Melbourne School of Engineering studies electric vehicles

Charging up an electric car can put as much strain on the energy grid as a small family home. So how can we embrace this new technology while keeping an eye on sustainability?

Melbourne School of Engineering staff are undertaking cutting edge research into the design of electric vehicles and their likely impact on the electricity grid.
“When you run your vehicle on electricity, it is only as green as the fuel that was used to generate the electricity,” according to Dr Julian De Hoog from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
“In Victoria, where our generation is predominantly brown coal, you have a situation where electric vehicles and petrol-powered vehicles are roughly on par in terms of environmental impact; however, the main advantage of electric vehicles is that you have flexibility regarding where your energy comes from,” he said.
While petrol-based vehicles have dominated personal transport over recent years, the electric vehicle is making a comeback. In 2014, nearly every major automaker has an electric or hybrid vehicle on the market.
“Initially, electric vehicles were quite expensive and had a short travel range.  As battery technology improves, however, prices are coming down and travel range is increasing,” said the University of Melbourne engineering researcher, who completed his B.Sc in Computer Science and Mathematics from McGill University.
Effects on the grid can be mitigated by shifting EV charging from peak times such as 6 p.m., when everyone comes home, to off-peak times such as overnight.

“In Victoria, we have had a mandatory smart meter rollout. A network operator can send a signal to these smart meters, and the smart meters communicate with the vehicles and tell them, ‘start charging’ or ‘stop charging’.”  said Dr De Hoog.
“If you have a good model of the network then in theory you can find the best possible way of charging as many vehicles as possible.”

University of Melbourne Department of Mechanical Engineering

Melbourne mechanical engineering programs have been rated the best in Australia across three major international rankings. Students will be taught by key experts in their subject fields and have access to state-of-the-art facilities for laboratory and research work.
Mechanical and mechatronic engineers are essential in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of technologies that drive society, such as transport, manufacturing, agriculture and mining.
In the mechanical engineering program, students are equipped with a fundamental understanding of how things work and apply this knowledge to design and develop next generation technologies such as aircraft, rockets, robots, biomechanical prosthetics, mining tools and many others. Mechanical engineers also create alternative energy solutions such as wind turbines, alternative fuels, electric vehicles to lead the way to a cleaner future.
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Find out more about studying mechanical engineering at the Melbourne School of Engineering. Contact OzTREKK’s Australian Engineering Schools Admissions Officer Rachel Brady at rachel@oztrekk.com, or call toll free in Canada at 1-866-698-7355. Find out how you can study in Australia!