Utilidata has formed a research partnership with the University of Michigan to collect and analyze electric vehicle charging behaviors.
The initiative, being conducted through the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, aims to better understand the impact of electric vehicle charging on the electric grid.
“As more people invest in electric vehicles, our electric grid needs to be ready to support the influx in energy demand,” Josh Brumberger, Utilidata’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Access to real-time insights of when EVs are charging will help utilities identify charging locations and design better EV programs for customers.”
The project’s researchers have installed Utilidata’s smart grid chips, a distributed artificial intelligence platform, on several electric vehicle charging stations across the University of Michigan’s campus to collect data on the impact of charging those vehicles.
Utilidata has installed its smart grid chip, which uses NVIDIA’s Jetson platform, alongside electric meters to integrate more distributed energy resources, including solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles and enhance resiliency of the electric grid. The chips collect and analyze large amounts of data to provide utilities with real-time visibility of grid conditions.
The smart grid chips in the University of Michigan study collect real-time voltage, current, and power data at the edge of the grid, allowing researchers to analyze and detect electric vehicle charging patterns at each location.
The researchers will analyze the data from the chips alongside vehicle data from a group of participants within the research study who have vehicle monitoring devices installed on their electric vehicles. Data from the monitoring device includes start and stop time for charging, location of charging, trips taken, and acceleration and deceleration.
By closely analyzing driving and charging behavior, the researchers said they would be able to develop a better understanding of how to manage electric vehicle demand on the grid and how to help utilities develop smart charging programs for their customers. The researchers expect to have the results from the study later this year.
In early May, Michigan officials issued a Request for Qualifications for Round 1 of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant program under which Michigan will receive $110 million in federal resources to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Michigan has set a goal of building the infrastructure necessary to support 2 million electric vehicles by 2030.
