City of Oakland
Proposal - BetterFleet™ Manage as Part of the CEC REDWDS Research Grant Program
DRAFT
Commercially confidential. Not for external distribution. 1 Attachment B CEC REDWDS Grant Proposal
Contents
About BetterFleet 4CECREDWDS–Grant Background 5ScopeofREDWDSParticipationandProject 6Project Funding 8OverviewofGrant FundedInfrastructure/Hardware 11Implementationplan 12Onsiteworksandcommissioning 13BetterFleet PlatformOverview 13BetterFleet Manage 15About theBetterFleet Software 17BetterFleet ManageFeatureStack 17ProposedSolutionfortheCityasPart ofREDWDS 18AppendixA: BetterFleet Manage 19Power 19VehicleDispatchandParkingIntegrationWithChargeManagement 20Vehicles 20Alerts 21ChargersandSiteCapacity 22Depot OverviewandLoadManagement 23DataCollectionandReporting 25SystemArchitecture 27StandardsCompliance 30OnsiteHardware 31HostingandSystemAvailability 32HardwareIntegrations 33 2 September12, 2024
DearRichard,
BetterFleet, aleadingsoftwarecompanyfocusedonhelpingfleetstransitiontozero-emissionvehiclealternatives, hasbeenawardedaCaliforniaEnergyCommission(CEC) grant. TheCityofOaklandprovidedaletterofsupport forthegrant applicationandduringtheproposalpreparation, variousprojectsandparticipationwerediscussed. WethanktheCityforitscontinuedsupport andweareexcitedtoworkwiththeCityofOakland(referredtoastheCityorOakland) onthisresearchgrant.
Thisgrant programcalledREDWDS(Responsive, EasyChargingProductswithDynamicSignals)aimstotest theabilityoffleetsthroughout Californiawithelectricvehicles(EVs) toflextheirEVchargingtoprovideresiliencetotheCaliforniagrid, whileaimingtolowerenergybillsforfleetowners.
Thisproposal providesasummaryofthefollowing:
● Grant background● theCityscopeofREDWDSparticipationandproject● Grant fundingfortheresearchproject● Quotefortheservices–notethat nocost isexpectedfortheCity, andthisinformationisshowntodemonstratehowthefundingamount wasderived● Implementationplan● Informationabout BetterFleet Manage, ouradvancedchargemanagement systemprovidedaspart ofthegrant toenableparticipationintheCaliforniaenergymarket Attachmentstothisdocument include:
● CollaborationAgreement, whichprovidesthetermsandconditionsforadatasharingagreement aspart ofthegrant● SoftwareLicenseAgreement All fundingisprovidedbytheCECundertheREDWDSProgram.
Wethankyouforyourparticipationinthisexcitingproject that will helppropel theCaliforniaEVandenergymarketsforward. 3 About BetterFleet
BetterFleet isaworld-leadingplatformforfleet transitionplanningandmanagement forcomplex(mixed) fleets. Wehaveservicedover200fleetsglobally. Oursignificant internal softwareteamhasbuilt astate-of-the-art chargemanagement system, fine-tunedfortransit operationsthroughfiveyearsofresearchanddevelopment collaborationsandgrants.
Thebusinesswasfoundedin2016inAustraliawithamissiontodecarbonizetransport. Thecompanygrewprimarilyorganicallythroughmajorcontract successandmajorR&Dgrants,enteringtheUnitedStates, CanadaandEuroperapidly. Thebusinessisstill 45%employeeownedandoperatedwith100%offundingcomingfromimpact investors, most recentlyAlignedClimateCapital, NewYorkbasedimpact investment company. OurdirectorsincludeJordanRamer(formerCEOandFounderofEVconnect), JamieRubin(formerCOOofStateofNewYork), andBrendanBell (formerdirectorofstrategyat theDepartment ofEnergy).
Ourvaluespermeateeveryaspect ofouroperationsandmanycustomerspoint toourtransparencyandhonestyasthethingtheyvaluemost fromdealingwithus.
Wewerealsoestablishedasaresearch&development (R&D) focusedentitywithall additionalcapital andprofitsgoingintofundingoursignificant R&DeffortsandcollaborationsintheChargeManagement domain. Most notablyandrecentlywewereawardedagrant ofupto$25MfromtheCaliforniaEnergyCommissiontofundresearchanddevelopment inadvancedchargingforfleets. 4 CECREDWDS–Grant Background
Californiaenergyutilitiesemployarangeofsignal-basedstrategiestoenableandincentivizewidespreadcustomerloadshift inresponsetoelectricgridconditions, includingdemandresponse, otherevent-basedsignals, andenergybillingrates. Torealizeloadshift, customersandtheirdevicesmust beabletoeasilyaccessandrespondtothesedynamicgridsignals. TheGrant, awardedtoEVenergi LLC(dbaBetterFleet), will support thedevelopment anddeploymentofEVchargingproductsthat helpcustomersrespondtodynamicelectricgridsignalswhileensuringthat customerchargingandmobilityneedsaremet.
