Meet our testbed: Dublin

The Ireland testbed optimises the EV charging management system, monitors the energy consumption and impacts on power quality on the charging area in 2 shared parking premises at NUIM (Maynooth University) and UCD (University College Dublin). It also develops and validates an innovative parking management APP to avoid congestion and ensures a smooth EV charging experience.

Fabiano Palloneto from NUIM shares the latest insights.

What are the main objectives of the Testbed in Dublin? 

Shared parking premises areas are facing congestion and require expansion or a more advanced management strategy. This is the case of 2 shared parking areas at our universities, Maynooth and University College of Dublin, what we want to do is to make sure we can effectively serve EVs during peak hours. We're closely monitoring energy use and assessing its impact on power quality parking lots and we're testing a new parking management mobile APP to ease congestion at charging stations. Our aim is to understand both the challenges and opportunities for adopting this technology, ultimately improving the experience for our students. 

Who are you targeting? What are the main users/stakeholders involved? 

We mainly target students and staff of UCD and Maynooth universities. 

How do you engage with stakeholders to ensure ongoing support and collaboration? 

We recently conducted in-person interviews with the EV users. 

Can you share some key milestones achieved since the launch of the activities?

We were able to develop the prototype of the proposed mobile APP which can be used as a communication medium between EV users and as a solution towards more advanced management of shared EV spaces by enabling EV users to book their slot.

More about it?

The application can be used mainly in 2 ways:

  1. An EV User arrives at a charging station and finds out that the shared charging station is full​: through the FLOW APP he/she searches for nearby charging stations and books the preferred time slot for his ease​. He reaches the searched charging station and charges his EV on the booked charging space.​
  2. Similar situation: all charging stations are full, but in thi case the EV user can send a request through the FLOW APP to all users already charging their EVs to vacate their space.​ Anyone who agrees is put in contact to finalise the process.

FLOW needs you!
Complete our EV Users Survey

The potential of smart charging can only be fully exploited if many EV drivers choose to participate. That is why it is important to involve users in the development of new charging concepts right from the start. And this works best when (future) EV users are asked about their preferences. To this end, the TUC (Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany) has set up a questionnaire to evaluate your acceptance with the next generation of charging solutions. 

Take part in our short survey (10’)!

Who can participate?

Any individual driving an EV occasionally or regularly is welcome. 

What is the scope of the questionnaire?

The survey aims to assess mobility and charging behavior, as well as attitudes towards smart charging. 

What is the benefit of participation?

Sharing your views on smart charging can help to improve the next generation of charging concepts before their implementation. You can also become a test user at one of the demo sites in Menorca, Rome, Copenhagen, or Dublin. There you will have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with and test innovative charging concepts! If you are interested in our research, we will be happy to keep you informed about the survey and project results.