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

  • EV charging infrastructure market predicted to grow by almost 50 per cent by 2025
    May 19, 2017
    The global electric vehicle charging infrastructure market is expected to reach US$45.59 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 46.8 per cent from 2017 to 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research. Governments around the world are encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles and incentive programs, such as tax rebates, grants, and subsidies, have been launched to promote the same. The increasing adoption of electric vehicles is expected to be more in the passenger cars segment, in comparison wi
  • Delphi to partner Singapore LTA on autonomous vehicle technology
    August 2, 2016
    UK company Delphi Automotive has been selected by the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) as a strategic partner to implement autonomous mobility concepts. The company will provide a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles and will develop a cloud-based mobility-on-demand software (AMoD) suite and will conduct a trial of an urban, point-to-point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service in Singapore's Autonomous Vehicles Test Bed located at a business park in the western area of the city. D
  • Real-world testing is needed in wake of VW emissions scandal, says expert
    November 18, 2015
    As vehicle manufacturers, regulators and governments around the world seek solutions to prevent another emissions cheating scandal similar to the Volkswagen case, a major vehicle emissions inspection company has compiled and analysed on-road emissions data indicating that emissions violations of vehicles under real-world driving conditions may well go far beyond VW diesels. Opus Inspection says a two-pronged approach that continuously monitors real-world emissions is the only effective remedy. Lothar Ge
  • ITS Australia Awards: finalists revealed
    November 29, 2022
    Cisco, Moovit and Q-Free are among the companies up for 13th ITS Australia Annual Awards