Maximizing Battery Efficiency: How Electric Terminals Can Be Essential During a Blackout

Ehsan Emami, founding president of Qovoltis which is a company specializing in intelligent recharge for electric vehicles, has a fixed idea in mind: contributing to the balancing of the network while recharging vehicles. In other words, that we have terminals, “strategic allies” in the face of a possible blackout.

In terms of France, we have not known a blackout since the 1980s [ndr, il avait eu lieu le 19 décembre 1978]. In terms of electricity, everything that is produced is consumed so there is no storage wherever it is. So if, at one point, the amount of production is too low or too high, we will observe an imbalance.

To avoid this, RTE (electricity transport network), the network manager, makes sure to know the consumption habits over 24 hours with sections of up to 15 minutes to avoid any possible imbalance. And if ever, it had to arrive in case of not high enough production, it is possible to activate certain assistance levers to fill the lack or buy from its neighbors for example.

Today, with the renewable energies that depend on the elements, it is a little more difficult to carry out this precise management of the network. Imagine that the wind does not blow on a wind power plant or that a large cloud hides a solar power plant of 300 MW, you have a production of electricity which can be divided by two. In fact, renewable energy projects are now asked to come with a means of producing electricity, but also a way to store it, as with staircase dams in the Alps for example.

But the best idea you can see to store electricity is the battery. Thus, for a little less than 10 years, RTE has made tenders to have means of storage of electricity so that in the event of negative fluctuation, this electricity can be reinjected into the network and therefore avoid blackout. Conversely, in case of overproduction, our storage means must also be able to take electricity available on the network so as not to saturate it.

S&V: How could electric terminals be “strategic allies” in the face of such fluctuations? And are there enough on the territory?

EE: Already, the terminals must be bidirectional. Finally, we need a regulatory framework that is well defined. Because when you do two -way recharge, you are like a small electricity producer, you put on the electricity network that you have stored, or on the contrary, you draw, with this same terminal, to store it afterwards.

Regarding the number, today, there are clearly not enough that are two -way charging stations and ideally, it would be necessary that in terms, when all the vehicles are switched on to the electric, is on each parking space, a bidirectional terminal and more, I would say that it would be necessary to count much more than a terminal per vehicle in circulation.

So, within twenty years, your citizen consumer reflex will be to connect your vehicle for a given period and let it be connected to the network. Because electric cars could also be used. By adding their power, it will be possible to “match”A fluctuation and therefore avoid a possible blackout. The whole, of course, paid for having contributed to the electrical balancing of the network.

And there we are only talking about public limits, private terminals can also be affected.

© QoVoltis

Operating diagram of QoVoltis electrical terminals

S&V: In case of blackout, how long do we put a city on the network, a region then a country?

EE: If everything has cut, I think it's complicated to restore current quickly. You saw it in Spain where it was necessary to restart song by piece. The power plants are reconnecty one after the other by gradually feeding the territory to avoid turning back by a domino effect.

But before a blackout, we observe variations in frequencies and tension. It is at this point that the network manager will send his orders to the various storage entities to say “take” or “go”. So the objective is to ensure that the blackout does not take place by proceeding to various balancing which occur in the space of a few seconds to avoid any disturbance.

Otherwise, some infrastructure will be isolated from the rest of the network to continue working before being finally attached. This is the case for nuclear power plants for example. And this meticulous management of balance on the network in France, it explains in particular why the last Blackout that we suffered was 47 years ago.

But since the advent of renewable energies, the question of the storage of electricity has become essential because these means of production are more irregular than a nuclear power plant for example which does not depend on rain or good weather.

S&V: In about twenty years, can we see charging stations supplement or even replace generators in certain sensitive infrastructure in the event of a power failure?

EE: It's possible yes. Already today, discussions take place to consider this possibility. And if the managers see a good eye, the idea of ​​having a new way of being able to react in the event of a breakdown, they are not yet ready to completely let go of the consuming groups deemed to be reliable. If ever, there is a risk, even tiny, so that the terminals or the terminals cannot take over, we observe a lot of reluctance.

And this generator itself is not alone, it is already supplemented by batteries to take over the time it starts. And there is always a risk for the generator to start.

S&V: If tomorrow, we were all at electric mobility, what would we have the power available?

EE: If tomorrow you have 40 million electric vehicles [ndr, il y en a 39,3 millions en circulation en France] And that each of these vehicles produces a power of 11 kW, it would make us a total power of 440 GW. It is three times the power of the entire electricity production park in France.

Tell yourself that if we have 2 million trendy electric vehicles [ndr, nombre de véhicules électriques en circulation aujourd’hui] At the rate of 11 kW per vehicle, it represents the power of 22 nuclear reactors, or 22 GW. Thus, with 18 million electric vehicles [ndr, projection à l’horizon 2035 du nombre de véhicules électriques en circulation en France]we will be at nearly 200 GW, that is to say more than the total power of the electric park.

These figures make us aware of the impact that electric vehicles will have on the network. And if we manage all this, we can do a lot with electric vehicles.