Low carbon transport body Cenex has launched a technology demonstration trial of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems in three major European cities.
The Smart Mobile Energy project, led by Cenex and supported by Climate KIC, will see V2G installed in Birmingham, Berlin and Valencia to support the cities’ existing energy infrastructure.
Cenex and Climate KIC will partner with various education institutions in the three cities to work with local authorities, grid and energy companies, large building owners and operators of electric vehicles fleets. They will conduct technical assessments of the systems and develop business cases for wider deployment of the technology in districts and entire cities.
Sean Lockie, director of urban transitions at Climate KIC, said that the programme offered a “unique opportunity” for its participants to test the benefits of V2G systems.
Cenex said the work would be important to ensure the “timely uptake” of V2G in the UK and across Europe.
“Cenex is delighted to explore the practical and economic implications of using V2G at a city and district scale. This is a critical next step toward accelerating Europe’s move to clean energy,” Robert Evans, chief executive at Cenex, said.
V2G systems are centred on the concept of using EV batteries to offer grid services whilst they are connected through their charging ports. Businesses could, in theory, use the aggregated capacity of various EVs charging at their site to help power their own operations during peak pricing periods or participate in grid services tenders.
Nissan earlier this month confirmed that it had installed a number of V2G charging systems at its R&D facility in Cranfield as part of an ongoing trial of the system it has produced alongside energy company Enel.
