Internet of Mobile Energy

Two-way communication and Distributed Energy Sources (DES) are transforming traditional power systems from largely centralised energy production to more decentralised and connected management systems, where all nodes can inject energy and communicate with other parties involved. This is called the smart grid. A broad range of devices connected through the smart grid can inject information to the network and communicate with the energy manager which in turn leads to the emergence of new services to facilitate energy management and prevent energy shortage and price fluctuation.

As the smart grid evolves, electric vehicles (EVs) are emerging as new unconventional and highly disruptive participants in the grid that can add significant benefit and flexibility. EV’s are equipped with a relatively high capacity battery that stores energy to power the vehicle. EV batteries, coupled with the recent introduction of two-way charging/discharging stations, open up the possibility of EV’s to also serve as mobile energy transporters within an electrical grid and as energy suppliers to the grid when they have disposable energy. Such functionalities allow EV’s to contribute to helping service peak demand or voltage regulation within specific zones of the grid. This is particularly attractive as EV’s can have a battery capacity at least an order of magnitude higher than current home batteries.

The trends toward greater forecasting in smart grids, distributed energy generation and greater adoption and charging/discharging flexibility of EV’s highlight a greater convergence between the energy and transport sectors. The vision is a future where information and energy flow between the grid and electric vehicles is seamless and beneficial both to the grid’s stability and the end user’s interests. We refer to this vision as the Internet of Mobile Energy (IoME). This projects explores how to realise the IoME through emerging technolgies, such as blockchain, IoT, and machine learning.