Reducing charging costs for electric vehicles with bi-directional charging

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) have gained popularity as eco-friendly and energy-efficient modes of transportation. How-ever, the high cost of charging infrastructure remains a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of EVs. Bidirectional charging (BDC) is a promising solution that allows EVs to charge from the grid and supply excess power back to the grid. In this paper, we present a simulation-based study of BDC using MATLAB/Simulink and Simscape to explore the potential of BDC to reduce charging costs. We modeled an EV charging station equipped with BDC capabilities and evaluated the cost savings achieved through BDC under two different scenarios. Our findings suggest that BDC has the potential to reduce charging costs significantly, making EVs more economically viable.