Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FLOW (Flexible energy systems Leveraging the Optimal integration of EVs deployment Wave)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-06-30
The transport sector is responsible for about 23% of EU CO2 emissions, primarily due to its strong dependence on fossil fuels. The electricity system and operators are facing significant challenges due to the increasing penetration of variable renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed energy resources (DER) that call for appropriate solutions to manage both generation and demand, ensuring grid balancing, avoiding grid congestion and deferring network investments. The energy and mobility systems are undergoing massive electrification with forecasted low-emission vehicles and recharging points spiking over the next few years, supported by ambitious policies, aiming for a climate neutral EU transport and energy systems by 2050. This exponential growth presents challenges including significant (e.g. 80%) increase in household electricity consumption but also brings great opportunities since Electric Vehicle (EV) smart charging, possibly connected with local RES and Energy Storage System (ESS) provides grid operators with additional flexible assets to address network needs if integrated user-centric solutions are designed. However, several challenges must be overcome for smart charging and V2X to be the expected game-changer, including technology interoperability, affordability, user acceptance and pricing, electricity markets participation of EV flexibility assets, cooperation from all stakeholders, integration and aggregation of diverse assets in a coordinated manner, new business models, and enabling policies and regulations
FLOW enables and valorizes EV flexibility through user-centric V2X smart charging and orchestrates their integration into energy grids to provide flexibility assets to enhance penetration of renewables and alleviate grid challenges. FLOW has 30 partners from across 9 countries and covers the entire value chain: OEM, tech. providers, CPOs, aggregators, DSOs, TSO, ICT developers, RTOs with expertise in users, mobility, optimisation tools, energy integration. FLOW aims to achieve the following objectives:
• Create and validate user-centric smart charging EV experiences
• Promote harmonisation, standardisation and interoperability
• Improve and validate a portfolio of EV smart charging technologies and strategies
• Deliver advanced tools for planning, design & operation of integrated charging solutions
• Enhance EV flexibility by improved orchestration across actors.
• Demonstrate and validate solutions in 3 demonstrations and 2 testbeds.
• Boost Replication and scalability of EV/EVSE
FLOW enables and valorizes EV flexibility through user-centric V2X smart charging and orchestrates their integration into energy grids to provide flexibility assets to enhance penetration of renewables and alleviate grid challenges. FLOW has 30 partners from across 9 countries and covers the entire value chain: OEM, tech. providers, CPOs, aggregators, DSOs, TSO, ICT developers, RTOs with expertise in users, mobility, optimisation tools, energy integration. FLOW aims to achieve the following objectives:
• Create and validate user-centric smart charging EV experiences
• Promote harmonisation, standardisation and interoperability
• Improve and validate a portfolio of EV smart charging technologies and strategies
• Deliver advanced tools for planning, design & operation of integrated charging solutions
• Enhance EV flexibility by improved orchestration across actors.
• Demonstrate and validate solutions in 3 demonstrations and 2 testbeds.
• Boost Replication and scalability of EV/EVSE
After 36 months, the FLOW project has contributed to a range of advancements in the e-mobility space. This includes improvements in understanding user needs and requirements, improved user experience, interoperability, cybersecurity, shared data models, delivery of open solutions for EV system design and operation, modular and scalable V2X EVSE hardware development, integrated scenario design and grid impact assessment, platform integration. This work is being reinforced through validation in two testbeds and three large-scale demonstrations.
FLOW has advanced the common understanding of potential for advanced smart and bidirectional charging solutions. This is evidenced by the completion of four deliverables describing the external drivers, internal baseline, potential barriers and a common smart charging definition, respectively.
FLOW has also made great progress in user engagement, assessing user needs and understanding user satisfaction. Feedback from thousands of users has been gathered through surveys, interviews, focus groups and experiments. A report detailing factors influencing user acceptance, one on how to improve user interfaces and a report to deliver user-centric recommendations for implementation in the demonstrations and testbeds was completed.
Towards addressing interoperability, cybersecurity and shared data models, FLOW has completed four reports on 1) communication protocols and data models, 2) data privacy and cyber security, 3) data driven markets for EV-centered stakeholder cooperation and 4) design of distributed data governance architecture.
