Smart Grid versus Hydrogen Highway

A Honda Fuel Cell vehicle filling up with solar-hydrogen

Not long ago, I thought it was time to give up on fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen highway in favor of plug-in hybrid vehicles. After driving some fuel cell vehicles, however, I realized the automotive side of the hydrogen economy was closer to reality than I believed, however, the hydrogen highway still seemed miles into the future because of costs.

But is the smart grid technology required for the plug-in hybrid revolution really that much cheaper? Read more...

Forget capacity. Can the grid handle plug-ins?

Is a smart grid required for plug-in hybrids?

"The analog grid has served its purpose for the last half century, but the future requires an integrated, digital smart grid. This next-generation grid will allow customers to better manage their energy consumption while optimizing the grid through real-time generation management and distribution controls," stated Ray Gogel, CAO and vice president of customer and enterprise solutions of Xcel Energy, recently.

At NAIAS I spoke with a fan of the Chevy Volt whom kept reassuring me that there was plenty of excess electricity in the electric grid for plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric cars. However, when I asked, "What happens when you come home from work at 5:30 PM, when that excess capacity isn't in the grid? Do you set your alarm for 2:00 AM and then plug-in your car?"

While the grid might have extra capacity, that excess capacity is only available in a very small, finite window of opportunity, so it seems obvious that cars and the grid, for example, will need to communicate with each other via some sort of V2G technology. Still, how much will this new digital grid cost? And, will it benefit consumers as much as utility companies?

SoCal Edison receives first Escape hybrid plug-in

Partnership to test plug-in hybrid vehicles

Ford is delivering the first of 20 Ford Escape hybrids that have been converted into plug-in hybrid vehicles to Southern California Edison. While the program is in its very early stages, it will eventually evolve into a program that will test Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and Vehicle to Home (V2H) technologies.

The plug-in Escape hybrid can achieve about 30 miles on pure electric power using a 10 kWh lithium-ion battery pack developed my Johnson-Controls Saft.

(Source: GreenCarCongress)

Distributed Energy gets a boost

A Step closer to V2G and the hydrogen highway?

One of the great possibilities of both plug-in hybrid vehicles and the hydrogen highway is that both technologies could help drive electric grid distribution. Doing so would increase the efficiency of the grid, and make it less prone to terrorist attacks, natural disasters, etc.

Unfortunately, the grid isn't prepared for distributive energy, but work is being done, such as the new contract that UQM Technologies received to develop an advanced grid-connect inverter (more).

Developments such as these help create the infrastructure that can truly end America's foreign oil dependency while significantly reducing our carbon footprint.

Are utility companies afraid of the hydrogen highway?

Fuel cell cars: The greatest fear of power companies?

I've long been a huge fan of hybrid cars and, especially, of plug-in hybrid vehicles. For the last several years, I've believed that plug-in hybrids made fuel cell vehicles and, more important, the hydrogen highway irrelevant to a new energy paradigm. In fact, I started to believe that the hydrogen highway was the quickest path away from a new, clean and green energy paradigm.

Lately, however, I've been buying into the hydrogen economy, and I'm starting to wonder if utility companies and some of their plug-in hybrid-supporting friends are fighting against the hydrogen economy for all the wrong reasons. (Finish)

Xcel set to test plug-in hybrids, V2G

A Hybrids-Plus plug-in Toyota Prius

Xcel Energy is ramping up its effort to test 6 plug-in hybrid vehicles on its grid, including the impact of V2G technology. According to a recent press release, the 6 month test should begin before the end of the year.

"The goal is to determine how consumers can use the vehicles to significantly lower greenhouse gases, shore up electricity grid reliability and prove PHEVs are a viable alternative to today’s carbon-emitting cars."

Hybrids-Plus will provide 6 Ford Escape hybrid vehicles that have been converted into lithium-powered plug-in hybrid vehicles with an inverger that will interface with a V2 Green V2G Connectivity Module.

V2Green making plug-in hybrid to grid software

A Hybrids-Plus Plug-in Prius hybrid

According to GreenCarCongress, "V2Green is a Seattle-based start-up developing a suite of software infrastructure products—the V2Green System—to manage the impact of plug-in hybrids on the grid and to generate vehicle-based power services.

