Innovate UK invests additional £295k in EVs, VPP pilot
Innovate UK has added an additional £295,000 ($400,000) in a pilot programme that aims to develop a virtual power plant using electric vehicles.
The £295K increases the funding which Innovate UK has provided to technology firm ev.energy to £754,000 ($1,022 million) for the implementation of the Maximise Grid Services pilot project.
The pilot launched on the 1st of December in 2021 and includes utility UK Power Networks (UKPN) and consumers and EV owners in Norfolk and Essex.
The pilot includes consumers of UKPN with EVs responding to some 11 demand response and demand-side flexibility signals.
The project will help maintain grid reliability during times when demand is high as a result of EV owners avoiding charging their vehicles during peak hours.
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In 2021, the pilot helped to reduce EV charging by 90% compared to unmanaged baseline.
The
Energy Savings Trust predicts there will be between 8 and 11 million EVs on UK roads by 2030 and the pilot forms efforts by the UK to prepare its grid for this increase in electrification of transportation.
Sotiris Georgiopoulos, Head of Smart Grid Development at UK Power Networks, said: “While these localised Virtual Power Plants are currently small in scale, they demonstrate the significant potential that can be unlocked from smart charging as the number of electric vehicles increases.
“By using apps like ev.energy, smart charging can make electric vehicles part of the solution for a clean, reliable and affordable electricity grid that benefits everyone.”
Damien Kelly, Innovation Lead at Innovate UK, said “Localised systems to balance electricity demand, storage and supply are likely to play a vital role in helping the UK get to next zero. Innovative services using electric vehicles to provide flexibility to the grid have great potential and we look forward to supporting the scale-up and wider demonstration of ev.energy’s Maximising Grid Services project.”
ev.energy says it plans to share its technology and business case with other utilities in the future in a bid to expand the use of energy flexibility to help the UK accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels.
Innovate UK has provided the grant through its Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme.