Thegoal ofthisGrant istodevelopanddeployproductsthat enableEVchargingloadflexibility,whichsupportstransportationelectrification, griddecarbonization, andelectricsystemreliability.
BetterFleet ispartneringwiththeCitytodeployitssoftwareonnewandexistingEVChargingStationsat aCityyardfacilitytocollect datainordertoidentifythefeasibilityoftheCity’sfleetandoperationstorespondtodynamicgridsignals. Thisdatacollectioneffort will helpunderstandwhetherflexiblechargingmechanismsarepossiblethat will helptheCityreduceenergycostswhileprovidingtheCaliforniagridwithresilience. Assuch, withexpressedconsentfromtheCity, BetterFleet throughitsBetterFleet Managechargemanagement software(CMS)will alsocontrol EVChargingStationstotest avarietyofdemand-responsesignalsanddynamicratesbut innoevent shall suchtestinginterferewiththeCity’sabilitytofullychargeitsfleet inatimelymannerorinterferewiththeCity’sfleet operations.
Thediagrambelowoutlinesthekeycommitmentsfortheproject.
5 ScopeofREDWDSParticipationandProject
AsoutlinedintheattachedCollaborationAgreement - Schedule1, thescopeoftheREDWDSprojectwiththeCityisasfollows:
Project Location
7101EdgewaterDr.Oakland, CA94621
SiteElectricUtilityProvider
PacificGas&Electric(PG&E)CommunityChoiceAggregator: Ava
BackgroundontheSite
BasedonBetterFleet’ssitevisit inJuly2024, wenotethefollowingkeyobservations:● 2L2ChargePoint chargersareactiveandoperational forfleet andpersonal useundertheChargePoint CMS.● 1Existingnon-operational 20-kWDCFC.
Implementationscope
Chargemanagement Afull chargemanagement systemincluding● ChargerMonitoringandStaticLoadManagement● Depot LoadManagement● AdvancedEnergyManagement● Newmodulestorespondtogrid-generateddemand-responsesignalsanddynamicrates, asapplicable Hardware-IoT 1IoTdevicetoenableloadmanagement acrossthesiteandchargers Hardware-PowerMeters 3Powermeterswill beinstalledtoaccuratelymeasurethesiteconsumptionagainst thechargerconsumptiontoevaluateavailablesitecapacityandbeabletogatherdetailedinformationforreportingandloadmanagingpurposes.
Hardware-EVSEtobeinstalledandintegrated
1newDCFC(ABBTerra54UL)2newL2(ABBTerraWallbox)
Planning/Modeling BetterFleet will model thefleet operationsat Weymouthtounderstandtheavailabilitytoshift EVchargingloadsandparticipateindemand-responsesignalsanddynamicrates.
Integration-Telematics Ideallywewill implement alivefeedfromthetelematicstocapture 6 real-timevehicleoperationsandpositional data.
Integration-EVSEnotdirectlyfundedbyREDWDSgrant
BetterFleet Managewill control thefollowingexistingEVSEs:● 2ChargePoint L2Chargers 7 Project Funding
Asaparticipant intheCECREDWDSGrant programandBetterFleet partner, wearepleasedtoprovidethefollowingfundingtotheCity, asalsooutlinedinCollaborationAgreement –Schedule1.
SoftwareFunding Amount
CECREDWDSBetterFleet ManageCMS- Credit appliedfortwoyearsfromdeployment date $(8,140)
Total SoftwareCost -TobepaidbytheCityofOakland $0
HardwareFunding Amount
Total hardwareandinstallationcost estimate $111,017
Assumedfederal taxcredit (30CTaxCredit) providedtoBetterFleet (30%ofproject cost)* $(29,600)
AssumedLCFScreditsgeneratedandrefundedbyBetterFleet*
$(12,000)
RemaindercoveredbyCECREDWDS
✝
$(69,417)
Total HardwareCost -TobepaidbytheCityofOakland $0
*Theseestimatesarebasedonassumedamountsandcompliancewithtermsandconditionsofrespectiveprograms.BetterFleetandRiversidewillcollaboratetoapplyfortheserefunds/rebatestohelpfundtheproject.Anyrefunds,rebates,orcreditsfromtheseprogramswillbepaidwhollytoBetterFleettooffsetthecostsofthehardware. ✝TheCECREDWDSfundingwillbeusedtocoverhardwarecostsupfrontwiththeunderstandingthatothersources–federaltaxcreditsandLCFScredits–willbeleveragedtoreducetheoverallgrantcontribution.
