Coordinating EV Charging via Blockchain

The increasing electric vehicle (EV) penetration in a distribution network triggers the need for EV charging coordination. This paper firstly proposes a hierarchical EV charging coordination model and an algorithm based on Lagrangian relaxation. A barrier to the implementation of the coordination algorithm is that there usually does not exist a reliable coordinator of charging stations. This paper shows that an unreliable coordinator may collude with some charging stations and behave dishonestly by disobeying the coordination algorithm. Thus, the collusion coalition can gain more profits while lowering the profits of others and the total social welfare. To provide reliable coordination of charging stations, a novel blockchain-based coordination platform via Ethereum is established, including a coordination structure and a smart contract. A mathematical analysis is given to show that the proposed platform can mitigate the collusion behaviors in the coordination. Simulation results show the consequence of collusion and how blockchain can prevent the collusion.