Electric mobility "The current power grid is an outdated infrastructure"

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In 2021, car manufacturers sold nearly seven million electric vehicles worldwide. This puts a strain on the power grid. Why cars need to communicate with the power grid and why road traffic needs to be rethought.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an international organization based in Paris that monitors the global energy sector. The IEA expects more than 300 million electric vehicles on the roads by the end of this decade. Electric vehicles will then account for 60 percent of new car purchases. For comparison: today, the share is still 4.6 percent of new car sales [1].

As the market for electric vehicles has continued to grow, the increasing measures by governments [2] to reduce CO₂ emissions and promote the sale of electric vehicles have further strengthened the shift. These include the European Union's CO₂ emission regulations for cars and vans, the California ZEV (Zero-Emission Vehicle) Mandate, the Chinese NEV (New Energy Vehicles) Mandate, and the recent rise in oil prices.

Electric mobility increases the pressure on the power grid

Over the next ten years, many car manufacturers plan to convert their fleets to electric propulsion, with some of them announcing intentions to operate their vehicle fleets entirely electrically within five years [3]. The products of car manufacturers comply with the evolving industry standards for safety, emissions testing, and energy efficiency.

Necessary are electric drivetrains and electric vehicles that meet the safety, regulatory, and environmental requirements. This profound change represents a fundamental paradigm shift and comes with a range of issues. These include increased pressure on the power grid and a need for sustainable, environmentally friendly materials.

By 2030, four percent of the global electricity demand

With the increasing spread of electric vehicles, not only do the demands on infrastructure and the manufacturing of the vehicles increase. Regulation is also facing changes. All of these have an impact on the automotive industry. The major difference between the current technology of the internal combustion engine and that of battery-powered electric vehicles presents enormous obstacles, none of which is more important than the electricity grid.

The energy and the automotive sectors have operated independently of each other since their inception. Electric vehicles require electric energy, and the charging stations are supposed to supply the battery-electric car with power in less than ten minutes. This requires a large amount of electricity. The IEA estimates that by the year 2030, electric vehicles will account for 4 percent of the total global electricity demand, which is double the current total electricity consumption of Brazil.

Power suppliers must ensure energy security

The number of electric cars being added to the current electricity grid is a recipe for disaster. The existing electricity grid was mainly operated with conventional power plants. They provide a minimum level of base-load power generation, thus ensuring energy security. In the past, power suppliers had constant and predictable load patterns with minimal fluctuations, which simplified the task of balancing electricity supply and demand.

The transition from conventional power plants to renewable decentralized energy sources (Distributed Energy Resources, DER), such as solar and wind energy in the electricity grid, leads to a more variable energy supply and less consistent load patterns. Here, utility companies must counteract. More electric vehicles could increase the load on the grid, leading to an imbalance between electricity supply and demand. This, in turn, could lead to system-wide failures.

The power grid is overloaded

The current electricity grid is an outdated infrastructure that urgently needs to be overhauled. It is inadequately prepared for this energy and transportation revolution. It is overloaded and must be significantly modernized to improve efficiency and resilience. Given this complexity, the actors of the electricity grid must work in a standardized, more inventive manner to handle the flood of electric vehicles in the next decade.

We need to create standards that allow electric vehicles to act as active participants in ensuring the performance of the power grid. Electric vehicles must not be seen as a cumbersome burden. This form of relationship between the grid and electric vehicles can be realized through Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) power transfer.

Cars communicate with the power grid

V2G is enabled by new smart energy conversion techniques and the communication capabilities built into electric vehicles and charging stations with the energy provider. This allows cars to communicate with the power grid and simultaneously stabilize it by using the electric vehicle's battery as a grid-connected energy storage system.

However, V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) currently faces regulatory hurdles – electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations must ultimately meet new and evolving standards for interconnection and interoperability with the electricity grid. This will ensure that utility operators have the tools they need for electric vehicle charging systems.

In this way, they can control the spread of electric vehicles and use them as a resource to handle the diverse energy mix and changing requirements of the modern power grid. They can not only charge but also feed excess energy back into the grid, thus improving overall system reliability.

Metals, plastics, and rare earth elements

Conventional automobiles contain large amounts of metal, both in the body and in engine parts. Electric vehicles require large amounts of other elements, including nickel, manganese, carbon, and lithium (for the batteries). These materials and rare earth elements are scarce, both due to existing global supply chain issues and due to the lack of resources to support such a significant industry as the global automotive industry.

Crucial to the changes in manufacturing and materials are the car batteries themselves. The battery cells contribute to about 30 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle and have a complexity that is unknown to most manufacturers in terms of testing, cell measurements, and other factors.

Lithium-ion batteries have developed better than experts originally predicted. Early tests deterred many manufacturers because they were convinced that this technology would not prevail. However, some companies like Tesla have gained a head start, and many now have to catch up.

Removing environmentally harmful vehicles from the roads

The batteries used in electric vehicles must not only power the vehicle but also must not harm the environment. The car batteries must be safe not only today but also in 30 years. This requires even more testing, measurements, standardization, data, and analyses to perfect these technologies.

The goal of electric vehicle and battery cell manufacturers should not only be to remove environmentally harmful vehicles from the road but also to improve manufacturing processes to create a green, sustainable product. In addition to production, these batteries and other car components must feature highly recyclable elements to ensure long-term sustainability.

Rethinking road traffic

Electric vehicles offer a tremendous opportunity to reshape traffic and reduce the impact of the automotive industry on the planet. Stakeholders must continue to find thoughtful solutions to address the numerous problems associated with introducing electric vehicles to the market.

Standardizing energy consumption, updating manufacturing processes, and developing batteries will make a significant contribution to creating a sustainable industry. We must not forget that electric vehicle technology is still in its infancy, especially compared to its internal combustion engine predecessors.

References

[1] "Global electric car sales have continued their strong growth in 2022 after breaking records last year". Retrieved on January 23, 2023.

[2] "Global EV Outlook 2021: Policies to promote electric vehicle deployment". Retrieved on January 23, 2023.

[3] "Ford Takes Bold Steps Toward All-Electric Future in Europe". Retrieved on January 23, 2023.