EDF, through EDF Group subsidiary DREEV, has launched a new commercial charging service using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in the UK, in partnership with Nissan. This means businesses can support the grid by consuming low carbon energy, and progress towards their net zero and decarbonisation targets, whilst reducing their costs.
The V2G technology developed by DREEV, which is a joint venture between EDF and Nuvve – the global leader in V2G technology, allows for two-way energy flow; both recharging an EV’s battery when electricity is at its cheapest, and discharging excess energy to sell back into the grid.
The EDF V2G offer is available for fleet owners of Nissan’s LEAF and e-NV200 models and will allow fleet customers to achieve around £350 savings per charger each year, which equates to approximately 9,000 miles of driving charge per year[1].
EDF’s V2G business solution includes:
The supply and installation of a two-way connected compact 11kW charger capable of fully charging a Nissan LEAF, depending on the battery model, in just 3 hours and 30 minutes – 50 per cent faster than a standard charger – with integrated DREEV technology.
A dedicated DREEV smart phone application, to define the vehicles’ driving energy requirements, track their state of charge in real time, and control charging at any time
I’m not entirely sure that I agree with the copywriter’s assertion stating “Nuvve – the global leader in V2G technology” though. Take a look at the image accompanying the press release:
I’d swear I’ve seen that picture somewhere before. In the background can be seen a wallbox bearing the ABB logo. It looks an awful lot like the unit pictured in this recent ABB video:
Perhaps I’ve blinked and missed it, but I don’t recall seeing the announcement of Nuvve’s takeover of ABB?
Midsummer’s Day is a few days away, and on the west coast of the United States things are heating up. Here is the surface temperature map for the western USA yesterday afternoon:
Those sort of temperatures mean that lots of air conditioning units are working hard, and consequently the California Independent System Operator (CAISO for short) called for a voluntary “Flex Alert” yesterday, in order to persuade its customers to voluntarily reduce electricity demand:
The California ISO's first #FlexAlert of the year takes effect this evening, with consumers encouraged to voluntarily conserve electricity from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. to help maintain grid stability. Read the news release: https://t.co/vg1581QXm1pic.twitter.com/7gcIgP8MWm
The desired aim seems to have been achieved, with the evening demand peak having been “shaved” somewhat, and with last year’s rolling blackouts averted so far in 2021:
Here’s how the differing sources of electricity supply coped:
Here’s an expanded view of the contribution of the ever expanding amount Californian battery storage to electricity supply during the evening demand peak:
The California heat wave is forecast to continue today, as is another high peak in demand:
The forthcoming summit of the G7 nations is taking place just down the road from the V2G UK office in North Cornwall. According to the G7 UK web site:
In June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will welcome fellow G7 leaders to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK: Carbis Bay in Cornwall.
Other parts of the region will also play a key role in the Summit, including neighbouring St Ives, Falmouth and Newquay airport.
With over 400 miles of coastline, Cornwall’s stunning landscape provides a perfect setting for world leaders to come together and discuss how to respond to global challenges like coronavirus and climate change.
Here’s one of my recent pictures of some of that coastline, including part of Cornwall’s industrial heritage and some large waves!
Climate change is top of the G7 agenda along with Covid-19, and that must mean that UK and global energy policy will be somewhere very near the top as well. Obviously I’ll be reporting on what transpires in Carbis Bay in a month’s time, but for now here’s some topical G7 “tech” news:
The introduction to a recent article on the Octopus Electric Vehicles blog about their Powerloop vehicle-to-grid trial reads as follows:
Powerloop is providing a crucial insight into the viability of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), as well as helping improve the customer experience for the installation of other smart technologies. The project is run by Octopus Electric Vehicles in partnership with UK Power Networks, Energy Saving Trust, ENGIE EV Solutions, Open Energi, Guidehouse and our sister company, Octopus Energy, Here, we discuss how Powerloop works, why V2G is so important, and how learnings from this project are helping UK Power Networks improve the broader smart technology onboarding process!
What is V2G?
Put simply, V2G enables an electric vehicle (EV) owner to be both the generator and the consumer of energy, using bi-directional charging technology to allow the user to charge and discharge their EV. This means that, unlike household appliances that can only receive energy, such as a kettle, the car’s battery becomes an energy asset that can transfer energy back to the grid.
However our readers located in UK Power Networks’ service area might be most interested in the following exciting information?
Powerloop is V2G in action, and is still open to new participants (just five spots remain!). Combining the Nissan LEAF with the Wallbox Quasar V2G charger, Powerloop is gathering real world data to help show how V2G can be a valuable asset to the UK’s energy network by helping flatten peak grid demand and making the most of renewable energy whilst using an EV.
By all means read the Octopus article in full, but if you want one of the last available chances to get a Wallbox Quasar on your own wall as part of the Powerloop V2G trial get in touch with Octopus PDQ!
