10 November 2021
The EV-elocity project, run by Cenex, is showing how vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging technology can cut charging costs for electric car and van owners, enable better use of renewable energy, lower vehicles’ overall carbon footprint and create less pressure on the energy grid.
With V2G technology, electric vehicle (EV) batteries can store electricity when there is an abundant supply to power homes and businesses and discharge it back to the national grid when it’s most needed.
The EV-elocity project has been deploying V2G chargers in a range of locations across England as part of large-scale trials to gain technical, customer and commercial insights on the emerging technology. It is also investigating if, and how, additional use from V2G charging may affect EV battery life.
Chris Rimmer, Infrastructure Strategy Lead at Cenex, said: ““After restarting the project in mid-2020, we are delighted to be testing V2G with such a range of sites and hardware. We’ll be working hard over the coming months to examine the cost, carbon and conditioning benefits of V2G, and publish our results as they become available.”
The project, led by Cenex, involves the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick; Leeds and Nottingham City Councils; and CrowdCharge, a platform that integrates and optimises smart electric vehicle charges. It is funded by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), in partnership with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Dr Julie Waldron, Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, said: “Company cars and vans tend to earn money while out on the road, but electric vehicles could also be a source of income when they’re parked up. We know cost is a major factor deterring mass adoption of electric vehicles, but if V2G charging helps EV owners get a quick return on their investment, it could make purchasing electric vehicles a much more attractive option to a bigger customer base.”
