Military-Based Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Vehicle Microgrid—System Architecture and Implementation

A real-life military application of vehicle-to-grid/ vehicle-to-vehicle (V2G-V2V)-based microgrid system is described in this paper. The system provides a plug-and-play, very fast forming, smart, aggregated, and efficient power solution for a contingency military base that can be setup in less than 20 min and is ready to generate up to 240 kW of 208-Y/120-VAC three-phase (3 Φ) power. The system uses vehicle transmission-integrated generators (TIGs) to produce 600-VDC power for use by vehicle hotel loads (i.e., electrification of nonpropulsion and auxiliary loads) and off-board loads (tents/shelters, communications centers, or other electrical loads). This effort involves four tactical military vehicles-two M1152 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles equipped with 30 kW of on-board vehicle power and two MaxxPro dash mine resistant ambush protected vehicles equipped with 120-kW 3000 TIGs with V2G and V2V capabilities, four 60-kW dc-to-3 Φ ac power converters with 600-VDC bus distribution systems and four 22.8-kWh energy storage units. Discussion of the methodology for power management for maximizing fuel economy is included at the end. This paper also includes some test results of subsystems and some results from modeling and simulation of the system. Our study demonstrates significant fuel economy benefits of using V2V-based system.