Successful funding for “Electrifying Victoria’s Future Fleet: Barriers and Opportunities” the first electric vehicle (EV) living lab in the southern hemisphere
Monash University and RMIT have been successful in the Victorian higher education state investment fund (VHESIF) funding for the “Electrifying Victoria’s Future Fleet: Barriers and Opportunities”.
The Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF) was developed in response to the impact of COVID-19 on Victorian universities. RMIT, Monash and La Trobe Universities, all committed to net zero emissions at their campuses, received funding to investigate the impact of the transport sector on our climate.
The project “Electrifying Victoria’s Future Fleet: Barriers and Opportunities”, a collaboration between the three universities and leading industry players, will establish the first electric vehicle (EV) living lab in the southern hemisphere. The lab will act as a test facility and will include EV charging stations, regenerative grid and battery simulators, EV/grid emulator and test systems, multiple battery technology types, vehicle to grid and grid to vehicle power and control facilities. The project will deliver four applied research streams: 1) Data analytics and AI, 2) EV-driven mobility, 3) interaction with the electricity grid, and 4) economics and policy.
Researchers will consolidate an EV data repository (with charging profiles, travel patterns, and customers’ response to tariff signals, etc.), will study the impact of public and private fleet electrification on the grid (applied technologies to study network models; consumer consumption, driving patterns, on-site energy market, etc.) and develop legal and economic requirements to support transport electrification.
Monash University has invested in specialised facilities and infrastructures such as the Monash Microgrid with battery system storage, zero emissions busses on campus and EV charging infrastructure. The Monash research team expertise is in electrical engineering, machine learning and optimisation, and integration of renewables into the electricity grid.Monash will lead stream 3 (Interaction of EV with electricity grid) and contribute to stream 1 (Data Analytics and AI) of the project.
Monash University researchers will focus on the applications of cutting edge techniques in power systems, optimisation and artificial intelligence to ensure the beneficial interaction between electric vehicles with electricity networks.
Dr Reza Razzaghi, Monash University Chief Investigator, Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, mentions that “this multi-disciplinary project builds on the ongoing collaborations between Monash and RMIT research teams and aims to address challenges related to greenhouse gas emissions of the transport sector by considering economic, environmental, and engineering aspects of electric vehicles”.
This project is well-aligned with the Monash Strategic Plan by fostering partnerships with industry and government to undertake research benefiting the whole community.
Professor Ariel Liebman, Director Monash Energy Institute, is really enthusiastic about this. “This project aligns closely with our research and impact strategy for the Monash Energy Institute. It is one of our priority areas for research under the RACE for 2030 CRC’s ‘Electric Vehicles and the Grid’ theme. Together with the RACE for 2030 CRC, RMIT, and La Trobe, this project will help Victoria position itself as a national and international innovation leader in EV grid integration ”.
While each partner will focus on different aspects of the project, the consortium is looking to provide the research expertise and infrastructure for a smooth integration of EVs into the grid and support Victoria in the transition to broad-scale EV adoption. The project will support timely policy towards Victoria’s net zero emission targets in the transport sector.
Applicant Primary Contact Person: Associate Professor Mahdi Jalili, RMIT University
Partner Contact Person: Dr Reza Razzaghi, and Professor Ariel Liebman, Dr Mohsen Khorasany, Monash University