Grid Evolution for Massive Deployment of Electric Vehicles

April 24, 2025

The global electric vehicle (EV) market is projected to continue its rapid expansion, with forecasts estimating that EVs will account for 40% of all new car sales by 2030 and nearly 55% by 2035. This swift adoption raises critical concerns about the readiness of electrical grids to accommodate the growing demand. Addressing these challenges can follow conventional approaches, such as reinforcing existing infrastructure through grid planning or leverage innovative strategies like smart charging to optimize grid usage. This thesis examines the impact of increasing EV penetration on a medium-voltage distribution grid, focusing on future projections for 2030 and 2035. To enhance the grid’s ability to sustain higher EV loads, two distinct solutions are explored: (1) a conventional grid planning strategy, which involves reinforcing the network by adding new lines to alleviate overloading, and (2) a smart charging strategy, which dynamically adjusts charging behavior using a simple algorithm that halts charging making use of grid-to-vehicle (G2V) technology or enables vehicle-to-grid (V2G) discharging during peak demand periods. Simulation results indicate that both strategies contribute to mitigating grid stress. The grid reinforcement solution effectively improves the bus voltage profiles and eliminates line overloading but does not fully resolve transformer congestion. On the other hand, the smart charging approach significantly improves transformer loading and positively impacts bus voltages, while still struggling to completely eliminate line overloading under extreme 2035 penetration scenarios. These findings highlight the necessity of combining multiple strategies to ensure a robust and cost-effective solution for future EV integration.

Authors in the community:

• 

  H

  Hernâni Lucas Carvalho do Amaral

  ist193775

Supervisors of this institution:

• 

  C

  Célia Maria Santos Cardoso de Jesus

  ist12937

electrical-engineering-electronic-engineering-information-engineering - Electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico