Experimental commissioning and performance testing of vehicle-to-grid operation using hardware-in-the-loop

Abstract

The increasing proliferation of electric vehicles presents new opportunities for grid support through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, enabling bidirectional power exchange between vehicles and the electrical grid. While the theoretical benefits of V2G are well established, experimental validation using standardized communication protocols under real-time conditions remains scarce. In particular, hardware-inthe- loop (HIL)-based V2G operation using the ISO 15118-20 communication standard has seen little experimental demonstration. This thesis addresses that gap by designing and commissioning a real-time direct current (DC) V2G HIL testbed built around a dSPACE MicroLabBox II, a dSPACE Smart Charging Interface (DS5366), and a Keysight communication tester (SL1550A) operating in electric vehicle communication controller (EVCC) mode. The testbed emulates the full DC charging chain, including power electronics, battery dynamics, and ISO 15118 -20 compliant electric vehicle (EV)–electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) communication, and supports both manual and automated experiment execution. The charging power is commanded through the ISO 15118-20 dynamic power request, and the experiments comprise step and ramp tests of the power response together with power-profile tests that replay grid frequency events relevant to frequency containment reserve for normal operation (FCR-N) and frequency containment reserve for disturbance (FCRD). The testbed successfully demonstrates DC V2G operation under ISO 15118-20, confirming that HIL-based validation with standardized high-level communication is a viable and scalable alternative to costly vehicle-based field trials. Future work includes evaluating hardware-induced latencies and extending the testbed toward Nordic frequency containment reserve (FCR) prequalification testing.