A review of plug-in vehicles and vehicle-to-grid capability

As hybrid vehicles gain popularity among the consumers, current research initiatives are focused towards developing plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles that can exploit utility power to charge vehicle batteries and therefore less dependent on the gasoline usage. Power electronic systems are being developed to allow plug-in vehicles to be vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capable where the vehicles can work as distributed resources and power can be sent back to the utility. In this paper a review of different plug-in and V2G capable vehicles are given along with their power electronics topologies. The economic implication of charging the vehicle or sending power back to the utility is described in brief. Finally, all vehicles with V2G capability must meet the IEEE Standard 1547 for connecting to the utility. Brief descriptions of the requirements and testing that must be followed for V2G vehicles to conform the IEEE 1547 standards are also discussed.

I. Introduction

The continuous rise in gasoline prices along with the increased concerns about the pollutions produced by fossil fuel engines are forcing the current vehicle market to find new alternatives to reduce the fossil fuel usage. Along with the research on bio-fuel driven engines; different electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are evolving as viable alternatives to replace, or at least reduce, the current fleet of fossil fuel driven vehicles. Although current manufactured electric/hybrid vehicles are being marketed as a way to reduce fossil fuel usage, several promising technologies are being demonstrated that can utilize power electronics to charge the battery from the utility using plug-in vehicles or act as a distributed resource to send power back to the utility with vehicle-to-grid capabilities.