Reports on V2G

Kempton, Willett, Udo, Victor, Huber, Ken, Komara, Keven, Letendre, Steve, Baker, Scott, Brunner, Doug, & Pearre, Nathaniel, 2008, “A Test of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) for Energy Storage and Frequency Regulation in the PJM System”. This report documents a practical demonstration of a Grid Integrated Vehicle providing real-time frequency regulation from a single electric car.  At the University of Delaware, on October 18, 2007, a team of engineers and officials from UD, Pepco Holdings Inc (PHI), and PJM Interconnection successfully interconnected an AC Propulsion “eBox” to the PJM grid using a direct AGC signal from the PJM control center.  The vehicle was dispatched in real time as a regulation resource, like traditional generators. This report covers the engineering, market and experimental results of this proof of concept demonstration and study.  (UD's later developments use an "aggregator" to communicate with PJM, rather than PJM communicating to individual cars, that is not covered in this earlier report.)

Gage, Thomas B., 2003. "Final Report Development and Evaluation of a Plug-in HEV with Vehicle-to-Grid Power Flow”, Report, AC Propulsion, December 2003. This report describes a tri-fuel vehicle which was designed, built, and tested, under CARB Grant Number ICAT 01-2. The prototype vehicle is refueled and run on electricity or natural gas, or gasoline, using a series hybrid. From the abstract: The project vehicle provides 35 miles of battery-only range with highway performance capability so operation on grid electricity can eliminate operating emissions and one or more cold engine starts per day. The project vehicle can re-charge its traction battery from the grid in less than one hour. The hybrid power unit in the project vehicle can sustain battery charge at highway speeds providing long distance travel unconstrained by battery range. The hybrid power unit in the project vehicle can also generate electricity while the vehicle is parked. In this stationary mode, the hybrid power unit can operate on gasoline stored on the vehicle or on low-pressure natural gas piped to the vehicle from the gas main. While parked, the power generated can be exported as alternating current electricity either to the grid or to stand-alone loads. Interactions between the vehicle and the grid, including power export, can be controlled from remote locations via wireless internet connection. These capabilities are demonstrated in stationary testing and 6000 miles of on-road use.

Brooks, Alec, 2002. "Vehicle-to-Grid Demonstration Project: Grid Regulation Ancillary Service with a Battery Electric Vehicle”, Report, AC Propulsion, December 2002. Sponsored by CARB. In addition to the test results, this report has a thorough analysis of regulation services and how V2G can provide them. From the abstract: A test vehicle was fitted with a bidirectional grid power interface and wireless internet connectivity, allowing power flow to or from the vehicle to be dispatched remotely. Power dispatch commands were sent wirelessly to the vehicle at 4-second intervals, and the vehicle response was monitored and recorded. Results showed that wireless data transmission times were within ISO system requirements, and that the energy throughput through the battery due to regulation is similar to that of typical daily driving. The value created by the service exceeds the battery wear out costs under most operating assumptions.

Kempton, Tomic, Letendre, Brooks & Lipman. 2001. Vehicle-to-Grid Power: Battery, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles as Resources for Distributed Electric Power in California. UCD-ITS-RR-01-03. For an executive summary, click on HTML or PDF, or click on the title above for the full report. This CARB/LADWP-sponsored report is specific to California, yet it has comprehensive analysis on V2G, some not in subsequent publications. This was the first full coverage of all three vehicle types--battery, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles, across four power markets--baseload, peak, spinning reserves, and regulation services. The approach and formulae developed and explained here are the basis for our subsequent analysis. (Although our equation notation was rationalized and standardized in our 2005 and later publications. Very brief summary of economic results: Battery vehicles (also called "electric vehicles" or EVs) with telematics and power electronics designed to allow V2G could earn $2,000 - $3,000 per year by selling a form of power called "regulation services." Fuel cell and hybrid vehicles could earn $1,500 - $2,500 per year by selling electricity as "spinning reserves." We found that V2G is economically valuable in the CalISO market for these forms of electric power that go on briefly when needed. Vehicles do not appear to be economically competitive for "baseload power", that is, constant power generation, which has lower value per kWh and more drain on the battery, hydrogen, or fuel tank.