With the goal of advancing open solution for optimal EV system design and operation, FLOW has developed and improved a suite of tools to support forecasting, optimization, and coordination and aggregation of electric mobility assets. This has resulted in four reports on AI forecasting tools for e-mobility, advanced energy management solutions and a comparison of edge versus cloud computing for smart and bidirectional charging and a report detailing the evrich service for using EV flexibility to support grid needs.
A modular and scalable DC//DC V2X EVSE platform was developed and will undergo testing in preparation for product rollout.
Two customizable tools have been developed 1) Energy System Impact Assessment Tool for understanding EV scenario development at a country level, and 2) Local System Impact Assessment Tool for analyzing the effects of EV diffusion on distribution networks. Additionally, a residential V2H business case deep dive was conducted resulting in a report detailing areas for consideration and best practices for engaging in V2H. The development of an orchestration platform has been completed that enables simpler and more streamlined data exchange between stakeholders.
Laboratory validation testing has concluded and testbeds and demonstrations are all currently ongoing. The testbeds have delivered improvements in EV charging registration system, congestion management, as well as improved building management considering EVs. Use cases for the demonstrations have commenced and are shedding light on the opportunity to provide TSO-level services, DSO-level services and behind-the-meter services from EV flexibility.
Additionally, the communication, dissemination and exploitation work is all being done in parallel with focus on IPR protection plans, and exploitation plans.
FLOW has advanced the common understanding of potential for advanced smart and bidirectional charging solutions. This is evidenced by the completion of four deliverables describing the external drivers, internal baseline, potential barriers and a common smart charging definition, respectively.
FLOW has also made great progress in user engagement, assessing user needs and understanding user satisfaction. Feedback from thousands of users has been gathered through surveys, interviews, focus groups and experiments. A report detailing factors influencing user acceptance, one on how to improve user interfaces and a report to deliver user-centric recommendations for implementation in the demonstrations and testbeds was completed.
Towards addressing interoperability, cybersecurity and shared data models, FLOW has completed four reports on 1) communication protocols and data models, 2) data privacy and cyber security, 3) data driven markets for EV-centered stakeholder cooperation and 4) design of distributed data governance architecture.
With the goal of advancing open solution for optimal EV system design and operation, FLOW has developed and improved a suite of tools to support forecasting, optimization, and coordination and aggregation of electric mobility assets. This has resulted in four reports on AI forecasting tools for e-mobility, advanced energy management solutions and a comparison of edge versus cloud computing for smart and bidirectional charging and a report detailing the evrich service for using EV flexibility to support grid needs.
A modular and scalable DC//DC V2X EVSE platform was developed and will undergo testing in preparation for product rollout.
Two customizable tools have been developed 1) Energy System Impact Assessment Tool for understanding EV scenario development at a country level, and 2) Local System Impact Assessment Tool for analyzing the effects of EV diffusion on distribution networks. Additionally, a residential V2H business case deep dive was conducted resulting in a report detailing areas for consideration and best practices for engaging in V2H. The development of an orchestration platform has been completed that enables simpler and more streamlined data exchange between stakeholders.
Laboratory validation testing has concluded and testbeds and demonstrations are all currently ongoing. The testbeds have delivered improvements in EV charging registration system, congestion management, as well as improved building management considering EVs. Use cases for the demonstrations have commenced and are shedding light on the opportunity to provide TSO-level services, DSO-level services and behind-the-meter services from EV flexibility.
Additionally, the communication, dissemination and exploitation work is all being done in parallel with focus on IPR protection plans, and exploitation plans.
Many of the deliverables have been submitted for WP1, WP2, WP3 and WP4 and WP5, which are contributing to improvements that are being validated in WP6 and WP7. However, advancements in understanding user needs and requirements and the methods to assess acceptance as well as improvements in user interface have been advanced in FLOW. Additionally, tools to manage smart and bidirectional charging at the site level and the system level and also improve coordination of stakeholders have been developed and advance the state-of-the-art in their respective areas. Also the development of the modular and scalable V2X EVSE for DC microgrids represents a unique advancement in the state-of-the-art for EVSE. Many of the results and impacts are concentrated on the outcomes of WP6 and WP7. These will occur in the final year of the project.