New “Vehicle to Grid Electric Nation” project launched

A new phase of the Electric Nation EV charging project started on June 3, 2020, with trials on the new Vehicle-to-Grid(V2G) that began in South West and South Wales.

The Electric Nation project, run by the electricity distribution operator Western Power Distribution (WPD) and smart charging specialists CrowdCharge, covers free zones and offers free installation of £ 5,500 smart chargers to eligible participants.

Participants must have a Nissan electric vehicle with a battery size greater than 40 kW and live in the areas covered by the WPD.

The growth in the electric vehicle market means more demand for the grid to charge vehicles. However, electric cars can offer a solution to this problem as mobile energy storage devices by transferring electrical energy to the grid at peak times and charging the vehicle when demand is low.
Smart charging can block Electric vehicle charging during peak hours and charge the vehicle later. V2G charging can take it one step further by allowing households to draw electrical power directly from the car or feed the grid.
The new phase of the Electric Nation project is looking for 100 people to take part in the project to help operators understand how V2G can work and be effective in the future.

Although the time scale of the charger setups depends on government advice on coronavirus quarantine restrictions, the application process is currently open.
This trial uses five different energy suppliers to more thoroughly test related systems and provide a more realistic view of how many streets can work in the future.

“V2G charging has the potential to transform how networks approach the challenge of keeping millions of EVs charged and mobile. Introducing up to 38 million EVs to the UK network in the coming years will be a huge burden on the system. Using flexible systems and offering V2G charging will add billions of investment and it means we can create a much more efficient and flexible network that doesn’t require a huge increase in capacity. “

Mike Potter, CrowdCharge CEO, said: “The tool for charging to the grid is a great concept, but it has not yet been sufficiently tried in the UK’s electrical networks to be expanded across the country – so this project is a need. This trial is the real-world impact of V2G. “The project will give an important insight into how it can work for maximum benefit for the market and all customers.”

For more information visit the electric nation website.