Outcome and Impact

Outcome and Impact

Outcomes for industrial and other user communities 

The project will provide a thorough quantification of high-frequency emissions and distortion caused in the supplying grid, together with feeding an EVCS impedance, improving the knowledge provided by the few existing standards (e.g. IEC TR 60725). This will allow manufacturers to simulate the emissions of their equipment more accurately, improving the margins to consider during design and production, but also being able to foresee resonance situations for specific grid topologies. 

EVCS operators and DSOs can use the results of grid-and-EVCS interaction measurements and modelling for planning a high concentration of EVCSs in the near future. The set of waveforms for distortion and emissions gathered in the project will be evaluated for the influence on metering and losses, indicating many actors (manufacturers, grid operators, consumers) of the cost of distortion as affecting efficiency through losses directly or indirectly through disturbance to metering. 

The test benches and test procedures developed in the project for EVCS metering and loss verification will contribute to the lasting metrology infrastructure in the field and provide the various NMIs with testing capabilities to fulfil their market needs. These measurements will help build trust and experience with the technology and further help the EVCS industry, both manufacturers and charge point operators (CPOs), in the widespread deployment of EVCSs. This will also provide guidance as input to the new European legislation on EVCS testing which will in turn facilitate mass production of EVCSs. 

This project will provide new insights to the manufacturers and operators on ways to optimise the design of the charging station and emphasise the shortfalls in their current design by investigating the influence of external factors on metering and losses in EVCSs. The outcomes of the project are set to greatly benefit the EV industry and the operators of EV charging stations. The development of a European metrology infrastructure for the verification of the metering and losses in the EV charging infrastructure will further propel the pace of development in the field of EV chargers by reducing waiting times in certification and testing. European consumers will eventually benefit from a good EV charging infrastructure with the added traceability and fair metering of electrical energy. This will increase the level of confidence in the consumers and as a result, support the transition to electromobility in Europe. 

 

Outcomes for the metrology and scientific communities 

The test benches developed for the verification of the metering and losses in EVCSs in the various charging modes and the setups and methods for the consistent on-site measurement of EVCSs and EV emissions and distortion by different European institutes will lead to the establishment of an integrated European metrology infrastructure. This upholds the idea of smart specialisation, of an integrated metrology infrastructure of the European area. The devised procedures for the certification and verification are a key step towards the establishment of a common regulation. Knowledge transfer to non-participating NMIs and test institutes will be performed via project workshops and presentations at scientific and industry workshops and conferences. 

The project will establish a database for disturbances and impedance measurements that will lead to defining a procedure to evaluate EVCS distortion. For that, comprehensive measurement methods will be defined and validated. Ad-hoc test waveforms, similar to the complex waveforms generated during the EVCS process, will be defined and used to optimise and validate the assessment methods. 

The published results in terms of the test waveforms, impedance envelopes, and procedures will serve as a starting point for new and improved research in the field. It is expected that the new measurement and analysis methods, as anticipated, can be reused for similar types of scientific research. 

The knowledge of changes in the grid impedance during the EVCS charging will be fundamental for the grid operators to support the impact of EVCS deployment in the near future. 

 

Outcomes for relevant standards 

The increased distortion of distribution grids in the near future following the extensive increase of EVCSs and EVs requires revised standards related to PQ issues on public electricity networks. Completing previous results, including the EMPIR JRP 18NRM05 SupraEMI, accurate measurement methods for EVCS disturbances will be proposed for the current standardisation work at IEC SC 77A in relation to the IEC 61000 family standards. 

This project will provide three guidelines for metering evaluation and on-site verification of EVCSs to several national and international standard committees dealing with the legal regulation of electricity meters such as IEC and CENELEC TC 13. 

Significant input is anticipated for the working groups of OIML TC 12 “Instruments for measuring electrical quantities” for the next revision of the recently published EVSE guide G 22; of WELMEC WG 11 “Utility meters” for the harmonised regulation for EVCSs across Europe through the generated good practice guides. 

 

Longer-term economic, social, and environmental impacts 

The wider impact of the project can hardly be underestimated. In general, a harmonised EVCS metrology infrastructure will increase the level of confidence in the consumers and as a result, support the transition to electromobility in Europe. 

More specifically, the standards and guidelines resulting from the project will pave the way for a harmonised regulation of EV charging. Such a European or International regulation will have a substantial economic impact as it will enable mass production. Standardised AC and DC metering systems enable international expansion of EV charging networks. They ensure that charging stations can be deployed in multiple countries without significant modifications, fostering the growth of EV adoption worldwide. As EV technology evolves, standardisation allows for easier upgrades and compatibility with new features and improvements. This flexibility ensures that charging infrastructure can adapt to emerging technologies and customer demands. Some of the industries that will benefit from this project are calibration laboratories which provide traceable verifications of the equipment, EV and EVCS manufacturers which will be able to optimise their designs, and EVCS operators that will be able to ensure fair transactions for end users that meet the needs of the European regulatory bodies. 

The presence of a reliable EV charging infrastructure with traceable metering is fundamental to the deployment of EVs. This in turn promotes the integration of renewable energy sources which reduces the environmental impact of the energy production process and reduces the dependency on oil and gas. 

As an added benefit, the project improves the know-how on metering and losses involved in new and innovative charging modes such as smart charging and V2G charging. These topics are aimed to help mitigate the impact of EVs on grid congestion and reduce electricity generation capacity needs on future grids