At the 25,000-square-foot California Mobility Center, which tests innovations in mobility, the hot topics right now include vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, hydrogen-based microgrids for electric vehicle (EV) charging and gasoline-electric car conversions.
More and more, microgrids are playing an important role in mobility, either providing resources to charge EVs or serving as mobile microgrids – EVs with bidirectional charging capability that can send power to the grid or to a home or business.
The California Mobility Center works with partners like the Sacramento Public Utility District (SMUD) and the University of California Davis to showcase microgrids and battery energy storage for EV charging, said Orville Thomas, CEO of the California Mobility Center.
The benefits of bidirectional charging to the energy transition
Showcasing bidirectional charging technologies is also a goal, he said.
Bidirectional charging technologies are viewed as critical to the energy transition because the power in EV drivers’ batteries can support the grid, replacing gas peaker plants, lowering utility costs and boosting air quality. Bidirectional charging can achieve this goal either by meeting electrical loads with an EV’s batteries – reducing strain on the grid – or sending power directly to the grid. It can also provide electricity to loads in homes or businesses.
In California, SB 59— which authorizes the California Energy Commission to require that new EVs and electric school buses sold in California have bidirectional capability — passed out of the legislature at the end of August and Governor Newsom is expected to sign the bill.
The mobility center is now talking to a school bus manufacturer that wants to test bidirectional charging, Thomas said. When the mobility center tests a manufacturer's products, the goal is to help commercialize the innovations.
Testing utility programs
The mobility center, located in Sacramento, is served by SMUD, which issues flex alerts on hot days telling customers it needs more resources or conservation to meet demand. The mobility center can put this type of program to the test.
“As a school, you might be able to say, ‘What if we plugged in and utilized our electric bus power to run lighting and air conditioning off the bus rather than taking more energy off the grid,’” said Thomas.
With bidirectional charging, Thomas is seeing more opportunities that will give people and businesses access to reliable energy, he said.
Microgrid that allows for hydrogen backup of chargers
Another project — located at the California Mobility Center’s Ramp-Up Factory — focuses on commercializing hydrogen-based direct current (DC) fast EV charging and backup power from GenCell’s EVOX so that EV fleets can be charged quickly, especially in regions where the grid can’t provide fast charging.
The GenCell EVOX includes battery energy storage and fuel cells along with energy management software to provide supplementary power for DC fast charging and off-grid backup power for EVs during outages.
The EVOX is a microgrid with bidirectional inputs and outputs, said Alex Saucedo, director of sales and business development for GenCell. This means that in addition to providing EV charging, energy from the system can be exported to the grid to help stabilize the electrical infrastructure.
Amplifying power to fast charge with 240-volt outlet
The mobility center is conducting a demonstration of GenCell’s EVOX aimed at showing how the product can make it possible to use a 240-volt outlet for DC fast charging, which requires a 480-volt outlet, said Thomas.
“If you have a 240-volt outlet, you can put in the EVOX and it will store energy and amplify it to power something like a DC fast charger,” he said.
This option is likely less expensive than paying a utility to upgrade to a 480-volt system, he added.
The EVOX stores energy from the grid and, if the grid goes down, the unit can be powered by fuel cells.
“In addition to having the battery as a backup to the energy system, it’s a backup to the backup with two fuel cells,” explained Thomas.
The EVOX is competitively priced when the goal is to have 480-volt, three-phase power and an on-demand emergency power option, said Saucedo.
“The EVOX is customizable depending on need, but when compared to other solutions, we are very competitive given all the federal and state incentives,” he said.
When electrical infrastructure isn’t available for fast charging
Electrical infrastructure for DC fast chargers is often unavailable, especially in remote locations, which creates a charging gap for EVs that need to charge quickly – municipal fleets and commercial vehicles such as those operated by Amazon and United Parcel Service, Saucedo said.
“We take energy from the existing electrical infrastructure, then step up voltage with a battery. If your vehicle needs 60 kW of energy and the infrastructure is at the wrong voltage, you may only get 40 kW of power,” he said.
The unit can accommodate four energy sources, which means that solar or wind power can be included. Some regions, like California, may have solar available for charging. The EVOX could use existing solar resources, and the system’s software would decide which resource to use first, based on cost.
Exploring gas-to-electric car conversions
Along with interest in charging options and bidirectional charging, the mobility center has seen interest in converting gasoline-powered cars to EVs, said Thomas. The mobility center is working with a high school that wants to train students to do the conversions.
Right now, gas-to-electric conversions are a niche industry, mostly embraced by car collectors. But as the cost of lithium ion batteries drops, so does the cost of conversions, said Thomas.
While the conversions are not generally economical for the average car owner right now, the goal is to explore conversions as a way to provide EVs to all car owners.
For Thomas, exploring EV opportunities is a rewarding and fun endeavor.
“It’s a lot of fun to do and we’re lucky to have a small role in it,” he said.
