**2. Road transportation and the menace of harmful emissions**

Road transportation generates about one-fifth of the EU's overall emissions of CO<sup>2</sup> , the principal GHG. Although these emissions reduced by 3.3% in 2012, they are nevertheless 20.5% greater than that generated in 1990. Transport is the main sector in the EU where GHG emissions are still increasing. Europe can achieve its long-term transition to a low-carbon economy if it transforms its road transport sector. EVs powered with electricity from RESs can diminish future air pollutant emissions, including GHGs from road transport. It is found that 15% of the EU CO<sup>2</sup> emissions are generated by light-duty vehicles and falling each year as the automotive industry works to achieving EU emission targets. Member states are required to disseminate relevant information to drivers. The car and van targets for 2015 and 2017, respectively, were attained in 2013.

innovation (socio-economic and environmental effects)) [9], NEMO (hyper-network for electromobility) [10] and OSEM-EV (optimised and systematic energy management in electric

Electric Vehicles Integrated with Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Mobility

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76788

207

The potential of RESs to power EVs can help reduce pollution, with a considerable decarbonisation effect and improve resource efficiency. Surely, it varies a lot by country, based on the level of the infrastructures and on the demand for additional electricity. It is likely that additional electricity generation will be needed in the European Union to cater for the extra demand arising from approximately 80% share of EVs in 2050. According to the recent report, it is estimated that the European electricity consumption from electric cars will shoot from roughly 0.03 in 2014 to 4.5% by 2030 and approximately 9.5% by 2050. It is highly argued that additional power production is the ultimate way of meeting the other electricity demand resulting from the high rates of EVs ownership. Moreover, the extra electrical energy needs to be incorporated in the infrastructural system of Europe. Currently, it is quite impossible to tell, how much electricity is required and what type of production can be sufficient to cover the current electricity demand. However, once certainty has been attained, the increasing demand for electricity generation is likely to have an enormous impact on the overall power system in Europe. It is estimated that the electricity consumption needed by an 80% share of EVs in 2050 will differ between 3 and 25% of total electricity demand across the member state of EU. According to the department of dynamic management, an additional electrical capacity of about 150 GW will be required to charge the traditional electric car. In general, the increased number of EVs will automatically need an additional generation of electricity. As for the nations with a similar share of renewable energy, the management strategies may differ in the attempt of accommodating the charging of the increased number of electric cars. Importantly, the core principles of management strategies depend on the nation's types of renewable energy as well as conventional power generation systems. For instance, states characterised by high solar energy production capacity for which the preferred charging peak will be during the day will have to adopt different power management strategies from countries which only depend on wind, combined solar or wind electricity production. In addition, it will be necessary for regions with weak network infrastructure to add grid reinforcement or rather implement specific smart charging approaches to ensure efficiency as well as flexible electricity production and distribution infrastructure. The main benefit related to increasing the number of EVs is that

port. Nonetheless, these positive impacts could be partially offset due to additional emissions caused by increased amount of electricity needed as well as continued use of fossil fuel

by a substantial increase of EVs could cause higher emissions by the electricity generation when it is based on fossil fuel combustion and when the reduction in electricity demand is

emissions from electricity generation. In countries with high shares of fossil fuel power

emissions in the road transport sector should outweigh the higher

as well as air pollutants from road trans-

and air pollutants determined

emissions. Ecologically,

vehicles) [11].

it significantly minimises direct emissions of CO<sup>2</sup>

not made in other sectors.

Overall, the avoided CO<sup>2</sup>

in the power industry. That is to say, lower emissions of CO<sup>2</sup>

plants, electric vehicle demand could, however, lead to higher CO<sup>2</sup>

EU legislation obliges member states to certify that appropriate figures are delivered to users in order to guide drivers' choices of vehicles with low fuel consumption and that vehicles must display labels indicating a vehicle's fuel efficiency and CO<sup>2</sup> emissions.

