Fraunhofer ESK is developing underlying communication methods for a uniform energy management system for power grids and electric vehicles. At the Hannover Trade Fair in April, ESK researchers will demonstrate how the charging station serves as an interoperable node between the e-vehicle and the network control center using the ISO/IEC 15118 and IEC 61850 standards.

The reference system is intended to help charging station and e-vehicle manufacturers and grid operators implement the communication standards and test their products for standards compliance.

Value-added services based on IEC 15118. The requirement for digital communication before, during and after charging—not just for the charging process but also for vehicle authentication, automatic time-delayed charging, dynamic billing models or other services—led to the creation of the ISO/IEC 15118 standard.

As part of the SmartV2G (smart vehicle to grid interface) research project sponsored by the EU, ESK researchers carried out a thorough technology analysis and subsequently developed an enhancement of the ISO/IEC 15118 standard to effect communication between the charging station and the e-vehicle. They then tested the interaction of the individual components using the HomePlug Green PHY transmission technology together with IPv6. Interoperability tests will also be carried out over the course of the project.

Our experience has shown that charging station manufacturers are still shying away from the standard because the implementation is too complex. For this reason, we developed a reference installation that significantly streamlines the implementation.

Uniform grid communication based on IEC 61850. Energy providers and grid operators are forced to communicate with a wide range of elements in the network, ranging from various energy sources to different types of end users such as private homes, industry parks and e-vehicle charging stations. To date, this communication has been based on proprietary protocols.

With the enhancement and implementation of the IEC 61850 standard that stemmed from the energy industry, Fraunhofer ESK is introducing trade fair visitors to an additional solution that supports the conversion of the power grid to renewable sources.