More Power Output Or Smarter Distribution On Grid? How To Solve EV Charging Issue
As the number of EVs on Indian roads continues to increase, the overall electricity demand and the need to support the vehicle charging load is taking center stage. The additional demand can strain the existing charging infrastructure and potentially overwhelm the local electrical grid if it is not adequately prepared.
In locations with a high concentration of EVs, the local power infrastructure may suddenly face a capacity constraint to handle the increased demand, leading to power quality issues or distribution limitations. Or for many charging locations, too many EV owners crowding at the same timeframe to charge their vehicles can lead to longer lead times in charging, and cause massive customer inconveniences leading to load shedding and grid instability.
Fixed charging patterns and why they will not always work?
Refueling TAT is typically around six-eight minutes, while electric vehicle charging is a different ballgame.
Commercial vehicles operate on much tighter time constraints for charging, especially during the workday, and therefore cannot afford time lags, and the availability of a well-distributed charging infra is a priority for this segment going forward. While options like at-home plug-and-play and fast charging are available to select from, often customers may be in a fix when they need to look at on-road charging.
Therefore, the issue of solving and providing for the necessary charging infrastructure is twofold – first having an even and steady distribution power supply and grid balancing and prioritising the ‘how’s and ‘when’s’ so that charging lead times do not go overboard.
Dynamic routing as an approach – for fleet-level charging needs and for a better customer experience
As infra needs are dynamic in nature, charging needs to be looked at with a dynamic approach, at least for commercial EVs. This approach enables priority charging and dynamic routing, which could be via many ways; say with vehicle categories or available power output or even the long queuing on charging locations.
Dynamic charging setup coupled with software simply allocates the vehicle to the nearest and next best option to provide EV drivers with the best possible charging experience, who in turn want to avoid charging queues and drive better operational efficiencies.
A smart vehicle-to-infrastructure can help exchange information and optimise the charging process by continuously monitoring charging station availability, battery, and range, charging speed, and so on. Real-time data can help the system whether to simply reroute the EV to an available charging station or provide alternatives, to accommodate a vehicle’s charging needs within the available time and battery range.
An optimised EV charging system like the above can potentially address load adjustment issues, efficiently and impact grid distribution at the larger level with geographical smoothing of charging requirements and avoid massive grid congestion. Eventually, it will also contribute to more flexibility in route planning and a hassle-free charging experience for a commercial EV customer.
Apart from dynamic allocation and grid distribution, charging adapters and points to cater to multiple EV categories is another viable solution, enabling interoperability and public charging compatibility. This will help support dynamic routing and power allocation and makes EVs more adaptable in the long run.
Dynamic rerouting for EV charging optimises the charging process by minimising the time spent searching for available charging stations and ensuring that the vehicle can reach a suitable station within its battery range. It helps alleviate range anxiety, improves the overall efficiency of EV charging, and enhances the convenience and reliability of EV operations as a whole.
The article has been authored by Poorvak Kapoor, Vice President of Technology at Euler Motors.