Total FundingProvidedbyCECREDWDS Amount
Not toexceedamount $119,157
8 Project Capital CostsFundedbytheGrant
Thefollowingtableoutlinesthecapital project coststhat will becoveredbytheREDWDSGrantfunding.
Numberof Cost perunit Total cost
Chargers 1DCFC(ABBTerra54UL)
- $34,704
2L2(ABBTerraWallbox)
Civil works 1 $41,770 $41,770
Electrical works 1 $22,193 $22,193
IoTdevice 1 $8,000 $8,000
PowerMeters 3 $950 $2,850
SustainableFleetSolutionServices
10hoursofprojectmanagementoversight ofCMSimplementation $150 $1,500
Project OperatingCostsFundedbytheGrant
Theoperatingcostsoftheproject will includethelicensingofBetterFleet Managesoftwareforatotalof42dispenserports.
Number Cost perunit p.a Total cost p.a
Total projectcost
CMSLicensingcosts
3newEVSEdispensers2existingEVSEdispensers
Total of5dispensers
$550 $2,750 $5,500
IoT-SIMCards 2 $660 $1,320 $2,640
9 Project OperatingCostsAftertheConclusionoftheGrant Project At theexpirationofthegrant participationinPhase1, theCitywill remaintheowneroftheEVSEinstalledaspart ofthegrant andmayelect to:
● ContinueusingBetterFleet Manageasapaidsubscriptiontobenegotiatedat that time(costsoutlinedbelow), or;● ParticipateinPhase2, iffundedbytheCEC. InPhase2, wewill discussanycostsorsubsidiesorpotential foradditional EVSEfundingat that time, or;● DiscontinueusingBetterFleet Manage. BetterFleet will assist withtransitioninganyhardwaretoaprovideroftheCity’schoosing.
Number Cost perunit p.a Total cost p.a
CMSLicensingcosts 5dispensers $550 $2,750
IoT-SIMCards 2 $660 $1,320
ChargerMaintenanceCosts
1DCFC TBD TBD
10 OverviewofGrant FundedInfrastructure/Hardware
ThefollowingEVSEhardwarewill befundedfortheGrant project.
RecommendedHardware
VendorName MomentumElectric
Keyspecifications 150kWminimum, 2-4Dispensers
Reasonforselection ABBTerra54UL, ABBTerraWallbox
Warranty–2YearManufacturerWarranty
Installation ConductedbyMomentumElectric.AsrequiredbytheGrant, installersmust beEVITPcertifiedandconformtoprevailingwagerates.
ABB
11 Implementationplan
Thefollowingisahigh-level overviewoftheprocessofcollaborationintheresearchgrant.
Scopeitem theCityRole BetterFleet Deliverables
1 Preparatorymeetings Attendanceandinformation
Summary; follow-upquestions
2 Sitevisits Siteaccessandsitedata Sitereports
3 Utilityengagement Provideaccount managercontact info
Set upmeetings, reviewREDWDSscope, discussenrollment indemand-responseprogramsand/ordynamicrates 4 Completecollaborationagreement
Review, redline, andexecute
Reviseandexecute
5 Formal project kickoff Attendmeeting Summarynotes; kickoffpresentation 6 Datacollectionphase Reviewandfulfill RFI PrepareRFI, reviewdata 7 Planningphase-energymodeling
Reviewresultsofmodeling EnergymodelingslidedeckwithtakeawaysforflexEVchargingopportunities 8 HardwareandEnergyManagement System-deliveryphase
SiteAccess Installation
9 Integration,configuration, testingandtrianing
AssistancewithtelematicsAPI whereavailableandwiththirdpartychargingvendors' API Theliveoperational system,testing, configurationandtrainingdelivered 9 Monitoringphase Provideauthorizationandaccesstoenergybills Deliveryreports
10 Project wrap-upandreporting
Feedbackonprogram Writeall reports
12 Onsiteworksandcommissioning
ThefollowingdiagramisanoverviewoftheprocessofinstallingandcommissioningtheEVSEandCMS.
ChargingHardwareInstallation
MomentumElectric, alocal installer, will performtheinstallationat theCityofOaklandfacilityduetotheirstronglocal presenceandextensiveexperienceinhandlingcommercial electricalprojects. Theirfamiliaritywiththeregion, coupledwithaproventrackrecordofsuccessfullycompletingcomplexinstallations, makesthemareliablepartnerforthisjob. Engagingalocalcontractornot onlyensuresprompt serviceandsupport but alsoalignswithourgoal ofsupportinglocal entitiesintheOaklandcommunity.
