2022 International Conference on Technology and Policy in Energy and Electric Power (ICT-PEP)

Advanced Billing Architecture for Charging of

Electric Vehicles using Blockchain
Muhammad Awais Ayaz Ahmad
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus
Wah Cantonment, Pakistan Wah Cantonment, Pakistan
[email protected] [email protected]
2022 International Conference on Technology and Policy in Energy and Electric Power (ICT-PEP) | 979-8-3503-1027-6/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICT-PEP57242.2022.9988861

Sadiq Ahmad Abdullah Shoukat

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus
Wah Cantonment, Pakistan Wah Cantonment, Pakistan
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—Electric vehicles (EVs) are getting more importance significant concerns are energy conservation, environmental
than traditional vehicles in today's era as they may lead to protection, and the development of a sustainable energy
significant changes in society, so more research needs to be done system, the operation and establishment of electric vehicles
on electric cars for their expansion. In most EV architecture, the play an essential role in the world [5]. EVs have many benefits
charging station plays an important role. Due to the growth of over traditional vehicles; some of these benefits are listed
the extended travel range of EVs, these will travel over different below:
networks that different utility providers might serve. To
mitigate this issue, we propose a solution based on the uniform • EVs provide more mileage after a single charge; the
Token generation concept. The concept of blockchain latest version of EVs can travel up to 250 miles on a
technology will be utilized for Token generation, as the single charge [6].
blockchain technique is transparent and traceable; it does not
require any third party for its operation. The proposed model • It gives information about battery life and health.
will get information about the battery level of each EV through
a communication network and based on the battery level. The
• It provides low running cost by covering longer
corresponding best charging station will be assigned. When the distances due to a better life cycle of batteries [7].
EV starts to charge from the given charging station, a certain • It helps reduce environmental effects like global
amount of tokens is transferred from the customer's wallet to warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, etc. [8].
that charging station's wallet. For example, electric vehicles are 97% cleaner than
regular vehicles in terms of GHG emissions [9].
Keywords—electric vehicle, blockchain, charging, billing,
ethereum. A significant prompt has been received in the use of EVs
in the past decade. As an emerging technology, it is replicating
I. INTRODUCTION the fossil fuels vehicle model. Its importance is supported by
Today's significant environmental problem is the the United Nations (UN) sets the goals for global carbon
widespread use of automobiles powered by internal emission to be lessened by 45% by 2030 and diminish
combustion (IC) engines. Fossil fuel-powered vehicles have completely to zero by 2050. Outrage of the pandemic
various issues, including (limited supply of fossil fuels, eventually reduced the commute in the past two to three years.
dangerous nature, and expensiveness). Electric vehicles (EVs) As a result, the carbon emission decreased significantly. As
powered by an electric motor are a solution to mitigate the it's a false alarm, it is expected to increase again in the near
issues above. A large traction battery bank is used in vehicles future. That's why the necessity of EVs is going to grow too.
to power the electric motor further. For charging purposes, As per the stats shared by global EV outlook 2021 [10], there
electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is used [1, 2], was a significant growth in EV stocks by the year 2020. A 43
which may be a wall outlet or charging equipment. These percent jump over the previous year is seen, as it hits about 10.
battery banks are composed of Lithium-ion families [3, 4]. A significant prompt has been received in the use of EVs
The nominal charging interval of an EV battery is about 30 in the past decade. As an emerging technology, it is replicating
min to 12 hours. The advantage of EVs is the absence of the fossil fuels vehicle model. Its importance is supported by
tailpipe and traditional liquid fuel components such as a fuel the United Nations (UN) sets the goals for global carbon
pump, fuel line, or fuel tank because of their electric fuel. In emission to be lessened by 45% by 2030 and diminish
addition, it is a low-cost, eco-sustainable solution as EV has completely to zero by 2050. Outrage of the pandemic
fewer moving parts to repair and replaces fossil fuel with eventually reduced the commute in the past two to three years.
electricity fuel. In the twenty-first century, where significant As a result, the carbon emission decreased significantly. As
concerns are energy conservation, environmental protection, it's a false alarm, it is expected to increase again in the near
and the development of a sustainable energy system, the future. That's why the necessity of EVs is going to grow too.
operation and establishment of electric vehicles play an As per the stats shared by global EV outlook 2021 [10], there
essential role in the world. EVs have many benefits over was a significant growth in EV stocks by the year 2020. A 43
traditional vehicles; some of these benefits are listed below: percent jump over the previous year is seen, as it hits about 10
EV has fewer moving parts to repair and replaces fossil million registrations, from which 66% of the vehicles were
fuel with electricity fuel. In the twenty-first century, where battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Three giant consumers of the

