New plan for smart EV charging could save consumers up to £1,000 a year
Summary
Today’s plan sets out how we will work with Ofgem and industry to kickstart the market for smart charging, which we are backing it up with £16m in innovation funding. This will let people take control of their energy usage, in the most convenient and low-cost way.” These announcements build on the major steps already taken by the Government to enable smart and flexible electric vehicle charging. Among those receiving funding today through the V2X (Vehicle to Everything) Innovation Programme for prototype hardware, software and business models, are: • £229,000 to a project led by Otaski Energy Solutions (Gateshead, Tyne and Wear) to develop a smart street lamppost capable of charging electric vehicles and sharing power back to the grid; • £220,000 to V2X-Flex (Reigate, Surrey), a project led by EV Dot Energy Ltd to develop prototype software and a new business model which will reduce entry barriers for the domestic use of V2X bi-directional chargers to provide energy flexibility services; and • £165,000 to BEVScanV2X (London), a project led by Agile Charging Ltd to develop technology that could overcome battery degradation by creating a cost-effective tool to monitor and advise best approaches to maximise battery life and financial returns from smart charging. Among those receiving funding today through the Interoperable Demand-Side Response (IDSR) Programme, which supports technologies that allow consumers to remotely increase or decrease their energy use to take advantage of when energy is cheaper or more renewables are on the grid, are: • £510,000 to Energy Smart Heat Pump (Chertsey, Surrey), a project by Samsung Electronics UK and their project partners Passiv UK to design and develop a technology solution that is able to provide demand side response (DSR) services via Samsung Heat Pumps, giving greater control of their usage on the basis of cost or carbon savings; • £1.2m to Smart-DSRFlex (Manchester), a project by Landis & Gyr UK to demonstrate how DSR technology can help to manage a renewables-based electricity grid using the smart meter system; and • £29,000 to Open DSR for All (Manchester), a project by Carbon Co-op to explore the benefits and technical barriers to an accessible approach to domestic DSR, potentially enabling more products being able to offer DSR in future. Delivering the steps set out in the Action Plan will help make smart charging the norm at home and work by 2025.