Energy Data Sharing and the Case of EV Smart Charging

The rollout of charging infrastructure for battery-powered vehicles is critical to meet the European Union’s (EU) ambitious energy transition. Although the European Commission is currently suggesting several regulatory options and state support schemes to favour the rollout of charge points, the data-sharing aspect of the issue remains largely unaddressed and unexplored. Yet, data-sharing frameworks are key in the realisation of smart charging initiatives, as they provide guidelines and protocols to ensure that stakeholders can share data securely and seamlessly.

Against this background, this report examines the potential impacts of data sharing related to electric vehicle battery charging and electricity provision. The report arrives at a moment of regulatory ambiguity in the EU over the nature of data sharing that will be involved in this industry and whether there will be EU rules or national rules that ensure choice and prevent data monopolisation. Resolving the ambiguity is important due to the potentially decisive role that car batteries can ultimately play in storing variable renewable energy, like wind and solar, and returning this energy to the network at times of demand. The role of bi-directional charging can create a positive externality by reducing greenhouse gas provision both related to transport and electricity production.

This report first describes the differences between unidirectional and bidirectional smart charging to point out their respective data needs and the related data-governed transactions. The paper then proceeds by considering the broad economic features of bi-directional charging technology that is possible with car batteries. The paper further examines the broad regulatory framework on data sharing in the EU, showing how this framework is supplemented by energy-specific data requirements. To illustrate potential data-related solutions for smart charging, both the UK and the US experiences are investigated.

A key point that is suggested in the study is that, while the EU may have a debate over whether to establish requirements for data sharing, failure to require openness at an early stage is not likely to be counteracted by high customer demand for openness and could create lock-in for car customers to “mini” monopolies. Openness does not require the imposition of one standard: openness only implies open access to each standard and information held under that standard.

The report draws five broad recommendations:

1. Require car manufacturers to adopt open and portable standards for battery charging and electricity supply with functions available to any third parties chosen by the customer.
2. Ensure that customers with no reasonable alternative are not locked by data systems into purchasing energy from a charger at rates that are not competitive for either charging or selling energy.
3. Ensure that privacy safeguards are in place to protect consumer information about their movements (and that these are not displaced by open data requirements).
4. Ensure that sufficient transactional standards are in place so that energy payments are secure.
5. Avoid imposing obligations to suppliers to buy from EVs. Thus, EVs would compete with other sources of energy and would not be guaranteed to provide energy when the economic conditions were not desirable nor be guaranteed prices above the market rate.

In some places, the prioritisation of renewable energy sources may previously have led to waste of government or end-customer funds and excessive rates of return for investors, which is one reason to be careful about imposing purchase obligations and prioritisation of purchase obligations on electricity suppliers.