The increasing adoption of electric vehicles poses a significant challenge to the electrical grid, especially in locations with fast-charging infrastructure. However, electric vehicles also offer opportunities to the electrical grid by enabling power modulation or even supplying energy back to the grid through Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.

This approach utilizes electric vehicles’ batteries as distributed energy storage systems, enhancing grid flexibility and stability. Opening the market for ancillary services to include participation from Mixed-Enabled Virtual Units (MEVU) further expands flexibility resources. Therefore, analyzing and experimenting with the use of electric vehicles as flexibility resources for the electrical system are crucial to fully harness this new asset. Consequently, promoting research and development in this field is essential to ensure a sustainable future for electric mobility in Italy.

This report extends and deepens the research activities undertaken in the previous year. In the first part, a smart charging strategy for electric vehicles is examined to optimize the efficiency and profits of company parking lots. The goal is to develop an optimal charging policy that duly considers dynamic factors (arrival/departure times, battery charge levels, user needs) to maximize economic benefits.

In the second part, the electrothermal performance of battery packs in electric vehicles is examined through an equivalent circuit model working under various operating conditions (temperature and driving profiles).

This model allows for estimating battery life in realistic scenarios. Finally, the activities conducted to establish collaborations with business partners interested in sharing their charging infrastructure for assessing with innovative methodologies and tools developed by RSE are presented. The objective is not only to share historical data and information collected during experiments but also to extend collaboration to the technical-economic evaluation and dissemination of research results.

The Report is available on the Italian site