Novel Design and Energy Management Approaches for Seamless Integration and Adoption of Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) are witnessing increased utilization throughout the world as an alternative to fossil-fueled vehicles. However, the adoption of EVs and their integration into the power grid is yet to be fully materialized due to several issues, of which two are the most salient. First, the extensive deployment of EVs can bring challenges to the grid if not properly managed. Second, access to a variety of EV supply equipment (EVSE) in different areas is still lacking.

To that end, the research in this thesis aims to address these issues through the development of adaptive approaches that enhance the management of EV energy and the development of a charging strategy and a design approach that help to expand the proliferation of EV charging infrastructure.

Three approaches that are adaptive to their operator/user preferences are developed to enhance energy management in EVs. The first approach allows adaptive utilization of EV batteries' distributed energy resources in an EV fleet system for concurrent services to the transportation sector and ancillary services market. The second approach is a decentralized quality of service (QoS)-based scheme for peer-peer (P2P) energy trading among EV energy providers and consumers. The proposed mechanism is designed to match energy traders based on consumers' and providers' QoS requirements and offers, respectively. The third approach is a bidirectional smart charging algorithm for EVs considering P2P energy trade, provision of ancillary services to the grid, and utilization of low electricity prices for battery charging. The algorithm incorporates user preferences into the scheduling process enabling it to adapt to various conditions.

Further, to expand the proliferation of EV charging infrastructure, this thesis introduces (i) a charging control strategy that does not require a communication network, which in turn reduces additional grid upgrades, and (ii) a design approach for EV parking lots that helps private investors to participate in the growth of charging facilities.

The findings of this thesis highlight the efficacy of the proposed approaches in achieving their objectives. This would provide implementable and cost-effective solutions to facilitate EVs deployment and address imminent and timely concerns that limit the wide adoption of EVs into electric distribution infrastructure.