Joaqum Perez, Filipe Quintal, Lucas Pereira
Electronics 2023, 12(21), 4401; doi: 10.3390/electronics12214401
Publication year: 2023

Abstract

Efforts to enhance electric vehicle (EV) charging processes have spurred the emergence of smart charging algorithms. However, these studies are intricate and costly, necessitating preliminary simulations to assess EV integration into power grids. Existing solutions to this issue tend to be limited to academia and proprietary systems. To address this, we propose a user-friendly and intuitive simulation tool employing a decoupled and flexible architecture. This architecture, achieved through open design and containerized microservices, streamlines maintenance, extension, and scalability. We substantiated the validity of our solution by simulating the charging infrastructure from an H2020 Research Project. Furthermore, we integrated our solution with an external system that executes smart charging algorithms. The proposed system yielded the desired results, enabling the project team to evaluate both the integration and algorithms, even amidst the COVID-19 lockdown.