Back in March 2019 I was in Amsterdam to watch Volkswagen’s Martin Römheld give the final keynote speech at the rEVolution conference:
Amongst many other things he said that:
For VW I can tell you, and I think you can read that from the papers and the news currently they’re really doing a paradigm shift. The top management is really turning around the company big time.
and then went on to outline VW’s ID series of electric vehicles:
Volkswagen ID.4 1ST Max
At the rEVolution after party I asked Martin whether Volkswagen had any ambitions by way of bidirectional power transfer. He dropped a heavy hint, but I was of course sworn to secrecy. Now at long last VW Development Board Member Thomas Ulbrich has revealed much more about those ambitions in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt. I’ve been hoping for a definitive English language version to appear, but no such luck. Hence what follows is aided by Google Translate.
According to Handelsblatt:
In order for a fleet of millions of EVs to be used as a new, flexible energy storage facility, electric cars must also be able to return the electricity to the grid at any time – they must be designed to be “bidirectional”. The VW group will be the first major manufacturer to start doing so next year.
I assume Handelsblatt must actually mean “the first major German manufacturer”, since on this side of the North Sea Japanese EV OEM Nissan certainly count as “major”, and they’ve been offering V2G capable vehicles for quite some time! Moving on we are told:
From 2022 onwards, every electric car from the Volkswagen Group that is based on the MEB (“Modularer E-Antriebs-Baukasten” but “modular electrification kit” according to Google) electrical platform can not only be charged with electricity but also return it to the grid. In addition to VW, the MEB is also used by the sister brands Audi , Skoda and Seat-Cupra.
The first generation of MEB models that Volkswagen has been delivering since autumn last year is not yet designed to be bidirectional. These cars can only charge. Volkswagen will be able to retrofit V2G to those cars with comparatively few technical changes and additional software.
Production should begin in December, and the bidirectional electric cars will go on sale after the turn of the year. At least 300,000 vehicles are likely to be manufactured at the VW plant in Zwickau alone in 2022.
Nissan does then get a mention, albeit a rather Deutschland centric one:
Nissan’s e-models have been able to charge bidirectionally as a standard feature since 2013. “The fact that this ability has not yet been exploited is solely due to the lack of relevant functions in the current charging stations,” said a Nissan spokeswoman.
But if the European industry leader opts for bidirectionality, then many other competitors will have to follow suit for competitive reasons alone. “Volkswagen is setting things in motion”, says Stefan Bratzel, professor at the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) at the Bergisch Gladbach University of Applied Sciences.
Other automakers are likely to present similar offers for the foreseeable future. Hyundai from Korea has already made a corresponding announcement.
We have recently covered that Hyundai V2x announcement in detail, and I have to say that I very much look forward to a wide variety of VW’s competitors shipping hundreds of thousands of V2G enabled electric vehicles beginning in 2022 or shortly thereafter.
However there remains the issue of that unfortunate “lack of relevant functions in the current charging stations”. Currently installed V2G capable charging stations use the Japanese CHAdeMO system, and even Nissan’s new Ariya EV has dropped that way of doing things here in Europe. Hence I cannot help but wonder how hundreds of thousands of VW MEB/ID compatible bidirectional charging stations are suddenly going to spring up along the highways and byways of Europe. And the United Kingdom too of course.
In conclusion, here is an infographic from Volkswagen’s current Energy Storage FAQ:
For some strange reason it bears a striking resemblance to our SaMDES banner at the top of this article. However in VW’s V2G vision the EV is outside the garage rather than inside!
Imperial College announced in a news release yesterday that:
US and UK ministers launch a global effort – which features Imperial expertise – to speed up the energy transition.
An innovative public-private partnership to accelerate the clean energy transition by transforming our power systems has been formally launched, ahead of US President Joe Biden’s Earth Day climate summit.
The Global Power System Transformation Consortium (G-PST), which includes technical expertise from Imperial, was officially launched by the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng and US Secretary of the Department of Energy Jennifer Granholm, alongside CEOs of power system operators and institutions from around the world.
G-PST aims to enable the integration of renewable energy sources into power systems at an unprecedented scope and scale, contributing to a 50 per cent reduction in emissions of all pollutants over the next ten years.
The Global PST Consortium Action Areas
Kwasi Kwarteng pointed out that:
Tackling climate change requires international cooperation and if we want to successfully achieve cost-efficient, green energy networks that work for everyone, we need to work together.
As a world leader in both technological innovation and the renewable energy market, I am delighted that the UK is co-hosting the launch of this new consortium, uniting the very best of business, research and academia to bring world-class renewable energy to the grid – key for economic growth, job creation, the climate and building back greener.
Unfortunately Kwasi didn’t go into detail about exactly how “building back greener” would “bring world-class renewable energy to the grid “, desirable as that undoubtedly is.
