Information and Communication Technology Solution for the V2G Concept Implementation

This paper presents a novel Information and Communication Technology solution that enables the implementation of the vehicle to grid concept. The integration of electric vehicles in smart grids introduces new challenges taking into account their intrinsic mobility beyond the reach of the home area network. In order to overcome this problem, new communication applications were developed to monitor the batteries´ state of charge and the electric power demand along the vehicle journey. The GPRS network was selected to perform that information exchange in accordance with proprietary protocols. The collected data are recorded in a database that is accessible to the energy scheduler, aggregator and grid operator applications. In order to validate the designed ICT architecture, pertinent results retrieved from a field trial, were analyzed. The trials were performed in Coimbra using a 2012 Chevrolet Volt.