EcoLink: A dynamic, energy-conscious vehicle-to-vehicle communication protocol for enhanced electric vehicle efficiency

With the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the growing emphasis on sustainable transportation, reliable and energy-efficient communication in vehicular networks has become essential. This paper introduces EcoLink, an energy-aware Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication protocol designed specifically to address the battery constraints of EVs—an aspect often overlooked in conventional V2V systems. EcoLink ensures robustness, seamless connectivity, and communication efficiency in dynamic vehicular environments. EcoLink follows a modular architecture comprising Cluster-Based Communication, Adaptive Power Control, and Message Prioritization. The clustering mechanism dynamically groups vehicles based on distance, mobility, and residual energy. Each cluster elects an energy-aware Cluster Head (CH), reducing redundant transmissions, lowering network congestion, and distributing communication load across participating vehicles. The Adaptive Power Control module adjusts transmission power according to inter-vehicular distances, ensuring efficient energy use. Lower power levels are used for intra-cluster safety-critical messages, while higher power levels support inter-cluster communication to maintain strong link quality. This dual-layer strategy optimizes energy consumption without compromising communication reliability. The Message Prioritization module classifies information into hierarchical priority levels, ensuring that high-urgency alerts, such as collision warnings, are transmitted promptly, whereas non-critical infotainment updates are aggregated and transmitted during low-traffic periods to conserve energy. EcoLink is rigorously evaluated through extensive simulations and benchmarked against existing V2V communication protocols. Results demonstrate that the protocol achieves up to 30% reduction in energy consumption while maintaining comparable data reliability and low latency. The clustering mechanism lowers communication overhead by 20%, and adaptive power control significantly improves resource utilization. These outcomes highlight EcoLink’s suitability for large-scale deployment in both urban and highway transportation scenarios.