Newcastle University has become the latest establishment to become involved in Nissan’s ongoing trial of vehicle-to-grid EV charging stations.
Nissan collaborated with energy giant Enel to develop the technology and earlier this year announced plans to trial it at various locations throughout the UK. The company’s Cranfield Research Facility was the first to receive them, and now one has been installed at the university’s National Centre for Energy Systems Integration.
More specifically the charger will be connected to the university’s smart grid laboratory, a £2 million facility joint-funded alongside Siemens Energy’s automation division.
Newcastle University is working on the project and Myriam Neaimeh, a researcher within the transport and energy team, said smarter energy storage has the potential to “be a real game changer”.
“Using the new charging system, cars will not just take energy from the grid but can also be used to put energy back, providing a number of grid services that can support the operation of the power system and lower the cost of EV ownership,” she added.
The concept works by utilising the onboard batteries of electric vehicles and using their capacities – both individual and aggregated – to offer grid ancillary services. The national grid can use the aggregated capacity for balancing purposes, while car owners benefit financially by offering those services.
Nissan estimates that if fully integrated its V2G concept could save circa £2.4 billion in electricity costs by 2030.
