This paper presents the main operation modes for an electric vehicle (EV) battery charger framed in smart grids and smart homes, i.e., present-day and new operation modes that can represent an asset toward EV adoption are discussed and proposed, respectively. Apart from the well-known grid-to-vehicle (G2V) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operation modes, this paper proposes two new operation modes: home-to-vehicle (H2V), where the EV battery charger current is controlled according to the current consumption of the electrical appliances of the home (this operation mode is combined with G2V and V2G), and vehicle-for-grid (V4G), where the EV battery charger is used for compensating current harmonics or reactive power, simultaneously with the G2V and V2G operation modes. The vehicle-to-home (V2H) operation mode, where the EV can operate as a power source in isolated systems or as offline uninterruptible power supply to feed priority appliances of the home during power outages of the electrical grid, is presented in this paper and framed with the other operation modes. These five operation modes were validated through experimental results using a developed 3.6-kW bidirectional EV battery charger prototype, which was specially designed for these operation modes. This paper describes the developed EV battery charger prototype, detailing the power theory and the voltage and current control strategies used in the control system. This paper also presents experimental results for the various operation modes, both in steady state and during transients.

This paper proposes a single-phase reconfigurable battery charger for an electric vehicle (EV) that operates in three different modes: grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, in which the traction batteries are charged from the power grid; vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode, in which the traction batteries deliver part of the stored energy back to the power grid; and traction-to-auxiliary (T2A) mode, in which the auxiliary battery is charged from the traction batteries. When connected to the power grid, the battery charger works with a sinusoidal current in the ac side, for both G2V and V2G modes, and regulates the reactive power. When the EV is disconnected from the power grid, the control algorithms are modified, and the full-bridge ac-dc bidirectional converter works as a full-bridge isolated dc-dc converter that is used to charge the auxiliary battery of the EV, avoiding the use of an additional charger to accomplish this task. To assess the behavior of the proposed reconfigurable battery charger under different operation scenarios, a 3.6-kW laboratory prototype has been developed, and experimental results are presented.

This paper presents the analysis and the experimental validation of an off-board three-port integrated topology (TPIT) used to interface electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables from solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with the electrical power grid. The TPIT is composed of three power converters sharing a single common dc link, and it can operate in four different modes toward the future smart grids: 1) the EV batteries are charged with energy from the electrical power grid through the grid-to-vehicle operation mode; 2) the EV batteries deliver part of the stored energy back to the power grid through the vehicle-to-grid operation mode; 3) the energy produced by the PV panels is delivered to the electrical grid through the renewable-to-grid operation mode; and 4) the energy produced by the PV panels is used to charge the EV batteries through the renewable-to-vehicle operation mode. In addition to individual action, the reorganization of these modes results in new combined operation modes. The paper presents the proposed power theory to control the TPIT, the current control strategies to manage the currents in ac and dc sides of the TPIT, and the details of the developed TPIT prototype, including the hardware and the digital control system. Experimental results that validate the TPIT operation modes are also presented.

This paper presents the development of an on-board bidirectional battery charger for Electric Vehicles (EVs) targeting Grid-to-Vehicle (G2V), Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) technologies. During the G2V operation mode the batteries are charged from the power grid with sinusoidal current and unitary power factor. During the V2G operation mode the energy stored in the batteries can be delivered back to the power grid contributing to the power system stability. In the V2H operation mode the energy stored in the batteries can be used to supply home loads during power outages, or to supply loads in places without connection to the power grid. Along the paper the hardware topology of the bidirectional battery charger is presented and the control algorithms are explained. Some considerations about the sizing of the AC side passive filter are taken into account in order to improve the performance in the three operation modes. The adopted topology and control algorithms are accessed through computer simulations and validated by experimental results achieved with a developed laboratory prototype operating in the different scenarios.

Nowadays, new challenges arise relating to the compensation of power quality problems, where the introduction of innovative solutions based on power electronics is of paramount importance. The evolution from conventional electrical power grids to smart grids requires the use of a large number of power electronics converters, indispensable for the integration of key technologies, such as renewable energies, electric mobility and energy storage systems, which adds importance to power quality issues. Addressing these topics, this paper presents an extensive review on power electronics technologies applied to power quality improvement, highlighting, and explaining the main phenomena associated with the occurrence of power quality problems in smart grids, their cause and effects for different activity sectors, and the main power electronics topologies for each technological solution. More specifically, the paper presents a review and classification of the main power quality problems and the respective context with the standards, a review of power quality problems related to the power production from renewables, the contextualization with solid-state transformers, electric mobility and electrical railway systems, a review of power electronics solutions to compensate the main power quality problems, as well as power electronics solutions to guarantee high levels of power quality. Relevant experimental results and exemplificative developed power electronics prototypes are also presented throughout the paper.

Batteries of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have a large potential not only to provide energy for the locomotion of these vehicles, but also to interact, in dynamic way, with the power grid. Thereby, through the energy stored in the batteries, these vehicles can be used to regulate the active and the reactive power, as local Energy Storage Systems. This way, EVs can contribute to help the power grid to regulate the active and reactive power flow in order to stabilize the production and consumption of energy. For this propose should be defined usage profiles, controlled by a collaborative broker, taking into account the requirements of the power grid and the conveniences of the vehicle user. Besides, the interface between the power grid and the EVs, instead of using typical power converters that only work on unidirectional mode, need to use bidirectional power converters to charge the batteries (G2V - Grid-to-Vehicle mode) and to deliver part of the stored energy in the batteries back to the power grid (V2G - Vehicle-to-Grid mode). With the bidirectional power converter topology presented in this paper, the consumed current is sinusoidal and it is possible to regulate the power factor to control the reactive power, aiming to contribute to mitigate power quality problems in the power grid. To assess the behavior of the presented bidirectional power converter under different scenarios, are presented some computer simulations and experimental results obtained with a prototype that was developed to be integrated in an Electric Vehicle.