Another work

5 package is studying (and hopefully field trialling) the use of small electric van as last mile vehicles for inner city deliveries. Ireland ESB Supported by DIT & EI UK National Renewable Energy Centre. European Automotive Strategy Network. Future Transport Systems. Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. Cardiff University. France Pôle Véhicule du Futur. Institut de Recherche en Systemes Électronique. Netherlands Automotive Technology Centre Belgium Flemish Institute for Technical Research. Campus Automobile de Francorchamps. Germany Bayern Innovativ. Forschungszentrum Jülich. Regional Mgt Nordhessen. Inno Germany AG. Fig 7. Enevate Project Partners 3.3 Finseny (Future Internet for Smart Energy) The Finseny Project is also an EU funded FP7 project in which major telecommunications companies in Europe feature strongly. The focus is on how Smart Energy systems will be facilitated or enhanced as the internet develops into the future. The project scope is to consider how the future internet will impact on Smart Homes, Smart Grids, MicroGids and electromobility. Phase 1 will identify scenarios and in phase 2 a number se will be chosen for demonstration/ field trials. The Irish partners ESB ecars, Telecommunications Software and Systems Group (TSSG) from the Waterford Institute of Technology and the young Irish technology company Intune Networks are focussed on the impact on future mobility on electromobility. Intune are world leaders with their breakthrough optical packet switch and transport (OPST) technology that can of course be used in all applications (not just electromobility). Ireland ESB Intune Networks STTG Sweden Eon Sverige AB Ericsson AB Belgium EUTC France EDF France Telecom Grenoble INP Thales Comms Spain Acciona ATOS Iberdrola Telefonica investigation y desarrollo Switzerland ABB AG Italy Enel ENG Telecom Italia Greece Synelixis Finland Nokia Siemens Finland VTT Germany Nokia Siemens GMBH Siemens AG ABB AG Alcatel Lucent AG BAUM Consult AG Ericsson GMBH FIR RWE Technische SAP AG Stadwerke Aachen VDE Fig 8. Finseny Project Partners

6 31 st August 1 st University College Cork Proceedings ITRN Fleet Vehicles ESB has one largest fleets of commercial vehicles in Ireland (2,500 vehicles) of which 50% are 4-wheel drive. Large vans make-up almost half the fleet with most remainder being vehicles of 7.5GVW used as crew cabs, platform hoists and crane trucks. To reduce the carbon emissions from its fleet ESB experimented with biodiesel produced mainly from Irish grown rape seed. About 80 vehicles were involved in the trials using B20, B30 and B100 mixtures. The University of Limerick partnered with ESB in the programme which involved testing fuel quality, lubrication oil viscosity, oxidation and metal deposits, effects on power and emissions from prolonged use and accelerated aging of rubber components such as seals and gaskets. ESB is progressively building up its fleet of commercial electric vehicles for suitable applications and now has close of 40 in its fleet. These are mainly full battery electric vehicles but some plug-in hybrids are also in use. In addition ESB purchased 10 Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Hybrid vehicles and were the first people in Europe to do so. Fig 9: ESB Smiths Edison (Ford Transit) Fig 10: ESB Micro-Vett Fiorino (Fiat) There are almost 250 platform hoist vehicles on the ESB fleet and traditionally each se uses the PTO to operate the hoist. As a research project ESB trialled battery packs for hoist operation in two se vehicles while still retaining the internal combustion engine for the vehicle traction). Fuel reductions of between 52% and 80% were achieved. The use of battery packs is now being extended ESB is concluding agreements with other users of commercial electric vehicles to gather data from and include theses vehicles in the trial programme. 3.5 ecar Trials A field trial using 8 Mitsubishi imievs started in Each vehicle is fitted with a data logger and GPS tracking system. Smart Profile metering is also used on the participants home charging circuit. The number of imievs in the trial has now been increased to 15 and other vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf are being added. Fig 11: Initial imiev Trials Fig 12: Mitsubishi imiev

7 3.6 e-taxi Project In June 2011 an e-taxi project in conjunction with National Radio Cabs and with the support Taxi Regulation Directorate National Transport Authority was started. Two different types of vehicles are being used. One is a Peugeot Expert Teepee (converted by Allied Vehicles of Glasgow) that is wheelchair accessible and can take 6 passengers. The second is a Nissan Leaf. Fig: 13: Allied Vehicles etaxi Dublin Fig 14: Nissan Leaf etaxi Dublin 3.7 Other Projects ESB is a partner in the EU funded FP7 Merge Project which is focussed on linking Renewable Energy with Electromobility. A project, in conjunction with UCD, on the impact of electric vehicle deployment on electricity distribution networks is one element of an ESB project that is part U.S. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) programme on Utility Smart Grids. There are only two utilities outside U.S.A partnering in this programme. Another project is focussing on building up a complete portfolio of charging profiles for all the different types and makes of electric vehicles. This work includes a study of harmonics created. As well as the vehicles (using on-board chargers), the electrical characteristics, including harmonics of DC fast chargers is also included. A number of other projects including a Smart Charging project are planned. This will include short-range and long-range communications to switch charging on and off either in response to dynamic events on the network or to maximise the use of renewable electricity.