The electric road system (ERS) is an emerging technology to support decarbonization of heavy goods vehicles. The reliability of the traction power supply system (TPSS) for an electric road is a key consideration in ERS planning and maintenance, but since the development of ERS is still at its early stage, the reliability study of different ERS systems has not been fully researched. This paper fills this research gap. It first analyses the potential operation risks of three different ERS systems using the failure mode and effect analysis method. Then, a fault tree model is built to analyse the overall reliability of the traction power supply system of each of the three ERS types and to identify the weak links. Furthermore, the overall failure rate and reliability indicators are obtained by combining the possible failures of both the electric and non-electric components of the TPSS. Finally, based on the analysis of the potential risks and the corresponding reliability indicators, the advantages and disadvantages of different ERS solutions and the future development prospects are discussed.

With the continual expansion of urban road networks and global commitments to net zero, electric vehicles (EVs) have been considered to be the most viable solution to decarbonize the transportation sector. In recent years, the electric road system (ERS) has been introduced and piloted in a few countries and regions to decarbonize heavy-duty vehicles. However, little research has been carried out on its reliability. This paper fills the gap and investigates the reliability of electric truck power supply systems for electric road (ETPSS–ER), which considers both the power system and truck traffic networks. First, a brief introduction of electric roads illustrates the working principle of EV charging on roads. Then, an optimized electric truck (ET) travel pattern model is built, based on which the corresponding ET charging load demand, including both static charging and dynamic charging, is conducted. Then, based on the new ET travel pattern model, a daily travel-pattern-driven Monte Carlo simulation-based reliability assessment method for ETPSS–ER system is presented. Case studies based on the IEEE RBTS system shows that ETs driving on ERS systems can meet the daily travel demands. The case studies also examine the impacts of increasing number of ETs, extra wind power, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) on the reliability of ERS power systems.

The paper proposes a parallel transformerless (TL) static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) for the control of power flow along the power distribution lines under balanced or unbalanced voltages. This new SSSC configuration offers the advantages of a fast dynamic response, light weight, and high efficiency. By connecting multiple SSSCs in parallel, the current rating is increased, which improves the grid power transfer capabilities and flexibility. However, there may be circulating current flowing between the parallel-connected inverters, hence causing losses. A modified model predictive control scheme is thus developed, which ensures that the proposed SSSC accurately tracks the reference currents while effectively mitigating the circulating current. The model and cost function of the controller are derived and analyzed in the paper. A real-time simulation of a power line with the parallel TL SSSC controlled by a hardware-in-loop (HIL) DSP is developed to validate the performance of this device under both balanced and unbalanced line voltages.