Optimizing the grid for EVs and ensuring accessibility will be a key focus of the June 7-8 event in Chicago

Some 9.6 million charge points will be needed in the U.S. by the end of the decade to support an estimated 18.7 million electric vehicles on the road at that time. This massive increase in EV charging infrastructure will have important implications for the grid, and present stakeholders with significant challenges and opportunities.

The 2nd Annual EV Charging Infrastructure Summit - North America, June 7-8, 2022 in Chicago, convenes top industry experts to discuss business models, enabling technologies and implementation strategies to ensure widespread EV adoption is optimized for all parties involved going forward. Organized by the Smart Grid Observer, the Forum will examine the latest technology advances, deployments and regulatory developments with an eye toward what works, what doesn't, and how utilities can best move forward in the current environment.

"Effective and widespread charging infrastructure is critical for enabling the EV revolution," says Daniel Coran, program manager for the Forum. "This event is designed to help utilities and stakeholders drive the deployment of accessible, sustainable and affordable charging infrastructure for all parties in the EV ecosphere."

Top industry experts from the following organizations will be participating: Xcel Energy, Touchstone Energy, Volta Charging, West Monroe Partners, Microgrid Labs, Catalyze, Illinois Commerce Commission, Chicago Department of Transportation, Powering Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, EVBox, UIC, Sustainable Power Solutions, Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative, QualityLogic, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Fermata Energy, Rhombus Energy Solutions, NextEnergy, and Plugged in Strategies.
"As Illinois looks to lead the way in the transition to electric transportation, Powering Chicago's skilled union contractors provide the qualified workforce to ensure infrastructure is installed safely and to-standard," said Powering Chicago Executive Director Elbert Walters III. "We're excited to participate in this event, to share our expertise and to collaborate with others who are paving the way for this important work."

Topics to be covered include:

• Strategy and business cases for EV electrification planning
• The future of mobility and EV charging: Case study of Illinois
• Leveraging microgrids for EV rapid charging infrastructure
• Consumer needs and perceptions regarding EV charging in the U.S.
• Standardizing EV integration into grid operations
• Vehicle to Grid (V2): Advances, opportunities and challenges
• Enabling technology advances, pilots and deployments
• Implications and impact of EV charging on utility distribution networks
• Deployment architectures and communications protocols for VGI applications
• And more

"The electric grid in North America will be undergoing significant change as we seek to optimize and deploy EV charging," says Coran. "This Forum provides a particularly useful venue in which utility professionals and other stakeholders can network face to face and help the industry meet this growing challenge effectively."

A half-day workshop on Day 2 of the conference will examine the various standardization activities on vehicle-grid integration, including work in process by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Underwriter's Lab, IEEE, CharIN and the SunSpec Alliance. It will further review work in process (or concluded) by the California Public Utility Commission and IOUs on adoption and use of the standards. The workshop will be led by QualityLogic and Plugged in Strategies.

For full information and to register, visit https://smartgridobserver.com/EV-Summit

About SGO
The Smart Grid Observer (SGO) is an online information resource serving the global smart grid and green-tech market sectors. SGO delivers the latest industry news concerning key technology developments, deployment updates, and market trends driving the smart energy industry worldwide. SGO produces several conferences each year on topics such as microgrids, grid modernization, energy storage, electric vehicles, demand response, distributed energy resources, and more. To subscribe to our free weekly newsletter, visit www.smartgridobserver.com