The V2Green System establishes intelligent, two-way communication between plug-in vehicles and the grid. Once vehicles are “grid-aware”, utilities can implement real-time monitoring and charging control strategies, including Smart Charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services to meet the needs of both drivers and the utilities. V2Green will license the system to electric utilities."

Making V2G technology could help offset the costs of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which might bring mass-produced lithium-powered hybrids to market sooner.

PG&E and Tesla partner on V2G

Tesla isn't dead yet

Over the last few months, a few knowledgeable sources have told me that Tesla Motors is having problems, and that delivery of already ordered Roadsters could be significantly delayed. Ultimately, this doesn't surprise me greatly. It's not as if Tesla is producing toasters, they are producing some of the most advanced automobiles ever produced.

Fortunately, even if Tesla is having problems they are still moving forward, and they have now partnered with PG&E on Vehicle 2 Grid (V2G) technology. Sadly, the two are only partnering on one way charging, or Smart Charging, as PG&E calls it - at least for now.

"We are focusing our initial V2G implementation on smart charging," said JB Straubel, Chief Technology Officer, Tesla Motors. "Smart charging is a form of V2G in which the vehicle does not provide power back to the grid. Instead, the vehicle charging rate is controlled remotely in order to support the operation of the grid or to best match load to the availability of intermittent renewable energy resources such as wind and solar."

In the long run, it is hoped that V2G technology will enable electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles to not just smart charge, but to actually pump electricity back into the grid, thereby making the cost of electricity cheaper for such vehicles.

Compact Power sees billion dollar future in Volt

Compact ready to supply all of the Volt's battery needs

Compact Power, a subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., wants to be the lithium battery maker of choice for GM's Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid.

"There's a lot of momentum now behind the electrification of the vehicle," Prabhakar Patil, CEO of Compact Power, told Reuters in an interview. "If it succeeds, it's going to be a game-changer."

And it won't just be a game changer, but a money maker, as Patil sees a billion dollar market for electric and plug-in hybrid batteries in the next 5 to 10 years.

Recently, Compact Power developed a new liquid cooling system and separator technology to help prevent their battery pack from overheating - a key concern regarding plug-in hybrid vehicles. In addition, Compact Power is developing a V2G, or Vehicle to Grid, feature that could help offset the cost of the Volt by enabling it to reduce home electricity costs.

Google offers $10 million to plug-in hybrid developers

In addition to $1,000,000 in grants already

Google will develop an RFPs "to fund development, adoption and commercialization of plug-ins, fully electric cars and related vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology."

Google also set up a partnership with A123Systems to convert a number of hybrid cars into plug-in hybrid vehicles as a test fleet.

Read the full press release in comments

PG&E's Car-to-Grid Technology Demo

Pacific Gas & Electric, one of California's electric utilities, recently held a demo of V2G Technology, or vehicle to grid technology, where battery charging stations not only charge up electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but enable these vehicles to also sell power back to the grid.

"In addition to reducing energy costs, V2G technology could provide the ability for customers to sell energy back to the utility during hot afternoons when demand is highest and most costly to avoid blackouts," Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said in a statement. "Vehicle owners will select a price threshold at which they are willing to sell energy, and when the price reaches this point the utility will be able to automatically draw energy out of the vehicle, leaving enough for the drive home if necessary. The utility's customers would then earn credit in the amount of energy used by the utility toward their monthly energy bill."

(Source: InsideLine)

Plug-in hybrids could increase grid reliability?

There have been some questions regarding how a massive fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles might affect the power grid. While most studies seem to indicate there wouldn't be any serious problems, other studies actually demonstrate that plug-in hybrids might actually make the power grid more reliable, especially during peak hours.

"In addition, during the 90 percent of the time that most vehicles are sitting parked, electric-drive cars could actually supply power to the electric grid through a concept known as "vehicle to grid" technology or V2G for short. The V2G concept envisions the use of a bidirectional charger that allows electricity to flow into a vehicle's battery for charging, or lets stored electricity in the battery flow back onto the power grid. This could increase grid reliability and generate hundreds of dollars of revenue per year for hybrid owners."

(Source: Christian Science Monitor)