As the UK accelerates its shift to electric vehicles, research at the University of Strathclyde shows that coordinated action between industry, network operators and policymakers is essential to deliver smart charging, resilient grids and affordable infrastructure to support Net Zero, according to the University of Strathclyde.
The Government committed to phasing out sales of new cars and vans powered by petrol of diesel, but there is a problem, said the university.
“Under current policy and uptake assumptions, the UK won’t reach 100% electric vehicle (EV) until around 2045,” says Dr Priya Bhagavathy of the University of Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC). Her prediction is based on a model she developed with Dr Hannah Budnitz at the University of Oxford.
“Something needs to shift to encourage more people to go electric because targets alone do not deliver transitions,” adds Dr Bhagavathy.
Transport produced 26% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2021, with domestic transport responsible for 109 MtCO2e.
Even when sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE) cars are banned, there will still be many millions of petrol and diesel cars on the road, until at least 2050.
Decarbonising transport is crucial in achieving the UK’s Net Zero target of reducing GHG emissions by 100% by 2050. But making this change isn’t simply a case of encouraging – or forcing – consumers to go electric.
While the upfront cost of EVs is a barrier for many, range anxiety and doubts about the availability and affordability of charging infrastructure also prey on consumers’ minds.
“The transition to EVs depends as much, if not more, on electricity grid infrastructure, charging reliability and supply chains as it does on vehicle price and performance,” says Dr Bhagavathy.
Ensuring Britain’s electricity grid can cope with mass EV charging without local power networks being overwhelmed is essential.
Working closely with electricity network operators, charging‑infrastructure providers and policymakers, Strathclyde researchers are helping translate academic insight into practical tools that support day‑to‑day network planning and long‑term infrastructure investment.
“EVs are increasingly being charged in the middle of the night, taking advantage of traditional off-peak tariffs. But as EV numbers increase, this off-peak charging will become its own peak, and push the grid beyond its operating limits, accelerating ageing and increasing the risk of faults,” says Dr Bhagavathy. “Options to address this include location constraint-based smart tariffs or flexibility service providers with geographic clusters.”
PNDC delivered end-to-end testing of a bi-directional charging solution designed to unlock multiple Vehicle-to-Everything applications. By emulating real-world operational scenarios, the team validated performance, improved system efficiency, and provided critical data to accelerate commercial readiness.
One Strathclyde-led study used Stockholm’s power system as a case study to assess uncoordinated EV charging against two smart charging strategies: Loss-optimal and cost-optimal.
Results showed that uncoordinated EV charging significantly increased network losses and transformer congestion. In contrast, loss-optimal smart charging reduced annual network losses by more than a third, while the cost-optimal strategy delivered a smaller reduction in losses but a 4.3% decrease in electricity import costs, making it more economically attractive for distribution system operators. Both strategies can be further enhanced through the integration of solar power generation and battery energy storage systems.
Strathclyde researchers have also studied real-world behaviour at public EV chargers by analysing data on when vehicles arrive, how long they stay, and when they leave. The results showed that EV charger demand comes in distinct patterns, depending on user behaviour and location.
Professor Stuart Galloway, one of the study authors, says: “Some hubs experience sharp, short-lived peaks when many vehicles arrive close together, while others have longer, flatter demand because cars remain plugged in for extended periods.
“By categorising demand patterns, our research gives grid planners and charging operators a clearer picture of how people actually use charging hubs, which makes it easier to design charging infrastructure and manage the local electricity network without overloading it.”
PIC-UNIVERISTY OF STRATHCLYDE
