RACE for EVs

Theme summary
This research theme will investigate the changes occurring to electric vehicle (EV) ownership models as customers look to balance end-user expectations of economic benefits with transportation needs. Research will take place across various cohorts and look at how the optimal provision of services can be provided through advanced integrated design.

What’s the industry problem?
As the EV transition creates new opportunities for economic benefit and mobility, there will be questions of how society can make optimal use of a mobile distributed energy resource (DER) to serve the needs of both electricity and transportation networks. The prioritisation and optimisation of these services will need to be determined through advanced integrated design, balancing the needs of multiple services with that of evolving customer expectations.

Expected impact
Emerging social trends, lifestyles, routines, and practices likely to impact vehicle use will be determined, along with an understanding of how EV adoption will be affected by different cohort behaviours and choices. To achieve maximum societal impact, determining and sharing key information on how to realise benefits in integrated systems will be critical to enable this emerging cross-sectoral technology.

Theme summary
This research theme will explore user behaviour, incentives and pricing strategies that establish preferences for smart charging for individuals and fleets, including the role of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and wide-spread EV use effects on power system dynamics.

What’s the industry problem?
EVs are expected to become much more widespread over the next decade and may constitute most light passenger vehicle sales in Australia by 2030. As a mobile DER this represents a significant shift in how much and where energy is demanded and stored. There is an urgent need to plan for and optimise this additional battery capacity so it can be used to support a renewable energy dominated grid.

Expected impact
Determining the role of V2X is fundamental to understanding future-use cases where users balance their transport needs with those of the wider grid, including system resiliency. Research will explore how widespread EV use affects power system dynamics. Policy and regulatory development will allow seamless integration of EVs while maintaining security and privacy.