Search in the site by keyword

projects - Power System Research - Three year plan (2015-2017/2018)

Electric Mobility

projects - Power System Research - Three year plan (2015-2017/2018)

Electric Mobility

The document presents a summary of the achievements in the field of electric mobility. It discusses the environmental aspects, in terms of life cycle assessment and air quality, and the impact on the electricity system, both in terms of synergies and potential risks to distribution networks. Mobility efficiency interventions are analyzed, as well as the possible electrification of LPT and heavy transport. The issues of battery swapping and vehicle-to-grid are also addressed.

This summary report describes the research activities carried out by RSE as part of the 2018 Annual Implementation Plan in the Electric Mobility project. In 2018, the electric mobility sector experienced major developments, with the launch of increasingly high performance car models (especially in terms of range) and considerable regulatory and institutional attention. RSE’s activities have focused on providing analysis and technology tools to clarify the impact of electrification and facilitate the transition process. The environmental impact of electric vehicles was assessed both in terms of Life Cycle Assessment and external costs, comparing the performance of electric motorization with petrol, diesel, natural gas and hybrid, and in terms of pollutant emissions and impacts on air quality and health, assessed using new scenarios and methodologies. On the other hand, interactions with the electricity grid were addressed, both by considering possible synergies that could be achieved through dynamic charging schemes to be applied to public and private transport in order to reduce overgeneration from renewable sources, and by analyzing possible issues for some real LV and MV distribution networks in the face of different scenarios of electric mobility penetration. The transport, energy and environmental impacts of various efficiency improvements in the urban mobility sector were also analyzed, with a particular focus on the Parma area, through the creation of new origin-destination matrices for both the Emilian city and Milan, based on the use of mobile telephony data. In the coming years, a progressive electrification process could also affect the local public transport and heavy goods transport sectors, for which technical-economic assessments were carried out, with a particular focus on the solution of hybrid heavy goods vehicles powered by catenary (for which Brebemi’s interest is noted) and pure electric buses, compared to more traditional solutions in terms of total cost of ownership. From a more experimental point of view, the testing of the partial battery swap system continued with the refinement of the management and control system, accompanied by the preparation and installation of two bi-directional charging columns, functional for the study of V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) systems. Finally, the report provides examples of the many opportunities for interaction between RSE, industry stakeholders and institutional actors at both central and local levels, including discussions on the Mobility Workspace platform and technical and scientific support for the national e-Mob conference and the ACI Observatory on Mobility.