Elli and Mitnetz Strom cleverly integrate e-cars into the power grid

Elli, a brand of the Volkswagen Group, and the Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Mitnetz Strom have launched a nationwide pilot project for the smart grid integration of electric cars

In the first step, around 20 drivers of Volkswagen models ID.3, ID.4 or ID.5 are taking part in making e-cars part of the energy system in future and increasingly using green electricity from the region for charging.

With the concept "Innovation impulse for sustainable grid integration of e-mobility", the two project partners, together with the consulting company E-Bridge, presented the core of this field trial for the first time at the E-World trade fair (21-23 June) at Essen. There they gave a first insight into what a practical implementation of smart charging could look like.

The idea behind it: An algorithm compares the charging plans of the e-cars via price incentives with the regional electricity generation from renewable energies and the available capacities in the distribution grid. The resulting flexible grid utilisation should reduce the frequency of bottlenecks in the electricity grid and create financial advantages for the participants.

"With this project, we are showing 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. For drivers, financial added value is generated via price incentives," says Niklas Schirmer, Vice President of Strategy Elli. "By making the electricity demand of e-cars more flexible, more renewable, regionally generated electricity can be used." In 2020 alone, around 6200 GWh of green electricity had to be de-regulated in Germany.

"Together, we support the energy and transport transition locally and invest in the energy future. Electromobility and the energy industry are working hand in hand to make it possible for electric cars to run on green power and relieve the electricity grid where it is particularly needed," says Dr Michael Lehmann, Head of Process and System Management at Mitnetz Strom. "We can prevent bottlenecks in the local grid by allocating the charging processes of electric cars to the available grid capacities using newly developed software. The concept now provides us with important insights into whether our approach is customer-friendly." The results of the pilot test are expected in autumn 2022.