Forecasting and mitigating the impact of electric vehicle integration on local distribution grids: The São Miguel Island case study

A critical success factor for Europe’s transition to carbon neutrality by 2050 lies in the shift to electric mobility by means of mass penetration of Electric Vehicles (EVs). From a technical, social and economic perspective, the increasing adoption of EVs presents intricate challenges and valuable opportunities which will be addressed by the EV4EU “Electric Vehicles Management for carbon neutrality in Europe” project (financed by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme), particularly from the point of view of distribution grids. On this subject, this paper leverages the case study of São Miguel Island – a geographically and electrically isolated region in the Azores, Portugal, under the scope of firm electric mobility adoption governmental commitments – to analyse the impact of EV integration on future demand, whilst focusing on EV demand-side management via smart charging control strategies to minimize investments in local distribution grid reinforcement.