A business model or a tariffing issue? Peak shaving in local distribution grids through electric vehicle fleets

This paper addresses the question how shared electric vehicle fleets, i.e. car-sharing or company fleets, can offer flexibility services for the electricity grid through smart and bidirectional charging. Specifically, the focus is on the perspective of DSOs, analysing the peak shaving potential at a common grid node. The paper provides initial insights from one of the case studies of the research project GAMES and demonstrates the economic potential under current and also possible future market designs for a station-based car sharing scheme in Zurich, Switzerland. The model deployed in this work is a linear economic dispatch model, providing optimal charging and discharging schedules for the electric vehicles of the fleet. The results suggest, that technically there could be the potential to reduce the annual peak load of the Zurich grid area by up to 4%. However, significant changes in the tariffing structure for charging peak loads need to be implemented to make business models for such use cases economically feasible.