Installation(IoT), IntegrationandcutoverplanAnIoTHubwill beconstructedandcertifiedbyBetterFleet. Powermeterswill besuppliedbyBetterFleet forMomemtumelectricianstoinstall at theidentifiedlocationstoaccuratelymonitorsiteandchargerenergyconsumption. Integrationswill beconfirmedbetweenall OEMsandBetterFleet. IoTHubwill becommissionedandchargerscouldbegintomigratetoBetterFleetfromotherCMSsystems. WewouldalignandattendmeetingseithervirtuallyorinpersonwiththeOEMengineeringrepresentativetosupport thecutoverprocess.Softwareconfiguration, testing, andtrainingOnceinstalled, BetterFleet will providesupport loadingvehicledataandestablishingcoreconfigurationofloadmanagement. Iftelematicsintegrationisavailable, ourcustomersuccessteamwill alsofacilitatetheconnectiontovehicles.Testingandtrainingwill thenbeconductedtoensurethat theCitystaffaresatisfiedwiththefunctionalityandcomfortablewithusingthekeyfeatures. 13 BetterFleet PlatformOverview
BetterFleet isagloballyleadingplanningandchargemanagement platform(CMP) that hasbeendesignedfromthegroundupforfleets. Wehavepartneredwithmultipleoperatorstotrulyunderstandtheintricaciesandcomplexitiesofoperatingafleet anddevelopedanend-to-endsolutionthat makestheadoptionandoperationofelectricvehiclesmucheasier.
Fromourtimeintheindustry, weareacutelyawarethat planschangeinaninstant. Whentheydo, youneedtobeabletoreact quickly. Oureasytouseinterfacealsoallowsnon-technical userstounderstandoperationsat ahighlevel, whilealsoprovidinganin-depth, technical analysistothosewhoneedit. Asoutlinedbelow, ourtool isabletocompleterouteanddepot emulationwithahighlevel ofaccuracy, displayingsuccessful andunsuccessful modelingattemptsundervariousscenarios. 14 BetterFleet Manage
BetterFleet Manageisasystem-wideloadandchargemanagement control system. Designedfromthegrounduptostreamlinevehicleoperationsanddynamicallymonitorsiteloadsthroughsmart meteringandadjust chargeroutputsinreal time. Thisensuresnot onlyyourvehiclesarealwayscharged, but yourdepot operationscancontinueunhinderedbysitecapacityconstraints.BelowisasummaryofsomeofthemanyfeaturesoftheBetterFleet Managecontrol system:
● Chargemonitoringandreporting: Vehicleandchargerlevel monitoringofchargingevents(stateofcharge(SOC), kilowatt-hours(kWh) delivered, plugin/out time, sessionstart/stoptime, odometer, etc). Withaneasytouse.CSVdownload, youwill beabletofulfil all reportingneedseasily. ● Smart charging: Staticanddynamicloadmanagement, toremainwithininfrastructurelimits, energycost optimizationandhourlycharginglimits. ● Telematicsintegration: Whenpairedwithcompatibledevices, BetterFleet Manageallowsuserstoviewvehiclestatuseitheren-routeorindepot. Identifyvehicleswithlowstate-of-chargethat arenot currentlypluggedinandprevent unnecessarydowntimeandensurevehiclesarereadyforoperationswhenneeded. 15 ● Easy-to-useinterface: Wehaveaheavyfocusonuserexperience, wehavedesignedBetterFleet TM
Managetobeabletobeusedby‘non-technical’ membersoftheteamseamlessly. ● Seamlessintegration: Wehaveanentireteamonstand-bydedicatedtoasuccessfulintegrationbetweencharger, vehicleandsoftware. Thisensuresasmoothrollout andminimal disruptionstoyouroperations. HavingalreadycompletedintegrationtestingwithmanyofthemajorbrandsinNorthAmericaandtheworld, weareconfident that wewill beabletoget youupandrunninginnotime. ● Operational dashboard: Wehavereceivedfeedbackfromourclientsthat theBetterFleetdashboardhasprovidedthemwithmuchneededvisibilityonday-to-dayoperationswhencomparedtotheOEMchargemanagement solution. WearecommittedtofurtheringthefunctionalityofBetterFleet andactivelyseekout feedbackfromourclientstofurtherdevelopourroadmap.
Withliveaccesstochargerstatus, chargingsessions, vehicleenergyusage, depot operationsandvehiclelocation, BetterFleetManageremovestheneedtohavemultiplescreensandinterfaces, simplifyingtheentireoperational process. Withtelematicsintegration, thissoftwareoperateswithlivedatatomakechargingdecisionsandmanagedepot movementsinanelectrifiedsetting.
