What will you focus on at Stanford?
I plan to research Vehicle-to-Grid technology, or V2G, which my entire dissertation is built around. Put simply, it is a technology that allows energy stored in an electric vehicle battery to be returned back to the grid. The car therefore does not serve only as a means of transport that consumes electricity; under certain conditions, it becomes a source of energy flexibility.
What are the advantages of this technology?
From a business perspective, this approach can influence, for example, the price of electricity. When electricity is cheap, the car charges, and when the price rises, part of the energy can be sold back to the grid. In principle, it is similar to a stationary home battery, with the difference that the battery is already in the car.
But there is also the level of so-called technical flexibility, which concerns grid stability. A transmission system operator such as ČEPS is responsible for maintaining a constant balance between electricity production and consumption. To do this, it uses balancing services, which today involve, for example, coal-fired power plants, gas sources or battery storage systems. In my research, I am looking for a way in which car batteries could also participate in providing these services.
Why is California such a promised land in this respect?
Because it has a huge share of both electric vehicles and photovoltaics. In Czechia, the situation is different. The share of electromobility is still very small and, partly due to worse geographical conditions, we produce significantly less. For California, however, this is not only an advantage; it also has to cope with major fluctuations. When the sun is shining, there is a lot of electricity. When it is not, however, the state still has to satisfy practically the same demand despite a sharp drop in production. This creates an imbalance between production and consumption, which then has to be balanced somehow.
For us, California can be something like a time machine. The problems they are dealing with there will also affect Czechia in the future, and by extension the whole of Europe, and we can prepare for them. Of course, this is assuming that the transformation continues, with an emphasis on expanding renewable sources.
Stanford specifically, and its surroundings, are ideal for world-class research related to artificial intelligence, data and new technologies. That is essential for V2G, because it is an algorithmically quite complex problem. It is necessary to identify dependencies, process large datasets on charging, analyse both public and non-public charging stations, and work with models of user and grid behaviour.
In connection with electromobility, energy consumption is discussed alongside sustainability. What is your view of this?
People often say that more electric vehicles mean more charging, and therefore higher electricity consumption. That is true. But I like to say that we should not look at electromobility as a problem; it can also be seen as part of the solution.
One example speaks for itself: electric vehicles can help stabilize the grid at key times. There is research showing that cars spend the vast majority of their time parked. So the question is how to use this potential. If a car is parked and connected to the grid, under certain conditions it can return part of its energy to the grid precisely when it is needed.
Of course, I cannot simply drain someone’s battery so that, when they need it, they get into a car that will not move because it has no energy. It has to be set up intelligently. The user should receive a sufficient incentive and compensation for any possible discomfort. For many people, even just knowing that their car is not fully charged is unpleasant, even though they do not need it at that moment.
What are the main obstacles that currently prevent Vehicle-to-Grid technology from becoming part of everyday life?
For this to work in practice, a number of challenges need to be addressed. One level is legislative. We need clearly defined conditions for connecting an electric vehicle with V2G, especially who is allowed to work with the energy, how it is accounted for, or how it is taxed.
The second level is technological. For V2G to function, compatible chargers, cars, communication standards and norms have to be ensured. The flow of data between the actors involved is also important. It will be crucial to know as precisely as possible the state of charge of the battery, or when the car user plans to get behind the wheel. We must work securely with this often sensitive information and be able to control the vehicle remotely with minimal deviation.
The third level is economic. The technology has to make sense for all the actors involved: the end user, the distribution and transmission system operators, the trader, the aggregator, and also the car manufacturer, which invests in implementing the technology.
At CTU, you are involved in several projects, for example at the CENT centre at CIIRC, and you work across several fields. What is your role in the research team?
At the moment, my role is mainly leadership and coordination. I try to capture the overall picture. I look for synergy between electromobility and the energy sector. I have experience from Škoda Auto and from business, implementing large projects in charging infrastructure. I know how a charger and a car work, and at the same time I focus on energy. It is therefore natural to try to connect these worlds.
There are people who are better at modelling, writing code or analysing specific parts of the energy market. Then we have experts on electric vehicles themselves. My added value lies in being able to connect these worlds and put things into context.
For V2G technology to be successful, it is not enough to solve just one part. We need to take into account circumstances that are not directly related to the technical problem. We consider the user, battery degradation, economic incentives and environmental impacts.
For example, with RWTH Aachen University, specifically with the INaB team led by Professor and my international specialist supervisor Marzia Traverso, we look at V2G from the perspective of the entire life cycle, known as Life Cycle Assessment. We examine what it means when a car battery is not used only for driving, but also to provide flexibility. By doing so, we cycle it and wear it out. That is why we need to ask: What does this mean in terms of sustainability and carbon footprint? It may happen that the battery will need to be replaced sooner. Instead of 200,000 kilometres, the car may drive only 180,000 kilometres, and the remaining capacity will be “virtually” used for the grid. This raises the question of whether the emissions savings achieved through grid stabilisation are actually worth it compared with the demands of producing a new battery. If the service were too demanding in terms of materials or too emissions-intensive, it might not make sense from a sustainability perspective.
