Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, ahead of the ban on the sale of new internal combustion vehicles coming into force in 2030.
In the first five months of 2022, 92,512 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) have been sold according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a 71.2% year-on-year rise, bucking the trend of internal combustion vehicles, which have seen sales drop.
By 2040, there could be an additional 71.6TWh of electricity demand in the UK due to EVs, according to research from Cornwall Insight. This is 31 times higher than the current level of demand for electrified transport, and equivalent to 25% of current annual demand which stands at 299TWh excluding losses.
While there is concern about the UK’s generation and network availability expanding to manage this increase in demand, the growth of EVs offer a potential new source of distributed energy resource that could be optimised as a new source of flexibility.
“A charge point, though, is much more than just a plug as they offer more than just the electricity for charging. They come with additional solutions to make charging smarter and more convenient. Like a lightbulb, a charge point relies on the grid to function, but EVs will also be the largest expansion in electricity demand in recent history, which is why it’s important smart technology is implemented,” said Euan Moir, Regional Manager UK & Nordics, Shell Recharge Solutions.
“Charge points also need to be managed, with new software platforms for businesses and smart capabilities for consumers.”
Smart charging
In June, new regulations came into force in the UK to ensure all new charge points are smart charging enabled. Ensuring the infrastructure is smart opens up a range of possibilities for the optimisation of EVs, which could both reduce costs for EV owners and help support the use of renewable energy on the grid.
For example, smart charging could enable load shifting, with many EV charging apps now providing drivers with the ability to schedule when charging begins based on a number of core factors. This includes the ability to automatically set a vehicle to charge when there is an excess of renewable energy on the grid, helping to shift demand and avoid curtailment.
There are economic benefits to smart charging for the consumer too, with the ability to take advantage of Time of Use (ToU) tariffs. However, only a quarter of drivers are currently taking full advantage of such tariffs. A further 18% of EV drivers have smart meters installed, giving them access to ToU pricing.
Many energy suppliers launched special EV tariffs over the past few years, which have allowed EV drivers to charge at a fixed low price of 4p/kWh between midnight and 4am. With this in mind, it’s clear that smart charging can reduce the cost of EV charging, by up to as much as 26%, the Flexibly-Responsive Energy Delivery trial in 2021 showed.
The smart meter rollout recently hit a new milestone, with the 20 millionth meter connected to the Data Communications Company’s network. With more households benefiting from smart meter, a wider range of tariffs available and more EVs smart enabled, taking advantage of these tariffs could become much more popular.
Almost 60% of the EV drivers surveyed in the Shell Recharge Solutions’ EV Driver Survey Report believe that smart charging will help encourage more people to switch to EVs.
V2G and V2X
Along with smart charging, bidirectional chargers are enabling vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-anything (V2X) systems to be explored. This turns the EVs into a distributed source of flexibility, allowing energy stored in the vehicle’s battery to be used in the house or to be sold to the grid .
In 2021 Shell Recharge Solutions – under its previous NewMotion brand – became the first charge point operator to gain a license to deliver grid balancing services on a MegaWatt scale in the Netherlands. Through slowing down or speeding up the charging process, the demand on the energy grid supported the balancing of the grid. This is slightly different to V2X technology, but aims for the same goal: to support with a balanced grid. At this time V2X is not commercially available at Shell Recharge Solutions as our charger worked with the CHAdeMO standard and the new standard is focussed on CCS.
The company is able to provide the grid operator TenneT with frequency containment reserve services, responding to signals within seconds. This is up to 600% faster than fossil fuel-based alternatives, the grid operator noted at the time, without having a significant impact on individual EVs ability to charge.
Other V2G projects are being explored across the UK, as National Grid ESO along with companies look for sources of flexibility that can help balance the system as more variable generation comes online.
“And, as EV adoption grows, so will the charging ecosystem,” Euan said.
“In the future, we will not just be talking about installing more and better charging hardware, but also about using the collective battery power of EVs to support a faster, more effective move to sustainable energy.”
Given the potential of smart charging and V2G, it’s no surprise that they’ve become priorities for Britain’s electricity system. In September, Ofgem outlined how it will take a balanced approach to enabling EVs, including establishing price incentives and enabling market solutions to encourage smart charging.
This followed the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy issuing a call for evidence to better understand the role of V2X technologies in the transition to net zero.
As more people turn to EVs as they look to reduce emissions, taking advantage of the significant potential they have for demand shifting and providing a new source of flexibility will be key to enabling more renewable energy and balancing the grid.
