Electric vehicles & the grid

Chief Investigators

Dr Roger Dargaville  (Monash University)

Purpose of project

This Opportunity Assessment project will synthesise knowledge from current industry activitiies and research into integration of EV’s into the grid. It will focus in a particular on the benefits and costs of integration, as well as identify and address the barriers and enablers to EV integration that lead to a reduction in energy costs to consumers as well as reducing emissions. It will also identifu potential EV take up pathways and commercialisation opportunities. 

Impact of project

Large scale EV uptake will produce significant addition instantaneous demand on the grid if not optimised through either managed charging or V2G. Left unmanaged, it could lead to a short-term reduction in reliability. For example, 10% EV penetration could lead to wholesale cost increase of up to 10% with only low power charging stations, and a total increase in peak demand of as much as 5 GW (10-15%). Managed charging, if fully implemented, can alleviate most of these impacts (estimated in the billions of dollars). 

Project partners – industry and research

Monash University (Lead), CSIRO, Curtin University, EA Technology, EPRI, EV Council, Horizon Power, RMIT, Starling Energy Group, Startupbootcamp, Ultima Capital, UNSW, UTS, Western Power