This summary report describes the research activities carried out by RSE as part of the 2016 Annual Implementation Plan in the Electric Mobility project.

In this intermediate year of the three-year project, the scientific activities started last year continued and new activities were launched, stemming from the need to support the regulator and the Italian institutions, both at central and local level, in the design and implementation of policies related to sustainable mobility. In terms of environmental aspects and mobility scenarios, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to compare different types of electric cars (from micro-cars to family cars) with similar petrol and diesel vehicles, taking into account both the size and efficiency of the vehicles in urban use. This showed a general advantage for electric cars compared to internal combustion cars.

In addition, the development of mobility scenarios at national and metropolitan scale continued in order to refine the air quality simulation activities. For example, a modeling system for assessing air quality in urban areas was developed and applied. This made it possible to determine the impact of some local mobility management policies and to estimate, in different cases, the ground concentrations of PM_2.5, NO₂ and elemental carbon produced by road sources and the contribution of all other sources. Finally, a study was launched to identify solutions and promote policies in the urban context capable of guaranteeing the provision of mobility services for people and goods, in line with the objectives of reducing energy consumption and environmental sustainability.

In terms of technological aspects, standardization and interaction with the system, the optimal characteristics of the charging infrastructure were defined according to the different contexts; the need for mobility of people and goods led to the drafting of the Guidelines for Charging Infrastructures, which were then presented alongside the Lombardy Region. Support was also given to coordinating the activities of the Sustainable Mobility Table set up under the Presidency, defining and focusing its objectives and organizing the contributions of more than eighty national stakeholders in a document entitled “Elements for a Sustainable Mobility Roadmap”.

In addition, a charging current modulation algorithm was developed and tested that optimizes what is allowed by the trip curve of the electronic meters, without excluding the use of household appliances by end users. Finally, a device was developed to charge a vehicle battery taken from a MicroEV with partial battery swap mode. The car battery, made up of manually removable modules, can be inserted into a special rack to be charged both from the grid and from PV generation, but also to perform Vehicle to Home (V2H) functions towards the domestic load. This product has also been tested for compliance with current standards.