Electric vehicle use in public fleets: The case of the Genoa University

Abstract

Electric mobility is assuming a central role in the new world energy scenario where Renewable Energy Sources (RES) have increased their contribution to the electricity production, mainly due to the fact they are characterized by a reduced environmental impact; in the aforesaid context, Electric Vehicles (EVs) can play a significant role to facilitate the integration of RES into the power grid, also within smart grid infrastructures. Public administration represents one of the sectors that can mostly benefit from the use of the EV technology in its fleets; in many countries, governments have introduced incentive policies to support the spread of the electric mobility and car manufacturers are developing EVs for urban transportation users. In this paper, the attention is focused on a smart microgrid project developed at the University of Genoa and based on the integration of RES, EVs and storage systems. In particular, the attention is here pointed on the use of the EVs to highlight the different habits of recharge adopted at the Genoa University. The paper describes the smart microgrid test-bed facility at the Savona Campus and reports the most significant results relative to an experimental campaign conducted on EVs.