Elli, a brand of the Volkswagen Group (VW), and Mitnetz Strom, a distribution system operator, have launched a pilot project for smart grid integration of EVs in Germany.
The project aims to create an algorithm that considers price incentives to compare cars’ charging plans with regional electricity output from renewable energies and the available capacities in the distribution grid.
The pilot will carry out tests using around 20 drivers of vehicles from VW’s ID range – specifically, the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5.
The two organisations hope to reduce bottlenecks in the grid and generate financial benefits for participants of the project.
Niklas Schirmer, vice president of strategy at Elli, said: “With this project, we are demonstrating for the first time how electric cars can be synchronised with the power grid in a user-friendly way.
“The car becomes a rolling electricity storage unit for the grid operator.
“By making the electricity demand of EVs more flexible, more renewable, regionally generated electricity can be used.”
The results of the pilot test are expected in the autumn of 2022.
