This paper addresses the principal service aspects for electric vehicles (EV), as well as issues related to energy storage design, charging station integration into power system and load management issues. It builds on the research conducted in the Flexible Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure project (Flex-ChEV) supported by the ERA-Net Smart Grid FP7 program. The principal asset of the proposed charging station (CS) is a dedicated Energy Storage System (ESS) to compensate for adverse effects on the grid caused by peak charging demand and which could impose severe trials for the local DSO. Furthermore, CS of this kind could serve multiple business purposes in a smart grid. It can serve as a hub for seamless integration of local renewable and distributed energy resources, it can provide added flexibility for the local grid through different ancillary services and it can act as an efficient traffic management support when there is a high influx of EVs.