Trucks and buses are accountable for 25% of CO<sup>2</sup> emissions from road transport in the EU and for approximately 6% of total EU emissions. In spite of some amelioration in fuel consumption efficiency in recent years, these emissions are continually growing, essentially owing to increasing movement of road cargo. To mitigate these issues, the European Commission is currently developing an elaborate plan to decrease CO<sup>2</sup> emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

It is noteworthy that fuel quality is an essential factor in decreasing GHG emissions that emanate from transportation. EU regulation imposes that the GHG concentration of vehicle fuels to be reduced by up to 10% by 2020.

Electricity instead of oil for vehicle propulsion will contribute to achieve the European Union targets on CO<sup>2</sup> emissions reduction. The electricity needed could be produced by various renewable and carbon-free energy sources. In fact, the EVs have a three times higher efficiency than internal combustion engine vehicles. Moreover, they emit no tailpipe CO<sup>2</sup> and other pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx ), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and particulate matter (PM). Furthermore, they are really silent and do not produce any vibration. The future optimisation of EVs is focused on technological optimization and market development. On the technology side, the main efforts are on the reliability and durability of batteries and supercapacitors, on the reduction of battery weight and volume, on improving their safety and on reducing their cost. Other technological challenges regard improving hybrid electric powertrains, charging infrastructure and plug-in solutions.

The European Commission promoted a Europe-wide electromobility initiative known as Green eMotion. In this plan, EUR 41.8 million invested by 42 partners both public and private within the energy sector and supported with 24.2 from the European Commission with the goal of exchanging and developing knowledge and experience, and enabling the deployment of EVs in the market. However, currently, there are other ongoing and challenging projects with focus on mobility, in particular eMobilita (electromobility in urban transport: a multi-dimensional innovation (socio-economic and environmental effects)) [9], NEMO (hyper-network for electromobility) [10] and OSEM-EV (optimised and systematic energy management in electric vehicles) [11].

**2. Road transportation and the menace of harmful emissions**

must display labels indicating a vehicle's fuel efficiency and CO<sup>2</sup>

Trucks and buses are accountable for 25% of CO<sup>2</sup>

to be reduced by up to 10% by 2020.

pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx

currently developing an elaborate plan to decrease CO<sup>2</sup>

powertrains, charging infrastructure and plug-in solutions.

of the EU CO<sup>2</sup>

targets on CO<sup>2</sup>

tively, were attained in 2013.

206 New Trends in Electrical Vehicle Powertrains

Road transportation generates about one-fifth of the EU's overall emissions of CO<sup>2</sup>

cipal GHG. Although these emissions reduced by 3.3% in 2012, they are nevertheless 20.5% greater than that generated in 1990. Transport is the main sector in the EU where GHG emissions are still increasing. Europe can achieve its long-term transition to a low-carbon economy if it transforms its road transport sector. EVs powered with electricity from RESs can diminish future air pollutant emissions, including GHGs from road transport. It is found that 15%

automotive industry works to achieving EU emission targets. Member states are required to disseminate relevant information to drivers. The car and van targets for 2015 and 2017, respec-

EU legislation obliges member states to certify that appropriate figures are delivered to users in order to guide drivers' choices of vehicles with low fuel consumption and that vehicles

for approximately 6% of total EU emissions. In spite of some amelioration in fuel consumption efficiency in recent years, these emissions are continually growing, essentially owing to increasing movement of road cargo. To mitigate these issues, the European Commission is

It is noteworthy that fuel quality is an essential factor in decreasing GHG emissions that emanate from transportation. EU regulation imposes that the GHG concentration of vehicle fuels

Electricity instead of oil for vehicle propulsion will contribute to achieve the European Union

renewable and carbon-free energy sources. In fact, the EVs have a three times higher efficiency

matter (PM). Furthermore, they are really silent and do not produce any vibration. The future optimisation of EVs is focused on technological optimization and market development. On the technology side, the main efforts are on the reliability and durability of batteries and supercapacitors, on the reduction of battery weight and volume, on improving their safety and on reducing their cost. Other technological challenges regard improving hybrid electric

The European Commission promoted a Europe-wide electromobility initiative known as Green eMotion. In this plan, EUR 41.8 million invested by 42 partners both public and private within the energy sector and supported with 24.2 from the European Commission with the goal of exchanging and developing knowledge and experience, and enabling the deployment of EVs in the market. However, currently, there are other ongoing and challenging projects with focus on mobility, in particular eMobilita (electromobility in urban transport: a multi-dimensional

than internal combustion engine vehicles. Moreover, they emit no tailpipe CO<sup>2</sup>

emissions reduction. The electricity needed could be produced by various

), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and particulate

emissions are generated by light-duty vehicles and falling each year as the

emissions.