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979-8-3503-1027-6/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE 128
EV fleet shared a significant portion of the market. Europe is
the first in line with 1.4 million new registrations. China was
demoted to the second position in 2020 at 1.3 million, then the
United States (US) in the queue with 295,000 new vehicles.
Two main divisions of charging mechanisms are fast DC
charging (above 22 kW) and slow DC charging (below 20
kW). China, Europe & US did the major installation of slow
chargers in 2020 as 0.5, 0.25, and 0.082 million units,
respectively. With the passing time, fast DC charging is
catching more attention too. In densely populated areas like
China and Japan, these fast chargers are expected to replicate
the slow ones, as these facilitate longer trips. A significant
increase in the installation of fast chargers was seen in Europe
and China by 2020 at 55% and 44%, respectively. With these
emerging options, the driver is free to opt for either. This will Fig. 1 System model.
increase the proportional energy consumption and is expected
to reach 80% by 2030 [10]. stock. Similarly, these charged batteries will be swapped in
peak hours with the needed EV. The overall system model is
The popularity of electric vehicles prompted the shown in Fig. 1. The proposed framework is divided into two
development of EV battery charging technology. The modes, i.e., charge sustaining mode and charge depletion
charging of EVs is presently done through Radio Frequency mode.
Identification (RFIDs) or some smartphone applications. A
complex close loop of the system architecture becomes A. Mathematical Model
essential when the charging system is practically The distinction in the absolute cost of ownership for the
implemented. Some of the portions of this complex mesh are EVs compared with the traditional vehicles includes
energy and network provision bodies, compound rear-end additional speculation costs and yearly running cost savings
systems, charging stations (CS), regulatory bodies and [17]. On the other hand, any remaining expenses, such as
electronic mobility service provision bodies, to name a few upkeep costs, are expected to be equivalent and overlooked.
[11]. EV charging technology is constantly improving [12, The additional annual cost (AAC) for the electric vehicles
13]; however, the technology research is mainly focused on given in (1) involves the annuity for the initial investment
the hardware side of the charging industry. There is not much costs and for the battery and propulsion capacity,
research on the software and secure billing systems. The respectively.
current billing system works as follows: when the charging
station has charged the EV, it asks for payment from the credit (1)
card company using the billing information (i.e., EV user's
card details, setting a price) provided by the EV user and
The operational cost savings (OCS) of using electricity
charging station. However, the EV or charging station might
instead of fuel is given in (2). With prices ae and af [$/kWh]
produce false information at this time, resulting in incorrect
for electricity and fuel having energies Pe and Pf [kWh],
billing. For example, the charge profile assessed at the EV
respectively, we have:
may differ from the charge quantity delivered by the charging
station; this could happen because either the EV or charging
station uses its unique measurement equipment to determine (2)
the amount of charge. As a result, the EV or charging station
might generate some discrepancy in the charging information The annual operational cost savings (AOCS) in (3) is the
on purpose, causing misunderstanding in the contractual distance that ith EV traveled multiplied by the operating cost
connection between the EV and the charging station. To savings (OCS) of using electricity instead of fuel; we have
mitigate this issue, we pro- pose a solution based on
blockchain billing. Blockchain technology will be utilized to (3)
create smart contracts for the billing of EVs.
The annual net saving (Si) for the ith vehicle using
II. PROPOSED MODEL electricity instead of fuel is given in (4).
The proposed system model consists of a distribution
feeder [14, 15] connected to N number of charging stations, (4)
each with a Cb outlet [16]. Each charging outlet has two
options either to charge the EV or swap the battery of the EV. B. Objective Function:
The proposed model's objective is to maximize the profit of To choose an ith EV when, and only when, it is
each charging station. In off-peak hours the charging outlet economically beneficial to do so, i.e., when Si ≥ 0. The
will charge the EV and the set of batteries available in the objective functions are:
• Maximization of the total number of EVs:

∑ 1 ! , #0 (5)

