Xendee and Idaho National Laboratory Create Microgrid EV Fast Charging Station Designer

Xendee Corporation and Idaho National Laboratory have launched a Microgrid Fast Charging Station Designer within the Xendee platform as well as tested and validated it with two in-depth case studies for grid connected and islanded operation.

“This project was undertaken to offer a design and validation framework for renewable based Microgrid configurations that deliver optimal electric vehicle fast charging, energy security, and value-added grid services,” said Michael Stadler, CTO of Xendee. “The new features, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Microgrid Program, were built on the existing Xendee platform to optimize the renewable energy and storage resources within the Microgrid. Additionally, new features were built for scalability, making these projects a reliable and repeatable foundation for a sustainable nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations.”

The designer itself utilizes Xendee's advanced and extended Microgrid decision support software to create project simulations, financial optimizations, and operational dispatches that maximize the efficiency of the system and capture early returns on investment. The platform also intelligently maps all cables, transformers, and distributed technology interactions to anticipate and mitigate problems during peak usage or adverse conditions. The optimizations performed by Xendee were tested by INL to ensure project viability and technical feasibility in real world settings. During these tests, INL’s simulations — which were based on real-world data from the University of California San Diego campus — concluded that all electrical results matched within 5% of the predicted values.

“The rich quality of data available from the UCSD network allowed the project team to model upgrades, determine the optimal renewable energy mix, and consider other distributed energy resources to minimize the costs for electric vehicle and truck charging,” said Anudeep Medam, Research Engineer at INL’s Power & Energy Systems department. “The data used, based on the UCSD campus system, facilitated a real world example of the impact that electric vehicle fast charging stations have on the distribution system. Additionally, we were able to study the impact of upgrades of network equipment.”

The platform also optimizes dispatch and generation at each time step of the day enabling the Microgrid to take advantage of energy sales to the utility and best manage the charging of an electrical fleet even under changing hourly conditions. This allows operators to reliably build Microgrid systems, both grid connected and islanded, and to operate them efficiently under the dynamic supply and demand conditions for fast charging at scale.

“The future of high-speed and high-power charging needs a smart process for both Microgrid development and optimized operation of the electric vehicle stations,” remarked Adib Naslé, CEO of Xendee. “The Microgrid Fast Charging Station Designer is perfectly positioned to meet that demand and help organizations efficiently launch new fast charging sites.”

For More information on the Microgrid Fast Charging Station Designer, or to see how it could be used for your organization’s fast charging stations, please schedule a demonstration at xendee.com/demo.

About Xendee: Xendee develops world-class Microgrid decision support software that helps designers and investors optimize and certify the Fight-Through™ resilience and financial performance of projects with confidence. The Xendee Microgrid platform enables a broad audience; from business decision makers to scientists, with the objective of supporting investments in Microgrids and maintaining electric power reliability when integrating sources of renewable generation.

About Idaho National Laboratory: INL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory that performs work in each of DOE’s strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation’s center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance. See more INL news at: www.inl.gov or follow us on social media at: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.