FormoredetailsonBetterFleet Manage, pleaseseeAppendixA: BetterFleet Manage 16 About theBetterFleet SoftwareBetterFleet ManageFeatureStack BetterFleet ManagealignswiththeCity’sandtheCEC’srequirements. Thetablebelowdemonstratesthefunctionalityofeachmodule.
Features
ChargerMonitoringandStaticLoadManagement
Depot LoadManagement
AdvancedEnergyManagement
VehicleManagement(pervehicle)
AdvancedDepotOrchestration
ChargermonitoringRemotereset ofchargersAlert systemforchargersStaticloadmanagement (set depot level loadlimitsfordifferent timesofdayordaysoftheweek)AutochargeforDCchargers(identifyvehiclesbyMACaddress)ChargerwarrantymanagementChargerincident management (advancedalerting)Depot level loadcontrol ofoneincominggridsupply(includesfail safemodes)Chargerlevel control includingmanual overrides(distributeavailablecapacityevenlyacrossconnectedvehicles)Thirdpartyancillaryloadmonitoringandmanagement(e.gbuswashloadorsimilar)Pluglevel control (FIFO, sequential, andremotestart/stop)DemandresponseprogramcapabilitiesMicrogridintegration(Sendchargerflexibilityinformationtomicrogridcontroller)VehiclelocationvisibilityVehiclemanagementBatterywarranty(target SOC, batteryusereports)Vehiclepre-conditioningEmulationmode(test changesbeforedeployed)EstimatedtimetochargebasedonAI digital twinRangeremainingbasedonAI digital twinDispatchscheduleoptimizationParkingoptimizationIntegratedplanningmodulesfordepot transitioningovertime 17 ProposedSolutionfortheCityasPart ofREDWDSBasedonthegrant requirements, weproposethefollowingmodulesofBetterFleet Manage:
ChargerMonitoring
Depot DynamicLoadManagement
AdvancedEnergyManagement
VehicleManagement
AdvancedDepotOrchestration
ThiswouldenabletheCitytocomplywithkeyREDWDSrequirementssuchas:
● Corechargermanagement andmonitoringfeatures
● Loadmanagement ofcharger/electricbusloadandalsootherlocal onsiteelectricalmeteredload(i.e. offices, washingfacilities, trainingfacilities). ● Managevehicleviatelematicsintegrationforkeyoperational performancedata(i.e. liveSoC, SoH, OdometerReadings, Efficiency, etc.) ● Participationinenergymarket signals. Thesemoduleswill bedevelopedandtestedaspart oftheCECREDWDSgrant program. 18 AppendixA: BetterFleet Manage
BelowisanoverviewoftheBetterFleet Managechargemanagement system.
Power
Withaneasytonavigateinterface, youcanviewyouroverall electricityconsumptionandthestatusofeachchargerinreal time, observingkeyinformationsuchascurrent output perzoneandpercharger. 19 VehicleDispatchandParkingIntegrationWithChargeManagement BetterFleet Managestandsapart fromotherchargemanagement platformsbyofferingreal-timetrackingandreportingcapabilitiesforvehicles, aswell aschargers. Withourplatform, youhaveaccesstoacentralizeddashboardthat providesacomprehensiveoverviewofyouroperations.
ThisfunctionalityismadepossiblethroughseamlessintegrationwithvehicletelematicssystemsandviaOCPP. Byleveragingthisintegration, userscanmonitorcrucial vehiclemetricssuchasstate-of-chargeforvehiclesparkedat depotsanden-route, andtheirlocationwhileonthemove. Userscaneasilyidentifyvehicleswithlowstate-of-chargethat arenot currentlypluggedin, preventingunnecessarydowntimeandensuringvehiclesarereadyforoperationswhenneeded. Additionally, customizablealert parametersensurethat usersstayinformedaboutimportant eventsorconditionsaffectingtheirfleet.
