Skip to main content

CarConnect to harmonise home plug-in-vehicle charging

The CarConnect project, which aims to help the electricity industry better understand how plug-in electric vehicles (PIVs) charge at home in harmony with the electricity grid, is now under way in the UK. It is known from other projects that clusters of PIVs will have an impact on local electricity networks; analysis from the recently completed My Electric Avenue project indicates that by 2050 the electricity industry in Great Britain may have to invest an additional US$3.6 billion (£2.2 billion) to upgra
May 17, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The CarConnect project, which aims to help the electricity industry better understand how plug-in electric vehicles (PIVs) charge at home in harmony with the electricity grid, is now under way in the UK.

It is known from other projects that clusters of PIVs will have an impact on local electricity networks; analysis from the recently completed My Electric Avenue project indicates that by 2050 the electricity industry in Great Britain may have to invest an additional US$3.6 billion (£2.2 billion) to upgrade electricity supply infrastructure to customer premises owing to the additional demand from plug-in-vehicles.  

The project will run for three and a half years and will: Develop and deliver an electricity network modelling tool that will enable 6618 Western Power Distribution to identify which parts of their network are susceptible to plug-in-vehicle loads and to assess solutions to avoid network reinforcement works; Develop a method for monitoring the effect of plug-in-vehicles on low voltage networks that will inform the network modelling tool development; Recruit and manage a mass-market customer trial to prove the technical/economic viability of plug-in-vehicle/V2G demand control to avoid or defer network reinforcement.

Set to be the largest PIV project in the world, CarConnect will be working with up to 700 EV drivers in its trials to ensure that such systems are acceptable.

CarConnect is hosted by Western Power Distribution (WPD), the distribution network operator (DNO), and delivered by EA Technology, Drive Electric and Lucy Electric Gridkey. TRL will take on a project oversight role, on behalf of WPD. Funded through the Network Innovation Allowance, CarConnect will find solutions that could avoid the need to replace electricity substations and cables to customers’ homes and workplaces, saving significant cost and disruption to customers.

CarConnect will develop and investigate whether PIV demand control services, that can reduce stop or even reverse charging at certain times of day, can be delivered in a way that meets drivers’ needs for charge for journeys, sharing charge constraints out amongst a wide group of customers and using vehicle-to-grid systems to help in balancing supply and demand.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • HS2 ‘crucial to Britain’s future transport needs’
    October 30, 2013
    Britain cannot meet its future transport needs without HS2, according to new evidence published by the government. Even with over US$80 billion of planned transport investment over the next six years the country’s railways will be overwhelmed. The strategic case for HS2 sets out in detail the need for a new railway line to provide the vitally needed extra capacity. Central to the case is new data that reveals the true extent of the crisis facing the UK rail network and the impact alternatives to buildin
  • Greenlots and Volvo Trucks to install EV chargers in California
    November 15, 2018
    Technology company Greenlots has partnered with Volvo Trucks to implement an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for fleets operating out of warehouses in southern California. The project is part of a public-private partnership, in which the California Air Resources Board (CARB) awarded $44.8 million to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The funded was used for Volvo’s Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions (LIGHTS) project. As part of LIGHTS, Greenlots will equip warehouses
  • OPINION: Pursuing transit-first policies is best way to cut car dependency
    April 3, 2023
    It's frustrating to see the UK’s new green strategy once again centre around EVs
  • Siemens delivers complete EV infrastructure packages
    December 19, 2014
    Siemens is delivering electric vehicle (EV) rapid charging networks across the UK, including networks consisting of almost forty QC45 multi-standard EV chargers to be supplied and installed in South Tyneside and Dorset early in 2015. The networks will be connected to Charge-Your-Car Back Office , and include three years maintenance support provided by Siemens. Funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the network in South Tyneside will consist of twenty QC45 triple-outlet, rapid chargers.