Search

With more electric vehicles introduced in society, there is a need for the further implementation of charging infrastructure. Innovation in electromobility may result in new charging and discharging strategies, including concepts such as smart charging and vehicle-to-grid. This article provides an overview of vehicle charging and discharging innovations with a cable connection. A MATLAB/Simulink model is developed to show the difference between an electric vehicle with and without the vehicle-to-grid capabilities for electricity grid prices estimated for Sweden for three different electric vehicle user profiles and four different electric vehicle models. The result includes the state-of-charge values and price estimations for the different vehicles charged with or without a bidirectional power flow to and from the electric grid. The results show that there is a greater difference in state-of-charge values over the day investigated for the electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid capabilities than for vehicles without vehicle-to-grid capabilities. The results indicate potential economic revenues from using vehicle-to-grid if there is a significant variation in electricity prices during different hours. Therefore, the vehicle owner can potentially receive money from selling electricity to the grid while also supporting the electric grid. The study provides insights into utilizing vehicle-to-grid in society and taking steps towards its implementation.

It is expected that more vehicles will be electrified in the coming years. This will require reliable access to charging infrastructure in society, and the charging will include data exchange between different actors. The aim of this review article is to provide an overview of recent scientific literature on different charging strategies, including for example battery swapping, conductive- and inductive charging, and what data that may be needed for charging of different types of electric vehicles. The methodology of the paper includes investigating recent scientific literature and reports in the field, with articles from 2019 to 2022. The contribution of this paper is to provide a broad overview of different charging strategies for different types of electric vehicles, that could be useful today or in the coming years. The literature review shows that data utilized for charging or discharging includes for example information on the battery, temperature, electricity cost, and location. It is concluded that the preferred charging strategy for an electric vehicle may depend on the type of electric vehicle and when, where, and how the vehicle is used.

In the past decade, inverter-integrated energy sources have experienced rapid growth, which leads to operating challenges associated with reduced system inertia and intermittent power generation, which can cause instability and performance issues of the power system. Improved control schemes for inverters are necessary to ensure the stability and resilience of the power system. Grid-forming inverters dampen frequency fluctuations in the power system, while grid-following inverters can aggravate frequency problems with increased penetration. This paper aims at reviewing the role of grid-forming inverters in the power system, including their topology, control strategies, challenges, sizing, and location. In order to facilitate continued research in this field, a comprehensive literature review and classification of the studies are conducted, followed by research gaps and suggestions for future studies.

This Special Issue was intended to consolidate the most recent advances in the field of power electronics for renewable energy sources and electric drives [...]

Wave energy converters (WECs), which are designed to harvest ocean wave energy, have recently been improved by the installation of numerous conversion mechanisms; however, it is still difficult to find an appropriate method that can compromise between strong environmental impact and robust performance by transforming irregular wave energy into stable electrical power. To solve this problem, an investigation into the impact of varied wave conditions on the dynamics of WECs and to determine an optimal factor for WECs to comply with long-term impacts was performed. In this work, we researched the performance of WECs influenced by wave climates. We used a permanent magnet linear generator (PMLG)-based WEC that was invented at Uppsala University. The damping effect was first studied with a PMLG-type WEC. Then, a group of sea states was selected to investigate their impact on the power production of the WEC. Two research sites were chosen to investigate the WEC’s annual energy production as well as a study on the optimal damping coefficient impact. In addition, we compared the WEC’s energy production between optimal damping and constant damping under a full range of sea states at both sites. Our results show that there is an optimal damping coefficient that can achieve the WEC’s maximum power output. For the chosen research sites, only a few optimal damping coefficients were able to contribute over 90% of the WEC’s annual energy production. In light of the comparison between optimal and constant damping, we conclude that, for specific regions, constant damping might be a better choice for WECs to optimize long-term energy production.

The damping effect, induced inside the linear generator, is a vital factor to improve the conversion efficiency of wave energy converters (WEC). As part of the mechanical design, the translator mass affects the damping force and eventually affects the performance of the WEC by converting wave energy into electricity. This paper proposes research on the damping effect coupled with translator mass regarding the generated power from WEC. Complicated influences from ocean wave climates along the west coast of Sweden are also included. This paper first compares three cases of translator mass with varied damping effects. A further investigation on coupling effects is performed using annual energy absorption under a series of sea states. Results suggest that a heavier translator may promote the damping effect and therefore improve the power production. However, the hinder effect is also observed and analyzed in specific cases. In this paper, the variations in the optimal damping coefficient are observed and discussed along with different cases.

