Charging Strategies for Battery Electric Vehicles: Economic Benchmark and V2G Potential

This paper benchmarks the economic benefits of a smart charging and a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operating strategy of an electric vehicle (EV) against a zero-intelligence charging strategy in a simulation-based analysis. Smart charging optimizes the timing of EV charging, while V2G additionally allows for selling electricity to the energy market. The strategies internalize the wear on energy storage equipment. The simulation builds on over 11 400 empirical driving profiles from a German mobility panel and applies technical specifications of three currently available EVs. This allows for a realistic analysis of the applicability of smart charging and V2G as well as the extent to which EVs are capable to fulfill current driving needs. Results show that smart charging strategies will reduce charging cost on average by more than 32% in all analyzed cases. V2G could provide additional revenue for EV owners with shorter trip patterns while reducing electricity cost for others.