Multi-session smart night charging of EVs for accelerated decarbonization of electric mobility

The majority of electric vehicles (EVs) are charged domestically overnight, when the precise timing of power allocation is not important to the user, thus providing a source of flexibility that can be leveraged by charging control algorithms. In this paper, we show that by keeping the EV connected to a standard domestic smart plug every night, it is possible to achieve an approximate 37% annual reduction in carbon intensity compared to uncontrolled charging (based on 2022 UK National Grid data) without compromising the EV owners’ charging demand. For this purpose, we use Model Predictive Control techniques to schedule power delivery with the objective of minimizing grid-average CO2 emissions over forecast windows of multiple sessions (up to seven days ahead). We find that flexibility on the part of EV owners—both their willingness to keep the EV connected at night, and to indicate a precautionary (i.e., upper bound) estimate of their required state-of-charge in the morning—allows for significant emissions reduction and accelerated decarbonization of the mobility sector.