UK announces £16m in V2X and demand side response projects

Alongside the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan, which aims to unlock the potential of smart EV charging, the UK government has announced £16 million ($19.6 million) in funding for V2X and Demand Side Response (DSR) projects.

The funding will be made available from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) for technologies that harness the potential of smart charging and will be activated through the V2X (Vehicle to Everything) Innovation Programme and the Interoperable Demand-Side Response (IDSR) Programme.

V2X Innovations

Projects announced under the V2X programme for prototype hardware, software and business models include:

• £229,000 ($279,906) to a project led by Otaski Energy Solutions to develop a smart street lamppost capable of charging EVs and sharing power back to the grid
• £220,000 to V2X-Flex ($268,906), a project led by EV Dot Energy Ltd to develop prototype software and a new business model which will reduce entry barriers for the domestic use of V2X bi-directional chargers to provide energy flexibility services
• £165,000 ($201,680) to BEVScanV2X, a project led by Agile Charging Ltd to develop technology that could overcome battery degradation by creating a cost-effective tool to monitor and advise best approaches to maximise battery life and financial returns from smart charging

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Those receiving funding through the IDSR Programme, which supports technologies that allow consumers to remotely increase or decrease their energy use to take advantage of when energy is cheaper or more renewables are on the grid, are:

• £510,000 ($623,373) to Energy Smart Heat Pump, a project by Samsung Electronics UK and their project partners Passiv UK to design and develop a technology solution that is able to provide DSR services via Samsung Heat Pumps, giving greater control of their usage on the basis of cost or carbon savings
• £1.2 million ($1.47 million) to Smart-DSRFlex, a project by Landis & Gyr UK to demonstrate how DSR technology can help to manage a renewables-based electricity grid using the smart meter system
• £29,000 ($35,447) to Open DSR for All (Manchester), a project by Carbon Co-op to explore the benefits and technical barriers to an accessible approach to domestic DSR, potentially enabling more products being able to offer DSR

The project announcement was made alongside the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan, which was published by the UK government and energy regulator Ofgem, setting out steps being taken to seize the significant potential of smart charging and make it the preferred method of long duration charging by 2025.

Through the plan, the government will improve publicly available information and evidence on smart charging, support the implementation of robust consumer service standards and ensure private charge points are secure and compatible with the latest energy innovations.

Both the government and Ofgem will seek to remove barriers that currently prevent the full development of the competitive smart charging market, while making sure the energy system is ready to respond to the upturn in energy demand that EVs will bring.

The announcements build on steps already taken by the government to enable smart and flexible electric vehicle charging.

As of July 2022, all new private charge points sold must have smart functionality and the UK is consulting on a new policy and technical framework to unlock the benefits of domestic smart, flexible energy, and enhance its cybersecurity.