Vehicles
Asmentionedabove, BetterFleet Manageisabletodisplayup-to-datevehicleinformationeitherviathechargerorviatelematics. Anexampleisshownbelowofalist ofall transactionsinchronological order, orviewasummarypervehicle/charger. Thisvisibilitywill allowmanagerstoseechargetime, energy(kWh) delivered, numberofchargeevents, andSoCreporting.BetterFleet hasbeenabletoconnect databasesfromunrelatedsystemstoprovideunparalleledvisibilityonvehicleandchargeroperations. 20 Alerts
Seeall systemsalertsinreal timeallowingforrapidandproactiveresponsetochargerorvehiclefaults. BetterFleet isabletoprovidefrontlinesupport withOperationsandMaintenanceonchargersthroughourO&Mservices. Youarealsoabletonominatesubscribersforemail andsmsnotificationsbasedonalert type. Thiswill ensureoperationscanrunefficientlyandvisibilitycanbemaintainedoncritical incidentsat all times. 21 ChargersandSiteCapacity
Asummaryofall chargerscanbeconvenientlyseenonasinglescreen, showingcurrent chargestatus, activefaults, vehiclesconnected, andmuchmore. Simply“view” aspecificchargerforaccesstotransactionsummariesandtheabilitytohard/soft reset, andstart/stopchargingwiththeclickofabutton. Thisviewalsoprovidesanoverviewofthecurrent total sitedemand. Theabilitytoaccessindividual chargerscanbecompletedhere, withtheabilitytoincrease, decrease,start orstopchargingandsoft reset canbeactionedonall plugsthroughthispage. 22 Depot OverviewandLoadManagement
Loadmanagement canbeconfiguredinthesystemat asiteorat different pointsdownstreamfromthesitelevel.
BetterFleet’sloadmanagement architectureisstructuredintermsoffunctionandsystemofinfluence. Functionsthat BetterFleet iscapableofaredefinedasfollows.
Anyoftheabovealgorithmscanbeset tocontrol systemsofinfluence. Thiscanbetheentiresite, asinglechargerorsocket, oragroupofchargers. BetterFleet canperformdynamicloadmanagement at sitelevel, whileat thesametimelimitingaspecificsocket toastaticlimit.
Anexampleofourconfigurableloadmanagement interfacesisprovidedbelow:
23 StaticLoadManagement DynamicLoadManagement Fleet IntegratedLoadManagementAbilitytoset limits, eitherfixedortimescheduled.
Sitepowermonitorsareusedtodetermineavailablecapacityinreal-time. Chargingpowerisdynamicallyregulatedtoremainwithincapacity.
Integrationwithschedulinganddispatchsystemsenablesforward-lookingchargingdecisionstobemade.
BetterFleet Managesimplifiestheprocessofchargingelectricvehiclesbyautomaticallyadjustingthepowerusageofeachcharger. BetterFleet IoTHubsareusedtocollect datafromsitepowermetersandtransmit it tothecloud, wherethesystemleveragestheintegrityandreliabilityofAWSsystemstoperformcritical calculationsanddecisions. ABetterFleet IoTHubistypicallyrequiredforeverytwopowermeters. Withonsitedeployment oftheBetterFleet IoTHub,BetterFleet Manageisabletodynamicallycontrol therateofchargeinaccordancewiththeavailableonsitecapacity. Assite-specificsystemsturnon/off, yourchargerswill react andavoidblowingfuses. Thiswill allowyoutomaximizetheavailablechargingpotential onsitewithoutneedingtoupgradeinfrastructuretoaccount fortheinfrequent “worst case” scenario. Priortolivedeployment, theDynamicLoadManagement canbedeployedin‘shadow’ mode, whichwillgiveyoutheabilitytoseesystem-madechargingdecisionspriortolivedeployment.
Withthissystem, userscanalsoavoidchargingduringtimeswhenelectricitypricesarehighest.Thisnot onlysavesmoneybut alsoreducesthestrainonthepowergrid, potentiallyeliminatingtheneedforcostlyupgrades. Moreover, BetterFleet Managecanintelligentlycoordinatewithrenewableenergysources, likesolarpanels, tochargevehiclesinlinewithrenewableenergygeneration. 24 DataCollectionandReporting
BetterFleet Manageisbuilt ontheprinciplesofgranulardatacollectionandopendataaccess. Toprovideinsightsrequiredtoachieveoperational, financial andenvironmental excellence, datamust becollectedfrommultiplesources. Thisincludesvehicles, chargers, meters, schedulingsystemsandlocal decentralizedenergyresources. BetterFleet isvendor-agnosticandcollectsdatafrommultipledifferent telematicssystems, chargers, schedulingsystemsandmetersglobally.
Ourreportingmethodologyiscenteredarounddeliveringthehighest businessbenefit forourusersinthemost convenient manner. Insomecasesthat iswithinoursystem, andinothersit isdeliveringdatatootherthirdpartysystems. Fromareportingperspective, thisledtoareportingarchitecturearound:
● Vehicleefficiency● Chargerperformance, usage, andissues● Energyefficiencyacrossthesystem● Environmental sustainabilitymetrics● Transitionprogress● Dispatchefficiencyandissues● Batterycondition● Detailedtrendreportsandtrendsabout transactions● Corruptedtransactionsandmaintenance DataisavailableasanExcel export (.csv) andAPI call. Inadditiontooperational reporting, weimplement datacollectionandstoragetoenablemachinelearningassignificant volumesofdataarecollectedtostart toimplement predictiveoptimizationsinplanningandmanagement. 25 SystemSupport
Aswithanysoftwareplatform, therearetwokeyissuetypesthat canoccur. Firstlytherecanbeanoutageoftheactual platform, andsecondlytheremaybeabugexperiencedbyusers. Forbothissues, BetterFleet providesaccesstooursupport portal (https://support.betterfleet.com/)andalocal account managerformoreimmediateissues.
