Unveiling electric vehicle (EV) charging patterns and their transformative role in electricity balancing and delivery: Insights from real-world data in Sweden

Abstract

Accurately estimating the charging behaviours of electric vehicles (EVs) is crucial for various applications, such as charging station planning and grid impact estimation. However, the analysis of EV charging behaviours using real-world data remains limited due to (confidential) data availability constraints. Furthermore, while existing modelling studies have demonstrated EVs as effective tools for electricity balancing and delivery between locations, their potential remains unexplored empirically. This study aims to bridge the research gap by studying EV charging behaviours and their capacity for electricity balancing and delivery. Using data from 179,665 real-world charging sessions in Sweden, we employed statistical and clustering analysis to scrutinize charging behaviours comprehensively. Synthetic weekly charging load profiles are generated for both residential areas and workplaces, considering varying charging power levels, which can be used as inputs for large-scale EV charging load modelling. Furthermore, performance indicators are proposed to quantify the potential of EVs for electricity balancing and delivery. Results show that EVs exhibit significant potential for electricity balancing (up to 51.5 kWh daily). Many EV owners underutilize their EV battery capacity, providing an opportunity for active electricity delivery across locations. This study can help understand EV charging behaviours and recognize their significant potentials for electricity regulation and integrating more renewables in the future power system.