Vehicle-to-Grid

… a clean energy revolution. There is no doubt that crude oil, natural gas and coal are powerful energy providers. Today, they cover the majority of global energy needs. However, even though it took these fossil fuels up to several hundred million years to form, we have considerably exploited their deposits within only the last 150 years. In the process, emissions of greenhouse gases have caused the planet’s climate to change in an unnatural manner. Considering the fact that the world energy consumption is increasing, it is clear that we have to change how we generate and use energy. This includes electric mobility as well as the switch to renewable energy. The challenge is that the availability of wind and solar energy is still too dependent on weather conditions. This would be different if energy from renewable sources could be temporarily stored in the short and long term.

This is where your electric car comes into play. On average, an electric car just stands around for 23 hours of the day. This time could be better-used if the car were to step in as temporary stationary storage. What if the energy stored in your vehicle battery could be returned to the power grid at times of increased energy demand? What if this did not result in any disadvantage for you, and in fact meant lower procurement and maintenance costs for your electric car? And there is more: what if you could supply your home entirely with your own solar power? This is the vision behind the high-tech Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) solutions; a vision which we at The Mobility House strive towards implementing, each and every day, with a great deal of commitment and passion.

Wind turbines that remain motionless for days on end are unfortunately a common sight these days. This is not, as you might think, due to a lack of wind. Quite the opposite: wind turbines have to be turned off if they produce more energy than the power grid can accommodate. One field of application for V2G technology is in the collection of excess generated power. Storage capacity is growing along with the number of electric cars included in the Vehicle-to-Grid “swarm”, which enables renewable energy to be put to better use.

If energy supply exceeds demand, electricity prices fall. Then, energy from the sun, wind and water can be stored in your electric car battery at low cost, while your car charges at the charging station. If demand increases or supply decreases, this energy can be fed back into the power grid in return for a profit. In future, you will determine for how long your car is available as storage, and the point from which you need your car to be ready for use with a full battery, e.g. before a long journey.

Has it ever annoyed you that you feed your own solar power into the grid and receive little compensation, but then have to buy it back at a high price? Would it not be better to temporarily store the electricity for later use? Ultimately, battery capacities in modern electric cars are sufficient to supply one household with power for several days – and that is precisely the objective behind Vehicle-to-Home (V2H). For anyone who seeks a solution to charge their electric car with own-produced solar power already today, the smartfox energy manager can help.

In initial tests, we succeed to charge several electric cars with different charging statuses on a time-controlled basis, and in such a way that the process is optimised for fleets. In coordinating charging processes and energy prices, we develop a cost-optimised charging model, and create the basis for communication between the vehicle and the power grid.

Smart charging in practice: A fleet of 10 Renault Zoes is successfully charged on a time-controlled basis, and in response to price fluctuations on the energy market. This enables the optimisation of costs for power used, to the benefit of the car owner.

With the Vehicle-to-Coffee example application, we make use of the bidirectional charging function of our electric vehicles (Nissan Leaf and e-NV200). We integrate the electric cars into our office’s power consumption at our site, the smarthouse in Munich, by means of bidirectional fast charging stations. With this simulation of power supply capacity, we realise the seminal potential of the electric car as energy storage.

By intelligently controlling charging processes in fleets of electric commercial vehicles, we reduce operating costs whilst increasing fleet efficiency. In parallel to this, we are integrating fleets of electric cars into the control power of various European countries.

The Mobility House technology is helping Honda to optimize energy management at Honda R&D Europe center and maximizing the use of renewable solar power in particular.

The Mobility House has developed software that uses the price fluctuations on the electricity market to the benefit of electric car drivers. The intelligent charging station determines the prices on the power exchange each day and uses the information to draw up an optimum charging plan.

At The Mobility House headquarters, good espressos are now being prepared using a somewhat different method. Electricity from a car is being used! A Nissan Leaf is parked in the underground car park and supplies the entire office with energy.