Reliable energy is essential to daily life and outages can have serious consequences, especially in communities with aging infrastructure or limited access to power.
Pragasen Pillay, a professor and research chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is leading a Volt-Age Impact Project exploring how electric vehicles (EVs) could act as mobile energy sources while supporting sustainable energy systems. By integrating transportation, energy storage and renewable technologies, his team seeks to help communities stay powered during emergencies while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
"Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles are more than transportation. They can store energy and supply power when it's needed most," Pillay says. "Our goal is to strengthen community resilience and develop solutions that work for urban areas and remote communities."
Connecting vehicles to local energy systems
At the Future Buildings Lab at Concordia's Loyola Campus, Pillay and his team of graduate students are testing hybrid and electric vehicles alongside solar panels and heat pump systems. The research focuses on extending EV range and improving battery performance in cold climates.
Their intention is to transfer the technology to Share the Warmth, a collaborating organization in Montreal's Pointe-Sainte-Charles neighbourhood that provides food and other services to the local community. The neighbourhood's aging infrastructure and high energy demands make it a compelling site to explore how vehicles connected to microgrids could supply electricity during outages or periods of peak demand.
"How can we improve EV performance in cold climates and power emergency loads with renewable energy?" Pillay asks. "Answering those questions means understanding how vehicles, energy storage and renewable systems perform together."
Applications in remote and northern communities
The project also considers how these integrated systems could serve Indigenous and northern communities such as Inukjuak, a village in the Nunavik territory of Quebec. While many northern communities operate microgrids, transportation and backup power often still rely heavily on fossil fuels.
By refining the technology in urban pilot settings, the team can adapt its technical solutions, social approaches and energy integration strategies for remote regions. Their research evaluates vehicle range, maintainability, battery recycling, heating performance and overall system reliability in cold conditions to ensure the systems are practical and reliable.
Pillay says the goal is simple: "Ensure communities have power when they need it, no matter where they are."
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