South Magazine Fall 2023

VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER
Introducing
V2G
South engineering professor studies
vehicle-to-grid power sharing
DR. DANIELA TOUMA, assistant
professor of electrical and
computer engineering at the
University of South Alabama,
is using a National Science
Foundation grant to predict
power demands in the
development of vehicle-to-grid
technology.
V2G, as it’s known, allows
plug-in hybrid and electric
vehicles to push power back to
the electrical grid, assisting the
grid during peak hours. Touma
will use artificial intelligence
algorithms in a laboratory
simulation to forecast usage
patterns by electric vehicles.
“We’ve got all these vehicles
connected to charging stations
all night at home, or all day at
work, so why not put this power
to use?” she said. “An electric
vehicle has a big battery, so it’s a
big advantage.”
In June, Touma’s $199,000 NSF
award was announced. She and
graduate assistants are working
on the laboratory simulation and
surveying Mobile area residents
and utility companies about their
policies, practices and attitudes
toward electric vehicles and
vehicle-to-grid capabilities.
She is studying the Gulf
Coast, a region of the country
that has hardly begun to
explore alternatives to internal
combustion vehicles. In 2022,
according to the U.S. Department
of Energy, there were 8,700
electric cars registered in the
state of Alabama, along with
4,400 plug-in hybrid vehicles —
or about 0.3 percent of light-duty
vehicles on the road.
V2G, Touma said, “helps
both sides. It helps the grid
function and it helps customers
save money. That’s important.
We’re engineers trying to solve
problems, so we need programs
people want to use.”
READ MORE about
Dr. Daniela Touma’s
research.
“We’re engineers trying to solve
problems, so we need programs
people want to use.”
DR. DANIELA
TOUMA received a
grant from the
National Science
Foundation to
study V2G, or
vehicle-to-grid
technology.
8 SOUTH MAGAZINE