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129
 • Maximization of total savings: A. Electricity Provider
Electricity providers supply electricity to charging
∑ 1 ! , # 0. ! , (6) stations, which EV drivers may use to charge their batteries.
A provider is a company that offers rates, invoices, and
where 1 ! , # 0 be an indicator function defined customer service. Electric utilities are alternative suppliers or
as: third-party suppliers who sell electricity directly to their
customers. Providers purchase electricity from the electrical
1, ! , , #0
grid and can obtain it from their chosen supplier.
1 ! , #0 &
0, ! , '0
(7)
B. Electric Vehicle
EV owners charge the electric vehicles from the charging
C. Constraints: station, and the user's battery level is taken. The location of
C1: The value of the token depends on the average EV driver navigates through a map in any region. In addition,
electricity tariff of different places. it provides a better communication network between EV
drivers and charging stations through blockchain technology.
∑))*+ ( ) C. Blockchain
(8)
)
Blockchain works like a Bitcoin cryptocurrency
C2: NWmax and NWmin are the maximum and the technology in which it records all transaction databases of the
minimum number of tokens users can store in their wallet. public network. First, it gets the battery level value from EVs
and the live location. Then, it can estimate how much token is
,- ,.,/ 0 1 ,- ,. ' ,- ,.,/23 ∀5 6
78ℎ5:;8
charged by the user [18]. Next, it collects information from
(9) transaction databases or tokens from user wallets and gives the
message to electricity providers. Finally, it sends the
C3: Charging priority should be given to local users over transaction records to the user and electricity provider.
roaming users, and EV should be charged at some limit at peak
demand time D. Charging Station
It is the station where EV driver can charge their battery
< ∑ ∈> < ' ? (10) through a charging unit from the power grid. As demand for
charging stations increases, there is a greater need for
Where, equipment that maintains faster charging at higher levels
(Voltage and Current). The charging framework incorporates
/23 all the equipment and programming that guarantees energy is
(11)
moving from the electric grid to the vehicle. It can be
C4: EVs do not get charged if the number of tokens in the classified as area, power level, and charging time procedure.
user wallet is less than NWmin. The government needs to act on it and provide a charging
framework to their clients of electric vehicles. The flow chart
< ,- ,. 0 ∀ ,- ,. ' ,- ,.,/ 0
of the application working is shown in Fig. 3.
(12)

C5: Battery operation must be uninterrupted.

< @/ 0
A (13)

III. ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW

The architecture overview of billing system is shown in Fig.
2.

Fig. 2 Architecture Overview. Fig. 3 Flow chart of proposed charging system application.

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130
 IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Our model has four stations: alpha, beta, gamma, and zeta.
We have presented the model data of every station in the
following figures. This model data reveals the practical
implementation of our system and its response to some of the
experimental conditions.
The blockchain can simplify payments for electric
vehicles. It offers an electric car charging network that is more
effective. The problem of range anxiety is a major barrier to
the adoption of electric automobiles. On lengthy journeys,
many individuals worry that their batteries may die. This is
because they cannot expect the charger to be readily available
everywhere. Potential customers will be hesitant to move to
electric vehicles without the proper sort of infrastructure that
is readily accessible. But there are several concerns that the
blockchain itself addresses, such as reputation issues,
technological scalability, and integration difficulties with
existing systems. At addition, the electric car industry is
currently in a hypothetical stage and there is no assurance that
it will be widely embraced at any point in the future, aside Fig. 5 Five months record of station charging frequency.
from regulatory and monetary problems. The infrastructure
for EV charging may be improved even further by
incorporating the blockchain into the energy grid. Even if the
blockchain system is generally safe, the act of linking other
cyber or physical systems to the blockchain system can still be
a source of threats. In order to prevent counterfeits, such as
those caused by a blockchain with a chemical signature for
self-organizing processes in social manufacturing, it is
essential that 14 of 16 physical systems have a strong
relationship with blockchain technology.
A. Vehicles Charging Frequency
Fig. 4 illustrates the four stations' vehicle frequency in 30
days. The graph shows that the alpha station contains the most
frequency of vehicles, and the beta contains the minor
frequency of vehicles. In comparison, gamma and zeta
stations have a moderate number of vehicles. Fig. 5 gives the
station-wise vehicle charging frequency over five months. It
indicates that the alpha station belongs to a crowded area as it
contains the most frequent vehicles, and the beta station Fig. 6 Unit consumption records of station.
belongs to a less busy place as it includes fewer vehicles. At
the same time, gamma and zeta stations show moderate B. Units Consumed by Stations
responses.
We have shown the Units consumed by every station in 30
days in Fig. 6. Again, the alpha station consumed the most
units as it contains the most frequent vehicles, and the beta
station consumed fewer units as it is a less busy area with less
frequent vehicles. In contrast, gamma and zeta stations
consumed an average number of units.
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
EVS will become highly popular in the near future, and the
market will expand appropriately. Therefore, technology
development will be required for both associated services and
billing. In this paper an optimal charging strategy with
blockchain-based billing system for secure transactions
between diverse charging stations and automobiles that are not
mutually trustworthy. An online application based on block
chain technology is also developed to control the charging of
EV with paid amount. The approach outlined in the study has
the benefits of being intelligent, low-cost, and easy to
implement and use. In future these technologies will be
combined using advanced artificial intelligence based
Fig. 4 Station wise charging vehicles frequency. techniques for automatic charging system in order to validate

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131
the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Also, the load
scheduling methods will be improved, for instance, by
estimation of the parking time using the learning process.
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