Integrating Electric Vehicles to Power Grids: A Review on Modeling, Regulation, and Market Operation

Abstract

Fossil energy consumption and environmental protection issues have pushed electric vehicles (EVs) to become one of the alternatives to traditional fossil-fuel vehicles. EV refers to a vehicle that uses electric energy as power and is driven by an electric motor. The electric energy of EVs is stored in batteries. When the EV is not traveling, the battery can provide power for other loads. Therefore, with the increase in the number of EVs and the load of the power grid, the EV-to-grid (V2G) mode, which uses EVs to supply power to the power grid, has gradually entered the field of vision of researchers. The physical connection mode, charge and discharge technology, and energy management strategy are the main topics of the current review papers; however, there is a lack of systematic research on V2G modeling, framework, and business models. This paper describes the concepts of the spatio-temporal distribution model and the adjustable capacity of EVs. In addition, common constraints and methods in optimization are introduced. Moreover, this paper introduces the interactive relationship among power grids, load aggregators, and EV users. Furthermore, the business model of V2G is introduced and analyzed from various perspectives. Finally, the future development of V2G is pointed out. This paper’s goal is to provide an overview of the present V2G application scenarios and to identify any challenges that must be overcome.

Keywords

• vehicle-to-grid
• electric vehicle
• load aggregator
• adjustable capacity
• electricity market