Energy Needs for Electric Mobility in Large Urban Areas and Potentials of V2G Implementation: Empirical Analysis Using Big Data from Floating Cars

A great interest and a wide debate are occurring worldwide on electric mobility as the key solution for cleaner transportation with the potential to significantly reduce emissions. However, large-scale EV adoption is highly energy demanding and it is worth of investigating the need for demand of electric energy and adequacy of the existing electric grid to satisfy such a high demand. Furthermore, the development of a smarter grid infrastructure can be very useful to shave the peaks of electric power demand in different hours during the day. This is where Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology emerges as a game-changer. By enabling EVs to act as distributed energy storage units, V2G has the potential to revolutionize the way electricity is managed and distributed. This study investigates the impact of EV fleet composition on the energy exchange between EVs and the power grid by exploiting traffic data collected through a fleet of 103,000 GPS-equipped vehicles. By analyzing various scenarios with different mixes of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), penetration rates, and climate conditions, the study explores the potential of V2G for grid balancing services and evaluates trade-offs in maximizing energy contribution while maintaining sufficient EV range.