INESC TEC concludes European project on electric mobility

The final meeting for project MERGE, with INESC Porto as the scientific leader, took place on 14th and 15th December 2011 in Dublin, hosted by ESB (Electricity Supply Board – Ireland’s Premier Electricity Utility).

This meeting brought together all of the partners involved in project MERGE and marked the conclusion of the research. The main results had been discussed along with how these results could be applied in Europe.

The main results of the project include the identification of the benefits associated with integrating electric vehicles as active components in the electricity system of the future. This vision was closely studied during the project and the results show the possibility of being able to manage and control the energy used by electric vehicles.

The future mass introduction of electric vehicles could result in a complete line of network services associated with this integration. This line would cover the possibility of integrating more variable renewable energy (like wind power) through battery charging management and securing energy supply for the end user.

It is also important to note that the project identified the need to standardise procedures and introduce regulations to make the integration of electric vehicles viable in the next few years.

The research conducted as part of MERGE demonstrated the need to immediately begin this standardisation by integrating mobility policies and technical solutions to make the opportunities identified viable.

The participants also discussed presenting the results of the project in workshops that would take place between February and April in Brussels.