Smart Transportation

This chapter presents an overview of electric vehicles (EVs); their current status and also future opportunities, in addition to the challenges of integrating them into the smart grid. Electrifying transportation is a promising approach to alleviate the issues caused by conventional internal‐combustion‐engine vehicles (CICEVs). EVs show better performance than CICEVs because they use a highly efficient drivetrain and electric motors instead of a low efficiency internal‐combustion‐engine. EVs are classified into three main categories in terms of their powertrains: plug‐in electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel‐cell electric vehicles. Battery technology is the key element for the integration of EVs in the market since it has impacts on the vehicle performance, the driving range, and the reliability. Battery charger technology can be seen as an equivalent structure of petrol stations for EVs. Bidirectional vehicle to grid technology allows bidirectional power flow between EVs and the power system.