As EVs’ battery life continues to increase, more than 15,000 EVs now play the role of large portable chargers. In addition to relying on charging stations, EVs can even send electricity back to grids when necessary in the future, serving as standby power supplies. On August 4, Taipower opened its smart EV charging pilot zone to the public for free, which is located at the company’s Taipei City branch (nearby National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology).
Taipower specified that the charging zone features two 50kW dual-nozzle DC charging stations. Engineered with vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G), the stations allow two-way charging/discharging. Moreover, EVs with discharging function can send electricity back to electrical grids. Allowing users to choose between charging interfaces for the US standard CCS and Japanese standard CHAdeMO, the stations are compatible to EVs of all manufacturers except for those of Tesla, which require the use of adapters. Specifically, the stations can charge a Tesla Model 3 to 80% in around 90 minutes and a Nissan LEAF to 100% in one hour.
This morning, Taipower held the Opening Ceremony of Taipower’s V2G-based EV Charging Stations and Smart Energy Management System at its Taipei City branch, during which the company demonstrated the V2G-based two-way charging/discharging function by actually plugging in a Tesla Model 3, Nissan LEAF, and Audi e-tron on-site.
Taipower emphasized that the company has strived for digital transformation and innovative applications such as smart transmission of electricity and electric power IoT in recent years. Late last year, the electricity provider established a smart EV charging pilot zone in Kinmen, where electricity generation, storage, and consumption have been integrated to create a “Smart Low-Carbon Island”. This time, Taipower has partnered with FET Telecommunications to build the first EV charging pilot zone on the main island, expecting the zone to contribute to the EV industry in as well as smart grid development.
Taipower suggested that the existing electric cars adopt the grid-to-vehicle charging model, in which electricity is only transmitted from the grid to cars. By contrast, Taipower’s charging pilot zone features two-way charging/discharging (along with simultaneous charging for up to 4 cars). Therefore, when an EV with discharging function (e.g., Nissan LEAF) is connected to the company’s charging station, the vehicle can in turn send electricity back to an electrical grid, if necessary, at 15kW. Under such circumstances, the EV has transformed itself into a standby power supply.
The charging stations come with an energy management system (EMS), enabling remote monitoring of charging status to ensure charging safety. Additionally, the system is available for smart charging, whereby the charge can be distributed over time through scheduling and avoided during peak load, thus helping improve energy efficiency and maintain grid stability. EMS can also be integrated with Taipower’s to-be-released electricity charges scheme for EVs, allowing drivers to charge their cars with off-peak discounts by setting the desired charging capacity and duration.
The Taiwanese utility company stated that the charging zone is opened to citizens to charge their EVs for free from 8am to 5pm during trial run (starting today) as long as they have registered with the service center of the Taipei City branch (at the first floor) in advance.
(Source of first image: Taipower)
