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

  • Adopting universal technology platforms for tolling
    July 16, 2012
    Dave Marples of Technolution argues that the continuing development of tolling-specific onboard equipment is leading us up a blind alley. We should, he says, be looking to realise universal platforms with universal application. The near-future automobile contains information systems of a sophistication to rival a jet airliner of only a few years ago, yet is 'piloted' by a considerably less well-trained individual of highly variable mental and physical capacity, and operated in a hostile, unpredictable and p
  • The need for a higher voltage power net for vehicles
    June 27, 2012
    Electrification of the automobile is not limited to the electric vehicles (EVs). As a new report from Frost & Sullivan points out, conventional cars of today are partly electric in their own way, with most systems in the vehicle having electrical and electronic connections for better functionality. Certain high-end vehicles possess more than 90 electronic control units (ECUs) to control the various modules within the car, making the car both sophisticated and complicated. However, added functions such as el
  • Liberty Electric Cars participates in ‘Deliver’ project
    April 27, 2012
    Liberty Electric Cars has been selected to become one of the major partners of the project thanks to its extensive experience in electric commercial vehicle engineering and design. Its team of experts played a crucial role in the development of the Modec truck, a range of 5.5t commercial vehicles that have been sold to a wide variety of customers across Europe. Operators of the Modec truck include global companies like FedEx, UPS, Tesco’s and Veolia. Their unique team of engineers have created EVs that have
  • Yotta: we need EV charging map to drive change
    October 28, 2019
    When it comes to finding the location of EV charging points, we need to be thinking about the needs of ‘smart communities’ as well as smart cities, says Chris Dyer of Yotta