Linking Electric Vehicle Traffic and the Stationary Power System: Technology Needs and Economical Aspects

For more effective decarbonization and better utilization of the finite battery storage capacity of electric vehicles (EVs), dynamic energy exchange between cars and their batteries with the stationary electrical system could be a game changer. However, all existing vehicle-to-grid concepts circle the integration of stationary cars, although the highest need for and value of energy is reached during driving, which economically generates a price spread. This price spread if accessible would allow so-called arbitrage but also reflects market inefficiencies. Furthermore, dynamic energy transfer has so far mostly been interpreted as a pure charging technology with a strong focus on technology, ignoring the economic aspects and requirements. On the other hand, dynamic energy transfer and exchange could both solve range anxiety but also increasing instability of the electricity grid driven by fluctuating sustainable energy sources and decreasing inertia in the system due to the dismantling of conventional massive generators. Based on these issues, we discuss how to utilize an energy interfacing technology to combine both semi-dynamic wired and wireless charging systems between multiple electric vehicles as well as EVs and the power grid. Typical operation modes allow vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-grid (V2G), and vehicle-for-grid (V4G) energy exchange and dynamic stabilization. Essential to such a technology, however, is a market system that is efficient, fair so that no party or operator could exploit an information advantage, and at the same time allows exploiting the existing arbitrage to finance the implementation. We present and discuss potential market concepts, which promise near-ideal market results on the one side and resilience and reliability on the other side.