EDGE Webinar on EVs and Grid Planning
From Charging Demand to System Flexibility: Insights from the EDGE Webinar on EVs and Grid Planning
Electric vehicles are rapidly becoming a structural component of the electricity system. What once appeared as additional demand is now a central variable in grid planning, infrastructure investment, and system flexibility.
At the same time, key questions remain:
How will large-scale EV charging reshape electricity demand patterns?
Under which conditions can charging demand become a flexibility resource?
And how can modelling insights be translated into real grid planning decisions?
These questions were at the centre of the EDGE webinar “Using EVs to Support the Grid: From Charging Demand to Flexibility in Practice.”
The event brought together experts from research and industry to explore how EV charging behaviour can be understood, modelled, and integrated into power system planning.
From real charging behaviour to grid impacts
Lukas Elmiger (CKW / Axpo Group) presented new insights into how EV charging behaviour can be identified in large smart-meter datasets and analysed to understand its impact on distribution grids.
The analysis showed that EV charging creates several challenges for grid planning. Charging behaviour is stochastic and difficult to predict, while individual charging sessions often draw significantly more power than typical household appliances.
By identifying charging signals in smart-meter data, grid operators can better understand when charging occurs and how it affects local peak demand. The results highlight that synchronized charging behaviour can significantly increase network load, particularly when driven by tariff incentives.
Managing peak demand through smart charging strategies
The webinar also explored strategies to mitigate worst-case charging peaks.
Analysis of residential charging patterns showed that tariff structures can unintentionally synchronize charging behaviour, for example when reduced night tariffs encourage many users to start charging at the same time.
Several strategies were discussed to address this challenge, including staggered charging, controlled charging power, and improved tariff design. These approaches can significantly reduce peak demand and limit the need for costly grid reinforcement.
Understanding EV charging flexibility at system level
María Parajeles (ETH Zurich) presented research on modelling EV charging demand and flexibility at the scale of the Swiss electricity system.
Her work combines mobility simulations, charging behaviour modelling, and power system analysis to answer key questions:
Where and when will EVs require energy?
How much of this charging demand can be shifted without affecting user comfort?
And what value does this flexibility create for the electricity system?
The results suggest that around 60% of the charging energy of future EV fleets could be flexible, providing significant opportunities to optimize system operation.
Supporting renewable integration and smarter system planning
The research also showed how EV flexibility can support the integration of renewable energy.
Flexible charging can improve the use of solar generation, reduce curtailment of renewable energy, and lower system operation costs. At the same time, flexibility can help reduce investment needs in generation and infrastructure.
However, the discussion also highlighted that coordination between system-level planning and local grid operation remains essential.
Bridging research and grid practice
By bringing together modelling research and real-world grid data, the webinar illustrated how EV charging can evolve from a potential grid challenge into a key flexibility resource.
The discussion also demonstrated the importance of combining behavioural analysis, data-driven planning, and system modelling to support the electrification of transport while maintaining grid stability.