Some countries are facing issues on freshwater and electricity production, which can be addressed with the use of renewable energy powered desalination systems. In the following study, a reverse osmosis desalination plant powered by marine current energy converters is suggested. The marine current energy converters are designed at Uppsala University in Sweden, specifically for utilizing low water speeds (1⁻2 m/s). Estimations on freshwater production for such a system, in South Africa, facing the Indian Ocean was presented and discussed. It is concluded that the desalination plant cannot by itself supply freshwater for a population all the time, due to periods of too low water speeds (3, it is possible to cover the basic freshwater demand of 5000 people. More studies on the hydrokinetic resource of the Western Indian Ocean, system cost, technology development, environmental and social aspects are necessary for more accurate results.

Freshwater scarcity is one of humanity’s reoccurring problems that hamper socio-economic development in many regions across the globe. In coastal areas, seawater can be desalinated through reverse osmosis (RO) and transformed into freshwater for human use. Desalination requires large amounts of energy, mostly in the form of a reliable electricity supply, which in many cases is supplied by diesel generators. The objective of this work is to analyze the wave power resource availability in Kilifi-Kenya and evaluate the possible use of wave power converter (WEC) to power desalination plants. A particular focus is given use of WECs developed by Uppsala University (UU-WEC). The results here presented were achieved using reanalysis—wave data revealed that the local wave climate has an approximate annual mean of 7 kW/m and mode of 5 kW/m. Significant wave height and wave mean period are within 0.8–2 m and 7–8 s respectively, with a predominant wave mean direction from southeast. The seasonal cycle appeared to be the most relevant for energy conversion, having the highest difference of 6 kW/m, in which April is the lowest (3.8 kW/m) and August is the peak (10.5 kW/m). In such mild wave climates, the UU–WEC and similar devices can be suitable for ocean energy harvesting for water desalination systems. Technically, with a capacity factor of 30% and energy consumption of 3 kWh/m3, a coastal community of about five thousand inhabitants can be provided of freshwater by only ten WECs with installed capacity of 20 kW.

The wave energy converter (WEC) studied and developed at Uppsala University in Sweden is a point absorbing buoy connected to a linear generator (LG) on the seabed. Previous studies have improved the sustainability of the generator, changing its magnets from Nd2Fe14B-magnets to ferrites. In this paper, the magnetic circuit of the linear generator is further studied. Ferrite magnets of two different types (Y30 and Y40) are studied along with different shapes of pole shoes for the system. The finite element method (FEM) simulations in a program called Ace are performed. The results show that a linear generator including both Y30 and Y40 magnets and shortened T-shaped pole shoes can generate a similar magnetic energy in the airgap as a linear generator only containing Y40 magnets and rectangular pole shoes. This shows that the magnetic circuit can be altered, opening up sizes and strengths of magnets for different retailers, and thereby possibly lowering magnet cost and transportation. This work was previously presented as a conference at the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC) 2017 in Cork, Ireland; this manuscript has been carefully revised and some discussions, on magnet costs for example, have been added to this paper.

Heat sources, such as power electronics for offshore power, could be cooled passively—mainly by conduction and natural convection. The obvious advantage of this strategy is its high reliability. However, it must be implemented in an efficient manner (i.e., the area needs to be kept low to limit the construction costs). In this study, the placement of multiple heat sources mounted on a vertical plate was studied experimentally for optimization purposes. We chose a regular distribution, as this is likely to be the preferred choice in the construction process. We found that optimal spacing can be determined for a targeted source density by tuning the vertical and horizontal spacing between the heat sources. The optimal aspect ratio was estimated to be around two.

The Lysekil wave energy converter (WEC), developed by the wave energy research group of Uppsala University, has evolved through a variety of mechanical designs since the first prototype was installed in 2006. The hundreds of engineering decisions made throughout the design processes have been based on a combination of theory, know-how from previous experiments, and educated guesses. One key parameter in the design of the WECs linear generator is the stroke length. A long stroke requires a taller WEC with associated economical and mechanical challenges, but a short stroke limits the power production. The 2-m stroke of the current WECs has been an educated guess for the Swedish wave climate, though the consequences of this choice on energy absorption have not been studied. When the WEC technology is considered for international waters, with larger waves and challenges of energy absorption and survivability, the subject of stroke length becomes even more relevant. This paper studies the impact of generator stroke length on energy absorption for three sites off the coasts of Sweden, Chile and Scotland. 2-m, 4-m, and unlimited stroke are considered. Power matrices for the studied WEC prototype are presented for each of the studied stroke lengths. Presented results quantify the losses incurred by a limited stroke. The results indicate that a 2-m stroke length is likely to be a good choice for Sweden, but 4-m is likely to be necessary in more energetic international waters.