The first step for the parking garage at illwerke vkw was to connect 22 existing charging stations with the smart Charging and Energy Management System ChargePilot® from The Mobility House. The result: cost-effective, reliable charging for the Austrian energy company's electric car fleet, which consists of 40 vehicles at the moment. The system is currently being expanded to include more than 50 charging points.
illwerke vkw opted for ChargePilot because of the system's multiple advantages: the option to manage charging points from different manufacturers, the integration of third-party systems using the standardized OCPP protocol, and scalable local load management that also takes commands from the grid control unit into account so that electric cars can help to stabilize the grid while charging.
In order to charge the batteries with as much self-generated solar power as possible, photovoltaic systems will be installed on the roof of the parking garage and energy storage will be integrated in the system. This increases the percentage of self-generated power that is consumed and reflects the situation of many residential properties in Vorarlberg with photovoltaic systems.
illwerke vkw and The Mobility House also plan to integrate the existing fleet management system using an API to further optimize charging management.
Smart integration of electric cars into the grid is a key step towards the goal of becoming climate-neutral. This is something that illwerke vkw, along with more than 100 companies from German-speaking countries, pledged to do as part of the "Climate-Neutral Coalition 2025".