Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) emerged around the same time as gasoline-powered vehicles, but it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that their technological advancement and commercialization gained significant momentum. With growing global concerns about environmental issues, particularly global warming, many nations have implemented policies to boost the supply and market viability of electric cars. However, this has led to a 2-3 fold increase in power consumption due to EV charging each year. As this trend continues, power suppliers will need to anticipate supply and demand for this market. Experts predict that for every 100 electric cars, 55 charging points will be needed. However, installing new charging facilities has faced challenges due to conflicts among landowners and stakeholders over location and supply issues. These challenges complicate the transition from combustion engine cars to electric cars.

There are two main types of charging points: private-use and public-use. Private-use charging points, located on private property, offer limited accessibility to the general public, leading to under-utilization. Public-use charging points, typically found in parking lots or gas stations, can be difficult to manage due to non-electric vehicles occupying charging spaces or EV owners leaving their cars charging for too long. In Korea and other countries, governments have tried to address these issues through laws and fines. Additionally, locations like apartment complexes, large hotels, and office buildings, which serve both private and public functions, can provide shared access to charging points for owners, residents, visitors, and other permitted users. This approach can meet the needs of EV users in busy city centers. As EV adoption spreads from inner-city areas to outer suburbs, charging points will naturally expand to these regions.

Currently, charging point operators use different methods to provide their services, often requiring users to register as members. Operators also face challenges with installing new equipment for payment processing and communication, leading to increased setup, operating, and maintenance costs, which in turn raise recharging prices. Manufacturers of EV charging technology have developed their own operating systems, resulting in a variety of competing systems. To address this, manufacturers and service providers are working to develop an industry standard using the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP). However, differences in payment processing and additional charges among countries and providers complicate this effort. EV users often face the inconvenience of dealing with incompatible systems and may need to register with multiple services.

To promote the expansion of the EV industry, improving ease of use for EV owners is essential. Charging point businesses should ensure that customers can access all providers through a single registration, requiring the adoption of a “roaming service.” This platform should be simple enough for all providers to adopt, optimizing the current infrastructure for smooth and precise data exchange.

Another issue is whether EVs can truly be labeled as environmentally-friendly, emission-free vehicles. This debate arises because their manufacturing and powering involve nuclear and fossil fuels. To address this, the market needs to prioritize producing energy from clean sources like solar, wind, and geothermal power. Managing the supply of clean energy is challenging, so finding ways to ensure a consistent supply is crucial. One solution is storing excess energy when supply exceeds demand. EVs can serve as both transportation and storage batteries, creating a virtuous cycle where building more EVs encourages the generation of green energy, which in turn requires more EVs to store the increased energy supply.

To address these issues and establish eco-friendly EVs as mainstream, blockchain technology can be used to create a linked system. The following section will discuss four visions for the application of the VZ Platform and the VZ token.

Once these steps are completed, anyone can easily install and operate their own charging points, fostering the growth of a voluntary sharing economy. The second vision aims to prevent anti-competitive behavior or system abuse, such as occupying charging points for excessive periods. This can be achieved by developing a token economy that distributes financial rewards or penalties to encourage positive participation in the ecosystem.

The third vision involves creating a platform that allows businesses to offer roaming services to their customers. To achieve this, it is essential to synchronize the systems of various businesses as closely as possible to enhance accessibility.

The fourth vision focuses on using electric vehicles as storage batteries to improve energy efficiency and promote clean energy use. These batteries can function as both chargers and dischargers, being fully charged before peak times and then transmitting energy back to the grid during high usage periods to reduce the load.

In conclusion, the VZ project aims to increase the utilization of existing infrastructure by enabling the sharing of private-use charging facilities, such as home-based chargers. This approach can address issues like occupying charging stations for too long through verification systems and penalties, thereby improving user convenience. Additionally, users can be encouraged to use green energy and avoid accessing the power grid during peak times. These policies enhance the value of choosing eco-friendly transportation while reducing emissions, directly contributing to environmental preservation.