The EFA-iCharge project addresses two complementary areas that will interact, focusing not only on the charging infrastructure that will ensure the interface with the vehicles, but also on the interface with the smart grid management. This project is key to minimise the impact of integrating Electric Vehicles (EV) in power grids.

Key studies in the area indicate that most users will charge their EV at home, and so the home charging component will be fundamental to reducing their impact on power grids. The results of several major European projects have made clear that uncontrolled domestic charging will lead to technical problems (exceeding voltage limits, overload, etc.) in a number of grids, and for that reason it is essential to develop advanced control capabilities, which should include a direct interaction between the grid and the EV through the charging station.

This interaction between the EV and the grid should be based on the Smart Grids paradigm, which presupposes the existence of control layers with distributed intelligence that interact with existing distributed resources in the power grid. In this context, demand management, microgeneration, etc., are some of the premises of Smart Grids, as EVs emerge as the latest player to be able to participate in an intelligent grid management.

However, until now the component of intelligent integration with the VE is limited by the lack of standardisation in the communication between the EV and the charging station (EVSE), with the exception of technical communication associated with the DC load secured by the CHAdeMO protocol. However, devising a new ISO / IEC 15118 standard will make it possible to overcome this limitation. Nevertheless, this project aims at ensuring that the charging systems that still do not have this communication capability can also integrate this new VE management philosophy.