Technical, Ecological and Economic Analysis of DC Underlay Grids for the Grid Integration of Charging Infrastructure

Abstract:
The increasing demand for charging infrastructure is a challenge for the existing AC distribution grid. Instead of expanding the AC grid, DC underlay grids can offer ecological and economic benefits. One possible DC system is introduced and the main components are identified. These serve as an input for an extensive ecological and economic analysis of two charging hubs consisting of 150 kW charging stations in combination with a PV system. Both analyses show benefits of using DC underlay grids: the ecological analysis shows a 5.3 % reduction of global warming potential and significant reductions in other environmental categories while the economic analysis shows that for larger charging hubs an increased net present value of 2.7 % can be achieved.