My advantage is that I perceive the issue in a comprehensive way and can connect people who are better than I am in individual disciplines, but who often focus on only one part of the problem.
What is the Czech added value in cooperation with Stanford? What will this famous university gain thanks to you?
First of all, I would mention data availability. In the United States, a lot of critical data on infrastructure and charging is in private hands, and companies are often reluctant to share it. Within the LIMESS laboratory at CTU FEE and CENT, we have managed to obtain excellent data and establish cooperation with Škoda Auto and ŠKO-ENERGO, the energy branch of the car manufacturer.
For example, we have data on charging sessions at their site. Thanks to this, Stanford can to some extent use us as a living lab. They have top-level models and predictions, excellent know-how and computing capacities, but they lack a sufficient environment in which to verify them. This is what we can offer. Of course, with the understanding that Europe behaves differently from the United States. We have a different type of grid, different connections and a different electricity market. But for testing, we still provide very valuable opportunities. When a representative of Stanford’s Sustainable Mobility Center visited us, he emphasised data availability as one of our greatest advantages. Last but not least, our excellent location in the centre of Europe gives us a competitive advantage.
How did you actually get into this topic?
I think my interdisciplinarity is already rooted in the fact that I studied both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. My bachelor’s programme was not specialised, and during my master’s I focused on energy.
During my studies, I was also part of the eForce electric formula team, where I spent three years in the team leadership. This was key to my relationship with electromobility. I consider eForce an excellent student initiative. You learn to look at technology practically and in context, to work in a team, and you can also afford to make mistakes and learn from them. At the same time, I became increasingly interested in the real-world impacts of technologies. I did not want to model a single device or one thermodynamic cycle. I enjoy addressing the complex impact of technology: how it fits into the energy concept, how it should work, and what its political and social contexts are.
Already during my diploma thesis, I was shaped by an environment and by people who looked at energy more broadly. Among others, I would mention my thesis supervisor Jakub Maščuch. After that, I started my Ph.D. with Oldřich Starý, with the aim of really going into depth.
You are doing your Ph.D. at the Department of Economics, Management and Humanities. Does economics therefore also play an important role in your research?
Yes, it is another important piece of the puzzle. But I would not call myself an economist. I have some awareness of this issue, but I cannot do without people who are further along in these considerations. My role often consists in being able to explain to these experts the boundary conditions given by the nature of electromobility and energy. They are good at economics; I help them place the topic in a technical and energy context.
In this respect, my second specialist supervisor, Michaela Valentová, makes an essential contribution. She focuses on policy issues, user motivation and how people think about technologies. She brings social and political context into the topic. The point is how to set up the technology so that it is acceptable also for the end user.
What would you like to bring back to CTU after your return?
My goal is to establish closer and, above all, long-term cooperation. Cooperation that other students and the scientific community from across CTU can build on. In a similar way to how I built on the activities of my colleague Marek Miltner. If we want to build a relationship between our centre and Stanford, it cannot be done only by email or through online calls. Nothing can replace personal contact.
I am not going to Stanford as cheap labour for someone else’s laboratory. Fulbright presupposes one’s own research, and through mine I want to contribute to the Czech debate on the possibilities of modern, sustainable energy and transport. Although I do not see V2G as the ultimate solution to energy security, with the growing share of renewable energy sources it can be a relevant player and an important technology in the overall energy mix of available flexibility.
Fulbright has to be used well, because obtaining funding for such a stay is not easy. If we manage to develop the cooperation, it could bring further extremely interesting projects.
What else will interest you during your stay overseas, apart from your own research?
I am curious about the work culture there, not only at Stanford, but in the Silicon Valley environment more generally. I am also interested in what teaching looks like and how cooperation with industry works. I have experience from Czechia and Germany, but the American university system is new to me.
We are also trying to strengthen cooperation with industry here. In my view, CTU currently has a major opportunity in this respect. The new rector, Michal Pěchouček, emphasises connecting research, industry and the startup environment. But it is important that this initiative does not come only “from above”. The people in the teams who actually establish and implement cooperation with industry also have to know how to do it. It is a great pity to conduct cutting-edge research and not know how to apply it commercially. In this respect, we certainly have something to learn from Stanford.
That is why practical experience from an environment where the connection between university and industry is very strong will also be valuable for me. In our group, we try to be very project- and grant-oriented, but we still have a lot to learn.
Last but not least, I want to enjoy Stanford, California and the American West Coast as a whole. I am lucky that I can also travel with my partner, so I am very much looking forward to travelling through national parks and to another valuable experience of living abroad.
Profile
Ondřej Štogl is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of CTU, where he works at the Department of Economics, Management and Humanities. He helps develop the activities of the CENT research centre at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics of CTU. In his research, he focuses on Vehicle-to-Grid technology, electromobility, energy and their economic and social contexts. In the autumn, thanks to the Fulbright Scholarship, he will leave for a six-month research stay at Stanford University.
Interview author: Karolína Pštross, Science Communication Coordinator at CTU
Photos by: Jiří Ryszaway
Taken from the Czech Technical University in Prague website.
