ISO 15118 consists of the following parts, under the general title Road vehicles — Vehicle to grid communication interface:

• Part 1: General information and use-case definition
• Part 2: Network and application protocol requirements
• Part 3: Physical layer and Data Link Layer requirements.

The following parts are under preparation:

• Part 4: Network and application protocol conformance test
• Part 5: Physical layer and data link layer conformance test
• Part 6: General information and use-case definition for wireless communication
• Part 7: Network and application protocol requirements for wireless communication
• Part 8: Physical layer and data link layer requirements for wireless communication

By leveraging an international standard for how EVs share data with grid operators, our work will enable reliable, secure and scalable integration of California’s growing fleet of EVs with the low-carbon electrical grid of the future. Although focused on California, which leads the nation in EVs with over 150,000 vehicles, this project is applicable to grid operators across the country in managing EV charging with minimal impacts and the greatest environmental benefit.

—Mike Ferry, PI and CSE’s senior manager for advanced energy projects

This two-way data exchange will create a means to use EV batteries to help manage variable grid conditions, generation oversupply and other challenges associated with the state’s goals to decarbonize its electricity sector with renewable energy resources such as solar and wind.

Vehicle-grid integration would provide significant energy demand flexibility during times when utilities predict upcoming peak usage or times of excess renewable energy generation. Instructions could be sent to vehicle chargers to reduce or delay charging until grid conditions change, but still provide EV drivers the option to charge based on mobility needs and at times with the best utility rates.

CSE and KnGrid will be working with other experts in vehicle-grid integration and utility operations, including RWE-Effizienz, University of California San Diego, Strategen Consulting and Energy Solutions, with additional support from Siemens, CAISO and BMW. Once the DCH platform is developed, it will be tested in a demonstration fleet of EVs at UC San Diego.

The CSE award was one of three granted by the Energy Commission under the solicitation Driving the Integration of Electric Vehicles to Maximize Benefits to the Grid (PON-14-310), for a total of $4,499,976. Under this solicitation, funding was available for:

• Group 1: Smart and efficient charging for integrating plug-in electric vehicles into the power grid

• Group 2: Grid communication interfaces for plug-in electric vehicle charging to support vehicle-to-grid services

The two other awards were:

• ChargePoint, Inc., Next-Generation Grid Communication for Residential PEVs, $1,500,000

• Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Distribution System Aware Vehicle to Grid Services for Improved Grid Stability and Reliability, $1,499,977

The Energy Commission grant is part of California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) that provides grant funding for applied research and development, technology demonstration and deployment and market facilitation for clean energy technologies and approaches. The program is funded by ratepayers in the state’s three large electric investor‐owned utilities.

Resources

• Mültin, M. & Schmeck, H. (2014) “Plug-and-Charge and E-Roaming – Capabilities of the ISO/IEC 15118 for the E-Mobility Scenario” at - Automatisierungstechnik, 62(4), pp. 241-248 doi: 10.1515/auto-2014-0002