STORY.CHARLES J.

MURRAY, SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITOR, ELECTRONICS

Could Car Batteries Back up

Our Electrical Grid?

The University of Delaware's experimental V2G plug-in hybrid can send electricity back to the grid.

SOLirce; UniversilyofDelaware

By sending current back to the grid, electric cars couid serve asa backup to wind and solar

N THE QUEST TO SUPPLY ELECTRICITY FOR MILLIONS OF FUTURE ELECTRIC CARS, ENGINEERS HAVE STUMBLED

upon the most unlikely ol energy prospects the car itself

If that sounds like a bit of tangled logic to you, then you're not alone. The very idea leaves most intelligent people scratching their heads. Still, the concept is beingexamined by auto companies, utilities, universities and industry consultants. And many believe the electric car battery could turnout to be one o the most important sources of current fot... well, the electric car battery. "Tliisis very doable,'says David Cole, chairman ofthe Center for Automotive Research and one of the industry's most respected consultants. "We're still in the early stages because we don't have highvolume battery production yet. But when that occurs, everything will change." Indeed, if it happens, it could be a game-changer. Proponents of the idea foresee it happening^ little bit at a time. In the beginning, they say, electric cars will "talk" to the grid and determine the best times for chars^ing. That way. they'll grab the energy when the utilities have surpluses. Later on. though, monumentalchangeswillkickin. Car batteries will dump cnerg)'back onto the grid when utilities need help. People who need energy possibly even for their electric cars will draw it through the grid, from cars that don't need it. Ultimately, experts evenforeseea day when retired electric car batteries, connected in long strings inside giant warehouses, will supply energy back to the grid when renewable sources aren't producing. To be sure, not everyone believes in the vision. Some automakers and utility engineers describe the concept as "interesting," but aren't willing to pencil it into their plans. Those engineers want to know if the concept poses a risk to consumers, or to electrical linemen working nearby. They want to know if

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repeated, two-waycyclingwould damage the battery and, i fit did, wbo would be responsible tor the damage. "The business case looks good," says Mark Duval!, director of electric transportation for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRJ). "But it s not clear whether we can provide that service from millions of vehicles intended for transportation. T his is notasimpleproblem." Talking to the Grid Simple or not, rhcidea has trickled into the technological mainstream, and it appears to be gaining momentum. Searching the term "vehicle-to-grid" on (ioogle yields about 20 million hits, an extraordinary number by any measure. Moreover, automakers such as Ford Motor Co. are considering the lowest levels of the concept. And utilities have begun to take on VL-hicle-to-grid investigations, too. 1 he concept has built favor over the past few years as several market forces have coalesced. The stampede toelecu ic vehicles and hybrids has highlighted the need for more electrical capacity, while a separate move toward renewable energy has left some utility engineers wondering where the power will come from. The crux of the problem is simple but unappreciated: Wind turbines make energy only when the wind blows; solar cells generate current only when the sun shines brightly. Moreover, the electrical current created by those sources must be used ininiediately. With only a few minor exceptions, utilities don't have a way of storing that energy for later use. "It s a problem," says Cole of CAR. "You have to figure out what you're going to do if the wind isn't blowing and the suns not shining." Ihat's where the electric car battery comes in. One simple solution involves chargingelecrriccars and plug-in hybrids at a time ofday when demand is low. Utilities want to "incentivize" such consumer behavior hy dropping the price-per-kilowatthour at night, and then working with automakers to enable vehicles to make such decisions on their own. The vehicles would do that by incorporating an ability to "ralk" to the electrical grid, via a wireless or wired connection. Doingso, a vehicle

A Question of Storage
When does our electrical grid need a backup?
Utility engineers say that the grid needs to be balanced by some form of storage when renewables wind and solar energy compose between 10 and 20 percent of the overall capacity. Backup storage includes so-called "pumped hydro," compressed air energy, battery farms and electricity from electric car batteries. To be sure, not all engineers agree with the 10 to 20 percent figure. Some argue that Denmark has run its grid at levels in excess of 30 percent renewable, and that the U.S. could do the same. U.S. power experts aren't convinced that Denmark's approach vrould work here, however. "What we do know is that for every percent of wind energy you add, you create a demand for additional peaking capacity and additional storage," says Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRl). "To buffer 10 hours of a 500-mW wind farm, you need big, big storage." m

An electrical grid interface on a prototype Ford Escape plug-in hybrid allows users to control the time of re-charging and check
the costs of electricity on the grid at any given moment.

could decide to re-charge at 3 a.m., when rates are lower. Ford bas already demonstrated the concept on a 20-vehiclc fleet, using the cars' navigation screens as an interface to communicate wirb a smart electrical meter. The automaker accomplished that in wireless and wired fashions, usingaZigBee communications protocol for wireless anda SAEJ 1772 connector for rhe hard-wired version. "The idea is to acquire information from tbe vehicle atid transmit it outside," says Greg Frenette, manager of Ford's battery electric vehicle applications. "For example, if you want to communiaite the battery s state of charge, there are a number of ways to transmit that signal to the charging source. But to do that, we need an open-architecture solution that crosses all the industries involved. We have to develop common codes, standards and protocols that ensure the customer in Maine has the same seamless experienceasthecustomer in California. " The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has already formed a committee to create such codes and standards. SAE J2293 isestablishingrequirementsfor transfer of electrical energy to EVs, Frenetre says. For automakers, the hardware for such transfers is likely to look like tbe HomePlug, a well known product designed for standards-based home powerline networks. A digital signal will bepigg\'backedonro the powerline ofa charging cable, enabling the exchange of information in a "smart energy profile. That way, the car communicates its needs to the grid, and the grid understands them. "The car will want answers to some basic questions," says Duval! of EPRl. "For example, ic might want to know, 'What's the price of electricity over the next 24 hours?'" Technology companies are already springing up with new products to meet such needs. Gridl'oint Inc., forcxample, has rolled out smart charging software that manages the flow of electricity to plug-in vehicles and charging stations, enabling the utilities to balance the grid conditions against the needs of drivers. What's more, automakers and utilities arc envisioning other ways of empowering vehicles. Hybrids with electrical architectures supporting 300V, 400V, 500V and even 600V have sprung up, enabling cars to power a home during an outage ur handle the electrical loads temporarily when electricity prices run high.

