The need for a more flexible usage of power is increasing due to the electrification of new sectors in society combined with larger amounts of integrated intermittent electricity production in the power system. Among other cities, Uppsala in Sweden is undergoing an accelerated transition of its vehicle fleet from fossil combustion engines to electrical vehicles. To meet the requirements of the transforming mobility infrastructure, Uppsala municipality has, in collaboration with Uppsala University, built a full-scale commercial electrical vehicle parking garage equipped with a battery storage and photovoltaic system. This paper presents the current hardware topology of the parking garage, a neural network for day-ahead predictions of the parking garage’s load profile, and a simulation model in MATLAB using rule-based peak shaving control. The created neural network was trained on data from 2021 and its performance was evaluated using data from 2022. The performance of the rule-based peak shaving control was evaluated using the predicted load demand and photovoltaic data collected for the parking garage. The aim of this paper is to test a prediction model and peak shaving strategy that could be implemented in practice on-site at the parking garage. The created neural network has a linear regression index of 0.61, which proved to yield a satisfying result when used in the rule-based peak shaving control with the parking garage’s 60 kW/137 kWh battery system. The peak shaving model was able to reduce the highest load demand peak of 117 kW by 38.6% using the forecast of a neural network.

With more electric vehicles introduced in society, there is a need for the further implementation of charging infrastructure. Innovation in electromobility may result in new charging and discharging strategies, including concepts such as smart charging and vehicle-to-grid. This article provides an overview of vehicle charging and discharging innovations with a cable connection. A MATLAB/Simulink model is developed to show the difference between an electric vehicle with and without the vehicle-to-grid capabilities for electricity grid prices estimated for Sweden for three different electric vehicle user profiles and four different electric vehicle models. The result includes the state-of-charge values and price estimations for the different vehicles charged with or without a bidirectional power flow to and from the electric grid. The results show that there is a greater difference in state-of-charge values over the day investigated for the electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid capabilities than for vehicles without vehicle-to-grid capabilities. The results indicate potential economic revenues from using vehicle-to-grid if there is a significant variation in electricity prices during different hours. Therefore, the vehicle owner can potentially receive money from selling electricity to the grid while also supporting the electric grid. The study provides insights into utilizing vehicle-to-grid in society and taking steps towards its implementation.

The electrification of the transport sector is of crucial importance for a successful transition to a fossil-free society. However, the electricity grid constitutes a bottleneck. This article provides a case study based on a real-world parking garage with a smart grid infrastructure, called Dansmästaren. The analysis shows how renewable energy sources, energy storage technologies, and smart charging of electric vehicles can smooth out the load curve of the parking garage and relieve the electric grid during peak hours. Dansmästaren is located in Uppsala, Sweden, and equipped with 60 charging points for electric vehicles, a PV system, and a battery storage system. The study utilizes an energy flow model to show the potential of a realistically dimensioned smart energy system, that can benefit the parking facility in itself and the local distribution grid in a city, Uppsala, with grid capacity challenges. The results suggest that the parking garage demand on the local grid can be significantly lowered by smarter control of its relatively small battery energy storage. Moreover, further smart control strategies can decrease demand up to 60% during high load hours while still guaranteeing fully charged vehicles at departure in near future scenarios. The study also shows that peak shaving strategies can lower the maximum peaks by up to 79%. A better understanding of the potential of public infrastructures for electric vehicle charging helps to increase knowledge on how they can contribute to more sustainable cities and a fossil-free society.