UCLA researchers work to integrate electric vehicles into L.A. traffic

An electric vehicle workshop on Friday in Covel Commons highlighted UCLA’s Electric Vehicle Integration research project. The project, created by UCLA’s Smart Grid Energy Research Center, uses advanced technology developed at UCLA to manage electric vehicle energy storage and consumption.

“The (project’s) goal is to reduce demands on the power grid and to cut down carbon footprints,” said project head Peter Chu.

The workshop, hosted by the SoCal EV Consortium, addressed how electric vehicles will impact communities and infrastructure in Southern California. The release of new electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, slated for the end of this year, is expected to increase the number of electric vehicles on California’s roads, according to the SoCal EV website. This poses issues for the power grid, which would have difficulty charging a large number of the cars without experiencing circuit overloads.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa began the event with a speech that emphasized the importance of preparing California for an influx of electric vehicles.

“The manufacturers have made it clear, the Los Angeles region is an early launch market for electric vehicle deployment,” Villaraigosa said. “So today, we are making a clear statement back,”˜we will be ready.'”

Villaraigosa told attendees that potential electric car owners need to be assured they can seamlessly drive throughout the region without running into charging problems.

Chu took the stage later that day and explained how the EV integration project’s research could alleviate strain on the power grid. The project uses UCLA’s WINSmartGridâ„¢ technology, which monitors the energy used and stored in electric vehicles to manage charging activities, thereby preventing strain on the grid.

Ruslan Sibagatullin, a researcher for the Smart Grid Energy Research Center, explained how application of this technology might look like in the real world. Currently the center is working on “smart-charging” technology, which in the future could relegate energy at different times to electric vehicles charging on the same street.

“For example, one customer would charge from 1 to 2 p.m.,” Sibagatullin said. “In the next hour, two others will be able to charge, but none of them will be loading the circuit at the same time.”

Also important is the center’s research on Vehicle to Grid technology, which allows energy stored in a car battery to be sold back to a utility. This will help prevent overloads, Sibagatullin said.

Vehicle to Grid technology would allow for grid balancing, another potential benefit to utilities once aggregated electric vehicle infrastructure comes online, said mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Rajit Gadh, founder of the Smart Grid Energy Research Center.

“There’s a lot of euphoria about electric vehicles and I think that’s great,” Gadh said.

He noted that amid the excitement, however, the Smart Grid center’s focus remains always upon continual research, and the center is looking for more students to get involved. Through eventually creating a database of the center’s findings, Gadh said he hopes to enable citizens to make more informed decisions about California’s infrastructure.â„¢

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