DC Off-Board Vehicle to Grid/Building/Home: A Survey and Gap Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, the research interest in bidirectional charging of electric vehicles has increased significantly, driven by improved accessibility to charging and payment information as well as the increasing emphasis on integrating variable renewable energy sources more effectively into the grid. Integrating bidirectional charging with the grid/building/home can also reduce grid congestion. Despite this, broader implementation of this technology has not yet been achieved. In this context, this article comprehensively surveys direct current (DC) off-board vehicle to grid/building/home chargers and analyses the gaps which prevent the technologies’ wide implementation. These gaps are analysed by considering areas such as the development direction of bidirectional charging technology, battery cost and its degradation, V2G applicable standards, grid codes and charging protocols, deployment of V2G chargers (off-board versus on-board/wireless), market feasibility of V2G services, and the cost of bidirectional off-board chargers. The first survey of twenty-five commercial bidirectional chargers is presented and investigated in relation to the above-mentioned areas. Four key (technical, regulatory, financial, and behavioural) barriers are identified and discussed for the wide implementation of vehicle to grid/building/home charging.