VEHICLE-TO-GRID NETWORKS

The articles in this special section focus on the growing market for electric vehicles, with an emphasis on vehicle-to-grid network (V2G) development. These articles explore the state of the art in research and development on V2G networks. From the perspective of the power-sector, V2G networks necessitate a careful management of charging/discharging services for a large population of EVs, with the objectives of guaranteeing grid stability, improving energy utilization, and reaping potential arbitrage value. In addition, as indispensable bridges for managing the large number of EVs connected to the power grid and their associated bi-directional energy-flows, new sophisticated designs for communication infrastructures and protocols will play a crucial role. The objective here is to realize an efficient and effective information-flow, in addition to the energy-flow, which enables real-time monitoring, signaling and information-dissemination in V2G networks, regardless of the location, time, and the physical conditions/types of EVs. Such designs require the integration of emerging advances in information, computing, and communications technologies. Therefore, V2G networks involve the multidisciplinary study of smart grids, communication networks, and transportation networks, and they will lead to a wide range of interesting studies of practical importance and theoretical impact.