Mind the gap- open communication protocols for vehicle grid integration

Mass adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and their associated charging requirements introduce new electricity demand, which needs to be managed to minimise electricity grid upgrades. Management of BEV charging requires coordination and communication between various mobility and energy entities. Communication protocols provide a set of rules and guidelines to facilitate the communication and data exchange between two or more entities to ensure successful charging demand management and electricity grid integration of BEVs. A key challenge is that companies are currently developing and implementing several proprietary protocols to manage BEV charging, which could risk losing or vastly under-utilising BEV charging demand flexibility, and consequently hindering proper grid integration. This work presents the status quo on communication protocols and standards for vehicle grid integration and it is targeted for industries and governments. The objectives of the work are to review current protocols, present some of the advantages of open protocols, identify challenges and additional efforts required to develop, implement, and standardise these protocols to ensure that charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is synergistic with the operation of the electricity system.