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VEHICLE-TO-GRID
"Lets say it's really hot out and electrical prices are high," Duvall explains. "You could use a vehicle-to-home arrangement. Instead of pulling power oft the grid at 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, you pull it out of your vehicle. "I hen you recharge it at 3 a.m., when electricity prices drop to 5 cents Source; EleclricPow ,, .iiii per kilowatt-hour." A nickel-cadmium battery farm Kempton argues that new batteries, capable of multiple thousands of cycles, are already on the horizon. Altair Nanotechnologies Inc., for example, has produced a lithium-titanate battery that connects directly to the electrical grid and stands up to 5,000 cycles. Still, the auto industry is withholding in Fairbanks, AK, is capable of producing 27 MW of electricity judgment for now. "There's been an awKil Two-Way Power Flow for 15 minutes. lot of hype around this topic for the past Such concepts, however, pale by comparison several years," says Frenetteof Ford. "But to the true vehicle-to-grid vision. That vision, we really need detailed, data-driven information that governoften credited to Willetr Kempton, an associate professor and ment and industry can build a consensus around." senior policy scientist at the University of Delaware, calls for vehicles to dump power back onto the grid at key times. Battery Backup Kempton, who published peer-reviewed papers on the topic as far back as 1997, says he believes the two-wayflowof Even if vehicle-to-grid fails to capture industry support, many electrical current offers far more potential than the one-way experts say they believe EV batteries will still provide storage scenario. "What we are doing has 10 times more economic for the electrical grid. In a separate scenario, engineers say vahie," he says. utilities could link long strings of used lithium-ion batteries in Kempton's vision involves a connection between the electri- vast battery farms that would provide balance for the grid at a cal grid and a centralized server, which would track all the cars moment's notice. under its jurisdiction. "After the battery is done with its life in the car, it still has a lot "Inabusiness, you would havccars that subscribe to the serof years remaining," says Cole. "It may not have quite the capavice," he explains. "And when the cars are plugged in, the server bility you'd like in a air, but it can do fine in a battery farm." would know where they are. It knows their state of charge and Utilities are already employing such battery farms. Golden Valthe size of their plug. And when the grid says, 'I have too much ley Electric Authority in Fairbanks, AK uses a nickcl-aidmium electricity or not enough electricity,' the server meets its needs." Battery Energy Storage System capable of producing 27 M W of In essence, Kempton says, the server would initiateflowof eiectricit)' for 15 minutes. Similarly, a lead-acid battery farm in current from parked cars back to the grid, where the additional Sbano Llana, Puerto Rico provides 20 MW for 15 minutes. current would relieve the utility's temporary load imbalance. Ultimately, the use of such storage could depend on the spread ofrencwable energy. As wind and solar gain momenKempton's idea of vehicle-to-grid might use a wireless tum, utilities are likely to reach for alternative means, and the Internet connection oran SAE-approved hardware link, such most thoroughly understood solutions are likely to appear as thej 1772 plug. Eithetway, he says, the key would be the first. That's why most industry engineers believe simple grid server's ability to instantaneously allocate electrical current communication and one-way current flow are Hkely. In a few from thousands, or even millions, of vehicles back to the grid years, they say, vehicles with grid-ready interfaces could start in a momentary time of need. to reach production. Although automakers and utilities won't openly commit to Whether two-way, vehicle-to-grid energy transfer will be the concept, they agree with Kempton on one critical point: adopted in the next few years is another matter. "There are still The technology's success depends largely on its ability to a lot ot open questions,"' Frenette says. "People will consider it motivate automotive owners to unload their battery charge back onto the grid. Such motivation, they believe, would have more seriously when we understand the implications from a vehicle standpoint and from a consumer standpoint." to come in the form of cash. Still, automotive experts say they're optimistic over the "If you're going to put equipment on a car that allows long term. bi-directional power transfer, then you need to offer the con"The technology is here; no invention is necessary," Cole sumer an almost-daily return," Duvall says. "Vehicle ownets says. "Don't bet against it." will be interested in something that pays them a non-trivial Fora list of vehicle-to-gridtechnologypeer-revieived V2G amount of money. If we can convince the owners that they'd articles, goto http:/ldesi^news.lH)tim>.ciim/23125-527. net $500 a year then they'd be very interested." Designed correcdy, Kempton sa)'s he believes the concept Ford has demonstrated grid commuwould have a "negative cost" - in other words, a gross mone- nication concepts on a 20~vehcle tary gain for the consumer of between S1,000 and $5,000 a yean fleet, using a ZtgSee commuAutomaker and utilities are still unsure whether the idea is nications protocol for workable, however. They point to a multitude of potential prob- wireless and a SAE J1772 lems: Oin the vehicle transmit energy back onto the grid in a safe manner? Is there risk to the consumer? If a $20,000 lithium- connecion battery is damaged, who's responsible? llie utility? The auto- tor for the hard-wired maker? Most important: Will elearic vehicle batteries stand up to the repeated cycling?
Source: FordMotorCo.

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