EDF Energy announced partnership with a leading green technology company, Nuvve, to install up to 1,500 Vehicle to Grid (V2G) chargers in the UK.
The chargers will be offered to EDF Energy’s business customers and will be used at its own sites to provide up to 15 megawatts of additional energy storage capacity.
The stored electricity will be made available for sale on the energy markets or for supporting grid flexibility at times of peak energy use.
Smart charging is expected to play a significant role in balancing the grid as the country moves towards wider adoption of electric vehicles. V2G chargers allow a two-way flow of electricity between an EV and the charger, representing a potentially valuable opportunity to further enhance the electricity system benefits of EVs through provision of large volumes of cheap storage and flexibility.
Using the V2G chargers, EVs give unused electricity back to the charger for customers to either use the energy themselves, send it back to the grid, or to participate in energy markets, providing savings on energy costs and generating additional revenues.
EDF Energy is the largest electricity supplier to UK businesses and its partnership with Nuvve could see the largest deployment of V2G chargers so far in this country.
More than one million new vehicles are bought by businesses each year and the UK Government has pledged that by 2030, at least 50 percent of new cars and 40 percent of new vans sold in the UK will be electric. V2G chargers could help businesses generate revenues from vehicles that have previously only been a cost on their balance sheet – saving hundreds of pounds per vehicle a year.
EDF Group and NUVVE have signed a strategic partnership agreement with a view to forming a joint venture to develop these solutions in Europe. The San Diego-based green energy technology pioneer has deployed V2G projects on five continents including the world’s first fully commercial V2G hub in Denmark which has been operational for two years now.
Earlier this month, EDF President Jean-Bernard Lévy detailed the Group’s strategic plans on electric transport, including its plan to be the leading energy company for EVs by 2022 across its four largest European markets: France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Belgium.
