Businesses invited to take part in trial of next-generation vehicle to grid EV charging

Companies are invited to take part in a trial of new, next-generation vehicle to grid (V2G) electric vehicle (EV) workplace charging technology which offers the opportunity to lower carbon emissions and reduce energy costs.

Trial participants will be provided with a free V2G EV charger which can be kept after the end of the project. V2G technology enables EVs to be charged at times when electricity costs are low, and then put energy back into the grid, or into a building or even another EV, when electricity costs are higher.

Businesses that are looking to demonstrate leadership in sustainability are invited to apply to take part in the V2VNY project, which aims to demonstrate, test and refine V2G technology, pushing the boundaries of charging technology and paving the way for its broader adoption.  The project is being led by Hangar 19, in partnership with DriveElectric and CrowdCharge.

DriveElectric is an electric vehicle leasing company that has been helping organisations and individuals to adopt EVs to save money, lower emissions and transition to low carbon energy since 2008. CrowdCharge, a unique AI-powered technology with patented optimisation tools, helps to unlock maximum value from V2X services across individual vehicles to fleets and workplace ecosystems, enabling them to better predict and manage usage, save money and carbon.

Other project partners are Grid Beyond, Oxfordshire County Council, Electric Corby and JLR. JLR will be providing prototype electric vehicles for use in the trial. This is one of the first V2G trials in the UK to use AC charging with the latest generation of EVs featuring ‘vehicle to load’ technology; most previous V2G trials used Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles with CHAdeMO DC charging technology.

Trial participants need at least two electric vehicles on their fleet which feature vehicle to load technology from the brands of Genesis, Hyundai, Kia or MG. Businesses will be provided with a free 7kW AC bidirectional charger with two sockets and a software package to optimise the charging, worth in total over £5,750.

Participants can keep the charger after the trial but will have to pay for the installation of the charger and for continued use of the software after the end of the trial. Mike Potter, CEO of CrowdCharge and DriveElectric, says: “The UK has a huge and largely untapped battery storage capability in the form of over one million electric vehicles that spend most of their time parked up.

“Using this resource can help reduce the load on electricity networks at peak times, as well as lowering costs and carbon. This project will trial how the latest EVs can be used as mini power plants to benefit businesses, electricity operators and the country as a whole.”

Recruiting is already underway for the V2VNY trial which commences in September 2024 and which will run through to the end of March 2025. Most chargers are allocated but the last remaining few are available to forward-thinking companies that are keen to be part of this next-generation project and that apply quickly.

The V2VNY Phase 2 project, part of the V2X Innovation Programme, is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), delivered by Innovate-UK. The V2X Innovation Programme is part of the up to £65m Flexibility Innovation Programme, funded from the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.

The increase in electric vehicle numbers means there are now over one million large capacity battery packs in the UK that sit idle most of the time. Bidirectional charging can be used to send energy in a vehicle’s battery to the grid, to buildings, or to other vehicles, and to trade energy.

The project will look at how this battery capacity can be used to improve how, where, and when energy is used, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions and saving energy costs. To take part in the V2VNY project, businesses need to have at least two of the following electric cars on their fleet:

• Genesis GV60
  • Hyundai IONIQ 5
  • Hyundai IONIQ 6
  • Hyundai Kona (2023 onwards)
  • Kia EV6
  • Kia EV9
  • Kia Niro EV (2023 onwards)
  • MG 4
  • MG 5
  • MG ZS (2021 onwards)