DriveElectric launches Vehicle to Grid charging service
At the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event (LCV2017), September 7th at Millbrook,DriveElectricsigned a Memorandum of Understanding with Japanese manufacturer NICHICON CORPORATION to sell and operate the company’s V2G chargers in the UK.NICHICON CORPORATION is a leader in the Vehicle to Home (V2H) market in Japan. OKAYA & CO. LTD will be marketing the V2G equipment outside Japan.
DriveElectric’s CrowdCharge platform will be able to connect and manage large numbers of EV batteries using V2G chargers, to act as one large battery to support the grid. This will help to avoid the need for non-renewable sources of power to be used at times of peak energy demand. V2G could play a vital role in decentralisation and the greening of the UK electricity supply chain.
The CrowdCharge platform, developed in conjunction with the University of Reading, uses advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide optimised charging sessions for EV owners. In combination with the CrowdCharge app, the platform ensures customers get the energy they need, when they need it.
Mike Potter, Managing Director at DriveElectric says: “It is the first time people can do this from their own home in the UK, and by enabling customers to sell energy back to the grid, becoming fully fledged and active participants in the UK energy market, we’re providing a financial incentive to choose the sustainable option.”
This initiative is part of DriveElectric’s commitment to support the entire EV ecosystem, going beyond the acquisition of the car itself and delivering new services to the energy industry. There will be an increasing number of EVs on the roads across the UK in the future therefore V2g and smart charging (also known as v1g) technology is essential to ensure the grid can satisfy the demands made upon it for increased energy.
CrowdCharge is being used for the Electric Nation project to provide smart charging to help manage demand from EVs on local electricity networks.
DriveElectric’s V2G service will be available for CHADEMO-equipped EVs such as the Nissan LEAF, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Kia Soul EV in summer/autumn 2018.