emissions from road transport in the EU and

emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

, the prin-

and other

The potential of RESs to power EVs can help reduce pollution, with a considerable decarbonisation effect and improve resource efficiency. Surely, it varies a lot by country, based on the level of the infrastructures and on the demand for additional electricity. It is likely that additional electricity generation will be needed in the European Union to cater for the extra demand arising from approximately 80% share of EVs in 2050. According to the recent report, it is estimated that the European electricity consumption from electric cars will shoot from roughly 0.03 in 2014 to 4.5% by 2030 and approximately 9.5% by 2050. It is highly argued that additional power production is the ultimate way of meeting the other electricity demand resulting from the high rates of EVs ownership. Moreover, the extra electrical energy needs to be incorporated in the infrastructural system of Europe. Currently, it is quite impossible to tell, how much electricity is required and what type of production can be sufficient to cover the current electricity demand. However, once certainty has been attained, the increasing demand for electricity generation is likely to have an enormous impact on the overall power system in Europe. It is estimated that the electricity consumption needed by an 80% share of EVs in 2050 will differ between 3 and 25% of total electricity demand across the member state of EU. According to the department of dynamic management, an additional electrical capacity of about 150 GW will be required to charge the traditional electric car. In general, the increased number of EVs will automatically need an additional generation of electricity. As for the nations with a similar share of renewable energy, the management strategies may differ in the attempt of accommodating the charging of the increased number of electric cars. Importantly, the core principles of management strategies depend on the nation's types of renewable energy as well as conventional power generation systems. For instance, states characterised by high solar energy production capacity for which the preferred charging peak will be during the day will have to adopt different power management strategies from countries which only depend on wind, combined solar or wind electricity production. In addition, it will be necessary for regions with weak network infrastructure to add grid reinforcement or rather implement specific smart charging approaches to ensure efficiency as well as flexible electricity production and distribution infrastructure. The main benefit related to increasing the number of EVs is that it significantly minimises direct emissions of CO<sup>2</sup> as well as air pollutants from road transport. Nonetheless, these positive impacts could be partially offset due to additional emissions caused by increased amount of electricity needed as well as continued use of fossil fuel in the power industry. That is to say, lower emissions of CO<sup>2</sup> and air pollutants determined by a substantial increase of EVs could cause higher emissions by the electricity generation when it is based on fossil fuel combustion and when the reduction in electricity demand is not made in other sectors.

Overall, the avoided CO<sup>2</sup> emissions in the road transport sector should outweigh the higher emissions from electricity generation. In countries with high shares of fossil fuel power plants, electric vehicle demand could, however, lead to higher CO<sup>2</sup> emissions. Ecologically, the significance of electrically driven automobiles in cases of EV aggregator may not wholly be accomplished. As a case example, 80% portion of electrically operated vehicles in about 2050 can help reduce the unswerving exhaust emissions released by each contaminant by roughly a figure higher than 80% as compared to the levels in 2010. Nevertheless, concerning carbon dioxide gas, the total reduction of nitrogen oxides, as well as PM, may to some extent offset the further releases of the toxic pollutants resulting in the electric power production sectors. The reduction depends on the type of contaminant, for instance, 1% for NOx while 3% for PM10 (PM10 refers to the particulate nature of matter). Unfortunately, the situation is different for sulphur compounds. Furthermore, sulphur oxides are released into the environment in various ways, for example, through the exhaust fumes from the fuel driven automobiles and the use of coal as a source of energy. These emission entries will additionally result in further pollution whose results will exceed by 5% the mitigation capacity designed by the road transport department. Notably, the extra abatement strategies of the highly concentrated SO<sup>2</sup> emissions are a need that cannot be negotiated.

**3. Electric vehicle integration with renewable energy sources (RESs)**

hour time scale.