However some academics and engineers are members of the Global PST Consortium:
The press release is in Dutch, so I’m relying on Google Translate somewhat for this article! There is no explicit mention of V2x technology, but let’s read between the lines:
Hyundai and mobility provider We Drive Solar announced on April 13th a strategic partnership to provide housing projects with the energy system of the future.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a hint of vehicle-to-building already. Moving on:
Hyundai is well on its way to becoming a top 3 manufacturer of zero-emission vehicles worldwide, with a specific focus on 100% electric propulsion. By 2040, Hyundai aims to have its global car line-up fully electrified, aiming for a market share of 8 to 10 percent of the global EV market.
In addition to a leading role in electric driving, Hyundai also wants to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility and optimally unburden customers with the help of innovative services, fully in line with the brand’s Progress for Humanity philosophy. In that context, Hyundai is expanding its e-mobility activities in the Netherlands significantly this year. Hyundai recently announced its partnership with Jedlix, the market leader in smart charging. Starting today, Hyundai is adding a new chapter in accelerating sustainable mobility by announcing its partnership with We Drive Solar.
Smart charging, sometimes referred to as V1G, is part of the equation but what about smart discharging? The press release continues:
In a major step as they move towards the completion of their Joint Venture as announced on 26 January 2021, Stellantis and Engie EPS today announce the composition of the Board of Directors and the corporate name of the new entity: Free2Move eSolutions.
Free2Move eSolutions has the ambition to support and ease the transition to electric mobility by offering innovative and tailor-made electric solutions for both private and business actors of the value chain.
Through a digital and seamless journey across all product lines, the scope of Free2Move eSolutions activities will range from charging infrastructures(installation, servicing and operations), public and home charging subscriptions with monthly fee, to battery lifecycle management and advanced energy services such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) integration and energy management solutions to reduce the total cost of vehicle ownership.
The joint venture between Stellantis and Engie EPS will simplify the access to e-mobility and will complement Free2Move current portfolio, with a new set of offers 100% dedicated to electric mobility.
Free2Move (part of the Stellantis Group) is a mobility tech company, created in 2016, whose objective is to simplify and guarantee mobility for both private and business customers with solutions adapted to all needs, anywhere and anytime from 1 hour, 1 day, to 1 month or more, via a single platform. It also provides solutions supporting energy transition and fleet management for professionals.
National Grid plc today announces that it has agreed to acquire PPL WPD Investments Limited, the holding company of Western Power Distribution (WPD), the UK’s largest electricity distribution business, from PPL WPD Limited, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation for an equity value of £7.8 billion and National Grid has agreed to sell The Narragansett Electric Company (NECO) to PPL Energy Holdings, LLC, also a subsidiary of PPL, for an equity value of US$3.8 billion (£2.7 billion).
In addition, National Grid announces that it will commence a process later this year for the sale of a majority stake in National Grid Gas plc, the owner of the national gas transmission system.
As is the way with such things, this is not all signed, sealed and delivered just yet:
Completion of the WPD Acquisition, which will be funded by fully committed bridge facilities, is expected to occur within the next four months and completion of the NECO Sale is expected to occur before the end of the first quarter of 2022. National Grid expects to launch the sale process for NGG in the second half of this year and complete the sale approximately a year later.
The Chief Executive of National Grid, John Pettigrew , commented that:
ABB Vehicle-to-Grid technology will set global benchmark for bi-directional charging with brand-new 11 kW station
ABB’s global e-mobility leadership has once again been underlined by the supply of its bi-directional charging technology to a Vehicle-To-Grid (V2G) partnership project.
As part of a contract with France’s DREEV, a joint venture between Électricité de France (EDF) and Nuvve, which specializes in intelligent charging for EVs, ABB will supply its brand-new 11 kW bi-directional charging technology, specially designed for V2G.
ABB’s solution integrated with DREEV software technology will enable EV drivers to export surplus power back to the grid. With potential to generate up to 20€/EV/month, V2G thereby reduces the total cost of ownership and further boosts the adoption of EVs. Bi-directional chargers also help smooth the flow of uneven generation of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind.
According to Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB’s global business for E-mobility Infrastructure Solutions:
ABB is a global market leader in fast charging solutions. We are delighted to have the opportunity to support DREEV in its mission to actively participate in making the grid more resilient with V2G technology. Our cooperation with DREEV is one of the leading efforts worldwide to deploy real V2G technology to the field.
The press release suggests the new 11 kW units will be arriving here in the UK in the not too distant future:
Under the partnership, ABB will supply V2G bi-directional kiosks in France, followed by installations in the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Germany.
The light and compact 11 kW charger delivers a quick and flexible charge and is fully compatible with current and future EVs. It meets the most stringent grid compliance requirements and is designed to be the global benchmark for V2G charging.
That strongly suggests that the ABB wallbox is already compliant with UK grid codes, which is excellent news! I wonder when we’ll be able to put one through its paces (dis)charging Lisa, our faithful 30 kW Nissan LEAF. She has been patiently waiting for such a device for quite some time now:
