SSE Renewables has joined a major UK trial of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which aims to lower the cost of V2G technology for buisnesses.
The trial is being undertaken as part of a research initiative funded by Innovate UK. As part of the trial, SSE Renewables will collaborate with teams from EV technology development firm CrowdCharge and chargepoint technology developer Hangar19. SSE Renewables’ part of the trial will take place at its Invergarry (Coire Glas) operational centre.
The V2VNY project, which SSE has joined, is being supported by funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and aims to demonstrate a commercially viable way for fleet owners, businesses and EV drivers to contribute to grid flexibility efforts. Notably, the trial is the first to make use of alternating current (AC) rather than direct current (DC) bidirectional charging, and businesses are provided with a free 7kW AC bidirectional charger and a software package designed to optimise the charging process.
The V2X Innovation Programme, which funds this and other V2G and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) research, is supported by £65 million of finance from the government’s Flexibility Innovation Programme. Other organisations have also joined this programme to trial the use of AC V2G as part of the decarbonisation and grid balancing efforts; earlier this month, Denbighshire County Council announced that it had installed its first AC bidirectional charger at its council fleet depot as part of the V2VNY trial.
In a post on LinkedIn, SSE Renewables expressed its enthusiasm for the new technology trial, calling it “a big step forward in exploring how clean transport can contribute to a smarter, more flexible grid”, and noting that the firm is “gaining valuable insight into the potential benefits for SSE and the wider energy system”.
V2G technology allows electric vehicle batteries to be used as small-scale battery energy storage systems that can be drawn upon during times of high demand and low grid supply. Additionally, vehicles can be set to charge their batteries during times of excess renewable energy generation to prevent curtailment and make the bus use renewable energy when it is abundant.
Charging solution provider ChargePoint recently announced that it was joining forces with intelligent power management company Eaton to co-develop new technologies to boost the capabilities of V2X technology across the UK, Europe, and Canada. The two firms have said they will work together to streamline the purchase, design and deployment of V2G and V2X technologies in an effort to simplify deployment of such infrastructure and become a “one-stop shop” for the whole EV charging system.
V2G technology is not only a key tool for supporting grid balancing efforts, it also has the potential to save consumers significant amounts of money. In 2022, Eaton published a research study on the potential benefits of V2G technology, which revealed that combining bidirectional EV chargers with home renewable energy generation such as solar PV systems could offer homeowners average savings of £1,000 annually.
