The first mass testing of electric vehicles will provide important data for research

It also includes a mass test of electric vehicles from several manufacturers, involving about thirty vehicles, which is the first test of its kind in the Czech Republic. Even on a global scale, similar tests have only taken place a few times involving prestigious universities.

“Electric cars of different brands are going on test drives on the same route from Ostrava to Opava and back throughout the week, but under different weather or driving conditions. We have equipped the vehicles with measuring equipment that allows us to monitor the necessary parameters - for example, how the vehicle is discharging, how many kilometres it has travelled, and so on. In addition to measuring operational data while driving, we also monitor the electrical variables that characterise the charging cycles of each type of electric vehicle. We will thus obtain a large volume of data that is valuable for our scientific activities,” explained Lukáš Prokop, one of the organisers of the event.

The training is a continuation of the cooperation between the ENET Centre, which is part of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies (CEET), and Renault Czech Republic. To date, 250 people have taken part in the training course. “The aim is to familiarise the company's employees with the different charging options for electric vehicles and the entire charging infrastructure, including charging management systems. While this issue is new to them, we have long experience with it,” Prokop added.

The mutual cooperation began two years ago with the first mass stress test of charging stations for electric vehicles powered by a photovoltaic power plant in Vestec near Prague.

In recent years, there has been a global push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in all areas of human life, but in transport this pressure is felt very intensely. As a result, a great deal of attention is being paid to research and development in the field of electromobility. The ENET Centre is particularly interested in it from the point of view of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the associated impact on the energy grid. Another area of interest is the alternative uses of electric vehicles through Vehicle to Home and Vehicle to Grid systems, where the energy stored in an electric vehicle can be used to power electrical appliances or the distribution networks directly.

Text: Martina Šaradínová, PR Specialist for R&D
Illustrative photo: Lukáš Prokop