BetterFleet hasthefollowinguptimetargets:
Service Uptimetarget Measurement
BetterFleetPlan 95% MTTR
BetterFleetManage 99% MTTR
Thefollowingisthetarget responseandresolutiontimesfortheplatform.
SeverityLevel Description
TargetResponse
TargetResolution*
1.Outage SaaSserverdown Immediate 3hours
2.Critical
Systemmalfunctionwithoperationalimpact
Within4hours 2days
3.Urgent
Systemmalfunctionwithoutoperationalimpact
Within2days 7days
4.Important
Serviceperformanceissuereducingtimelinessofsystemuse
Within3days Within9days
26 SystemArchitecture
Whilemanychargemanagement systemsweredesignedasenergymanagement systems, theBetterFleet platformistheproduct ofoverfiveyearsofR&Dintothemorecomplexproblemsthat fleet operatorsexperienceinthetransitiontozero-emissionalternatives.
At thecoreofourR&Disaframeworkwerefertoasadigital twin. Thisdigital twintechnologyisat thecoreofamulti-physicsarchitecturethat hasbeendesignedtoincorporateall relatedelementsfromvehicles, batteries, tochargers, topropertiesandthephysicsofweather, topology,driverstyles, andover100otherelements. 27 Technical Environment
Muchoftheabovearchitectureisfocusedonthealgorithmsthat powerthesystem, but inadditiontothis, weusestate-of-the-art architecturestodeliveruserinterfacesanddatatransferasoutlinedbelow.
Weutilizeaunique, balancedapproachtoservicearchitecture, whichcombinestheadaptabilityofmicroserviceswiththesimplicityofmonolithicstructures. Thisallowsustorapidlyandreliablyimplement newfeatures, ensuringourproduct evolveswithyourbusinessneeds.
Usingcontainerizeddeployment, weensureourserviceisportable, efficient, andconsistentlyreliableacrossenvironments. OuruseofAmazonCloudFront ensuresquickandsecuredeliveryofcontent globally, resultinginaseamlessuserexperience.
BetterFleet isdesignedwithanAPI-first approach, whichguaranteeseasyintegrationwithyourexistingsystemsandopensuppossibilitiesforfutureenhancements. 28 SystemSecurity
Aspart ofourcommitment tooperational excellenceandsecurity, wehaveachievedSOC2compliancethroughafull policyandprocessaudit.
Thiscertificationimplementsthehighest standardsfortheserviceareasofsecurity, availability, processingintegrity, confidentiality, andprivacyandishighlyalignedwiththepolicyandprocessrequirementsforQuality,Environmental andSafetyManagement.
Wehavedetailedsecuritypoliciesandprotocolsthat wecanprovideonrequest andeverylevelofourplatformhasbeenhardenedthroughpenetrationtesting.
WeuseTLSencryptionforconnectionsfordatatransferbetweensiteinfrastructureandourcloudandall dataat rest isalsoencrypted.
Useraccesscontrol isgranulardowntositesandsystemfunctions.
OpenAPI Architecture
Inafast movingenvironment, it iscritical that theoperatorselectssystemsthat areopen, andthat featuresanddatacanbeexposedandusedbyothersystems. BetterFleet promotesanopenarchitecturewhichenablescustomerstodeterminewheretheyfeel theyshoulddriveuserinterfacesandfunctionality. Forexample, ifit makessenseforanin-vehicledevicetodisplayinformationfromtheCMP, thenopenAPIsmakesthat asimplerprocess. Iftheoperatorneedsdatatoflowtoanothermanagement reportingsystem, thisneedstobeenabledinaseamlesswaythat doesnot requirehumanintervention.
Weimplement theOpenAPI Specificationbydefault throughanopensourcecomponent calledFastAPI, orusingGraphQL. BothprovidewaysofdocumentingtheAPIs. However, accesstomost APIsissecure, andrequiresauthenticationeitherwithOAuthoranAPI key. 29 StandardsCompliance
BetterFleet hasbeendesignedtocomplywithall current andemergingstandards. Thisensuresthat thearchitecturewill scaletosupport futureintegrationsandfunctionality. Thefollowingisanoverviewofthekeycurrent standardscompliances.
Standard Priority Purpose Status
OCPP1.6J Essential
CommunicationbetweenCMPandcharger, includingauthorization,chargercontrol,chargemanagementandsmart charging.
