Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Borlaug, Brennan (ORCID:0000000191421641)

Publications and source records attributed to Borlaug, Brennan (ORCID:0000000191421641).

Integrating Electric Vehicles into the Grid

Historically, transportation and power systems operated independently, but the rise of electric vehicles is transforming this relationship. In the United States, EV demands are expected to become the largest source of electricity load growth, posing challenges for the grid if not properly managed. This presentation highlights how managed charging strategies and strategic infrastructure deployment can integrate EVs into the power system to enhance grid efficiency and support renewable energy.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSI↗

Commercial EV Charging Infrastructure: Modeling Concepts & Techniques

This presentation offers an overview of key concepts and techniques for modeling global commercial EV charging infrastructure. We begin by comparing the unique needs of commercial vehicles with those of personal vehicles. Next, we delve into network design topics, including phased deployment of public infrastructure, port sharing across and within fleets, power requirements for en-route charging, and strategies for estimating depot charging availability. Finally, we outline the primary steps NREL follows in conducting an EV charging infrastructure needs assessment.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSI↗

Managing Increased Electric Vehicle Shares on Decarbonized Bulk Power Systems

Transportation electrification and power sector decarbonization - the convergence of these two trends present a complex planning problem requiring realistic, region-specific modeling and analysis to ensure that both can happen rapidly and cost effectively. This project, funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office, models the evolution of the U.S. bulk power system (through 2050) in response to large-scale EV charging across all on-road vehicle segments. We will assess the opportunity and value of demand-side flexibility (i.e., "smart" charging) for reducing energy costs, increasing renewable generation shares, and managing future EV loads on the bulk power system. Overall, this study aims to provide an improved understanding of least-cost solutions for managing EV load growth on the grid and will make high-resolution EV load data sets publicly available for further analysis.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Transportation Electrification Impact Study (TEIS)

Recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notices of proposed rulemakings for GHG emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-road vehicles would accelerate ongoing advancements already happening in the industry because of private investment, consumer demand, state-level policies, and federal incentives. As the EPA finalizes these regulations, questions persist regarding the cost of the requisite charging infrastructure and associated upgrades to the nation's electric grid. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and the EPA, a multidisciplinary team conducted a Multi-State Transportation Electrification Impact Study that quantitatively assesses the incremental investment necessary to enable the levels of vehicle electrification expected to be induced by pending EPA regulations and to estimate the potential value of deferred investments in electric distribution infrastructure stemming from proactive vehicle-grid integration planning and deployment. This study finds the simulated incremental capital cost of charging infrastructure (including grid upgrades) to be at least 2.5 times smaller than the lifetime net benefits of vehicle electrification (including fuel savings but excluding the value of avoided emissions). Additionally, the incremental distribution grid upgrade cost of the EPA Action-Unmanaged scenario was found to be approximately 3% of existing utility distribution system investments (on an annual basis). Finally, the potential for managed charging to defer distribution grid upgrades was found to be significant with costs found to decrease from $2.3 billion to an incremental cost of $1 billion across five states in the Action-Managed scenario (relative to the No Action-Unmanaged scenario).

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,POWER TRANSMISSION AND↗

Electrifying Education: Insights into Charging Electric School Buses in the United States

To combat climate change, the United States joined 193 Parties in committing to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 2 degrees C or less, and decarbonizing transportation will be a key requirement for achieving this goal. School buses (SBs) are a common form of student transport in the U.S. with nearly all SBs today powered by fossil fuels (primarily diesel). As a result, SBs have historically been a concerning source of both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and local air pollutants with negative health impacts for students and others living nearby. Electric SBs (ESBs) are a promising emerging technology for decarbonizing student transport, however, ESB adoption in the U.S. remains at an early stage (approximate 1.1%) with many outstanding uncertainties. This study aims to elucidate several of these by taking inventory of the total SB stock within U.S. states and studying real-world SB operating profiles to infer potential battery range requirements, daily charging opportunities, and charging infrastructure requirements for ESBs. In addition, we observe the geographic trends of early-stage ESB adoption, which can be used to better understand early adopter patterns and train vehicle technology adoption models.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Enhancing the EVI-X National Framework to Address Emerging Questions on Charging Infrastructure Deployment

As large national investments in EV charging continue to be made, this project seeks to improve the state-of-the-art in EV infrastructure analysis. New and improved quantitative analysis capabilities will position VTO to support EERE Leadership, assist the DOT/DOE Joint Office through timely analysis, and provide a strategy for the deployment of the national charging network. This project supports on-going development of NREL's EVI-X Suite of charging infrastructure analysis tools, including tools supporting large-scale network planning, local site design decisions, and comprehensive financial analysis. EVI-X development complements and leverages other VTO-funded efforts to ensure inputs to EVI-X and output produced by EVI-X are consistent with and well-integrated into the VTO portfolio (e.g., EV adoption scenarios from TEMPO, charging infrastructure design provided to EVs@Scale, etc.).

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

EVI-X Updates and National Charging Assessment Report

With the support of DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office and the DOE/DOT Joint Office (JO), NREL has applied the EVI-X modeling suite to conduct a National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Needs Assessment. This report considers a 2030 scenario in which 30-42 million light-duty electric vehicles are on the road (including plug-in hybrids). We consider the needs of vehicles used for typical daily driving, drivers without access to residential charging, corridor charging supporting long-distance travel, and ride-hailing electrification. We find that a national network of 28 million charging ports (including public and private infrastructure) will be necessary in our mid adoption scenario. This result is framed as a conservative estimate as the assumed costs include charging equipment and installation but exclude the cost of grid upgrades and distributed energy resources.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Electrifying Education: Insights into Charging Electric School Buses in the United States

School buses (SBs) have historically been a source of both greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollutants have negative health impacts for students and others living nearby. Battery electric SBs (ESBs) are a promising emerging technology for decarbonizing student transport, however, ESB adoption in the U.S. remains at an early stage (approximate 1.1%) with many outstanding uncertainties. In this study, we take inventory of the current SB stock within U.S. states and observe real-world SB operating profiles to better understand the potential battery range requirements, daily charging opportunities, and charging infrastructure needs for ESBs.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Evaluating Electric Vehicle Public Charging Utilization in the United States Using the EV WATTS Dataset: Preprint

The utilization of electric vehicle (EV) charging in the United States is a rapidly evolving puzzle further complicated by changes in travel habits brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The EV WATTS dataset is the largest publicly available dataset on the utilization of EV charging in the United States and provides key insights into the changing patterns of public vehicle charging and vehicle use as EV range increases, commute patterns evolve, and more infrastructure becomes available.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