The growing wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity has initiated highrequirements on power balance control and power quality in several regions in Europe [13–15]. Large offshore wind farms tend to direct a high-power capacity at a single location. Notably, the magnitude of the power fluctuation can reach extremely high values due to wind speed variations. For instance, the 10-min average wind power profile from the 160 MW wind farm Horus Rev. is depicted. Within 11 days, the normalised wind power generation differs from zero to approximately 100% production. Wind power fluctuations are visible at different time scale such as short (intra hour) and long (several hours) [6, 16–28]. Furthermore, wind power and PV are known as non-dispatchable energy sources since the active power production is variable over time [6, 17–29]. The transmission system operator (TSO) plays a significant role in ensuring the balance between consumption and production at all times including at intra-

Electric Vehicles Integrated with Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Mobility

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76788

209

Importantly, the research has majorly focused on the potential contribution of EVs to facilitate the integration of RESs in the power system. The research topic has been developed within the paradigm of the smart grid, and it is centred on the EVs potential of establishing mutual benefits to both the electric power system with RES and future EV users. The term "smart grid" refers to the operation of the power system using communication, control technology, power electronics technologies as well as storage technologies to balance production and consumption at all levels [18]. Regarding this vision, an EV is in a position to act as a controllable load or as storage, charging or discharging part of its battery capacity back to the grid, conferring

If the charging of EVs is uncoordinated, their impact on the grid is equivalent to a large electric load resulting in higher power systems peak-load and to distribution grid congestion issues [20]. To avoid such scenarios, the study has researched on what impacts EV coordinated charging can have in correlation with RES production. To be precise, the research has focused on the solutions using EVs for the provision of ancillary services for wind integration

Using EVs in power systems together with wind power has been reported to be ideally suited for the provision of ancillary services [18]. According to Kempton et al. [21, 22], EVs should be coordinated for high-value services including ancillary services that often reduces the operating cost to EV owner in the short-term period. The EV owners are likely to experience lower price despite a higher initial value compared to the ICE cars. Pillai and Bak-Jensen [23] examined the benefits of ancillary services provisions by EVs in the western Danish power system. They mainly checked at the disposition of secondary reserves, load frequency; control (LFC), which is assessed through simulation models. The authors explain how EVs can efficiently control power mismatch resulting from the variability of wind power, therefore eliminating

to the vehicle to grid (V2G) notion, as stated by Kempton and Letendre [19].

as well as energy storage for PV integration.

**3.1. Electric vehicle integration with wind energy**

The main disparity regarding air contaminants resulting from road transport segment and the power production is directly incomparable based on their corresponding effects on humanity. Systematically, these impacts rely on a more prominent extent on locality, the intensity as well as types of emission sources. Pollution from automobiles happens at the ground level and usually, in such areas as residential, workplaces, offices among others. In comparison, contamination is significant within the cities, municipalities as well as towns. A considerable portion of the population is exposed to pollution. Contrastingly, power plants are built outside the cities/towns where there is sparse population. Since there is low-exposure, there is a change in the release of contaminants, for instance, from roads to power generation sector, which is a very significant environmental concern for public health.

A considerable portion of chargeable cars primarily on the European highways in the future is anticipated to have consequences on electricity production as well as distribution infrastructures. In the process of incorporating extra electricity need, it is worth considering that road and energy sectors should be firmly joined. Besides, the decisions regarding policies as well as investments across these two sectors should be integrated. Chargeable automobiles are just another way through which not only the European continent but also the entire world can make positive steps forwards towards the achievement of a more sustainable as well as resource-efficient economy as well as carbon-free transportation structure. The replacement of the conventional cars with electricity-driven ones is a significant means of reducing emissions, but this relies on which source of electricity to rejuvenate the vehicles. Causes may include; renewable sources, fossil fuels and also nuclear. Therefore, blindly substituting the conventional cars is not a perfect solution to the transport-related issues, for instance, rapid congestions as well as demand for road transportation. It is evident that proper systems of the transport are urgently required, and this may encompass additional expansion of renewable energy like biofuels. In a nutshell, a deviation in the public means of transportation as well as the underlying structures. Undoubtedly, this approach will help accomplish the EU obligation to ensure an eco-friendly economy [12].