Supported
OCPP2.0.1 High
NewerversionofOCPPincludingimprovedsupport fordevicemonitoring,security, smart chargingandISO15118(plug-and-chargeandsmart chargingrequirementsfromtheEV).
Supported
VDV261 High Vehiclepre-conditioning Supported
VDV463 High
InterfacebetweentheCMPandupstreamsystemssuchasSchedulingorDepotManagementSystems.
Supported
ISO15118 Mid
Communicationbetweenthevehicleandthechargingstationforarangeofpurposesincludingbidirectionalcharging,wirelesscharging,plugandcharge,remoteloadprofiles.
Partiallysupported
IEC61851 Low
Definesrulesandproceduresforcontrollingthechargingprocess,exchangingdatabetweenvehiclesandchargersandsupportsinteroperabilitybetweendifferentmanufacturers.
Notrelevant
IEC60870-5-104
Mid
Definesasetofrulesandproceduresforexchangingdatabetweendifferentdevicesinelectricalpowersystems.Theprotocolallowsdevicessuchascontrolcenters,substations,andremoteterminalunits(RTUs),tocommunicatewitheachothereffectivelyandreliably. Itenablestheexchangeofinformationrelatedtomonitoring,control,andprotectionofelectricalpowersystems.IEC60870-5-104isparticularlyusefulinthecontextofsupervisorycontrolanddataacquisition(SCADA)systems.
Partiallysupported
30 OnsiteHardware
Ifrequiredforsiteoperations, electricitymeters, alongwiththeBetterFleet IoThubarerequiredtobeinstalledbytheelectrical contractor. Thisequipment iscompact andeasytoinstall. Anoutlineofrequiredhardwarehasbeenincludedinourpricingandaninstallationdiagramcanbefoundbelow.
Notes:1) Thisisatypical design, tobeusedforthepurposesofinformingsitespecificdetaileddesigns.Actual configurationmayvaryfromsitetosite.2) Powermeters, associatedCTsandBetterFleet IoTHubsaresuppliedbyBetterFleet. Installation(includingcabling) typicallydonebyothers.3) CTsforpowermetersaresimpletoinstall, clip-onRogowski coils. Standardcoil lengthis450mm,othersizescanbequoted.4) OneBetterFleet IoTHubisrequiredforeverytwopowermeters.5) EachBetterFleet IoTHubisawall-mountedsteel enclosuremeasuring300Hx300Wx210D(mm). 31 HostingandSystemAvailability
BetterFleet ManageisaSoftware-as-a-Service(SaaS) platform, whichrunsinawebbrowserandrequiresnoclient softwareinstallation. All BetterFleet Manageserversarehostedlocallyandareaccessibleviathecloud.
InaCloud-basedenvironment, theBetterFleet ManageservicesanddatabasesarehostedontheAmazonWebServices(AWS) platform. Communicationbetweenthedifferent servicesanddatabasesisviaHypertext TransferProtocol Secure(HTTPS).
BetterFleet ManageusesOpenChargePoint Protocol (OCPP) 1.6j tocontrol andcommunicatewithchargers, andMessageQueuingTelemetryTransport (MQTT) tocommunicatewithotherlocal Internet ofThings(IoT) devices. Intheevent ofanetworkoutagethechargerswouldoperateinasafestate, limitingpoweroutput tosafelimitsuntil communicationsisrestored.
Thehighavailabilityofthesystemisguaranteedduetotherobust natureoftheAWSinfrastructure, withdataandservicesbeingreplicateddrivingsignificant redundancy. Inaddition,fail-overisprovidedbyinstallinglocal controllersthat canoperateeveniftheconnectiontothecloudiscompromised.
ThediagrambelowdescribestheBetterFleet systemarchitectureinCloudandon-premiseenvironments. ThisbelowdiagramrepresentstheCloud-basedsolutionwherecomponentsinbluearepart oftheBetterFleet system. Themicroservicesapproachensuresunlimitedscalability, transactionspeedandsecurity. 32 HardwareIntegrations
TheBetterFleet platformistrulyhardwareagnosticandhasbeenintegratedwithmost popularprovidersinthemarket today. Ourteamisincontinual conversationswithsuppliersgloballyandconductingpre-integrationtestingtoensurethat whenweconnect toyourchosenhardware,most issueshavealreadybeenresolvedandifyouchoosetochangesupplierdownthetrack, wewill beready. Someofthechargerswehaveintegratedwitharelistedbelow, withthislistgrowingalmost weekly.
Beingacentral systemforEVandchargermanagement, BetterFleet interfaceswithonboardtelematics, scheduling, sitemeteringandenergygenerationandstorage. 33