Flexitricity plans to use more than 10,000 electric vehicles to balance the UK grid

UK company Flexitricity, which operates a flexibility aggregator on the British market, plans to use more than 10,000 electric vehicles to balance the local grid. It will be helped by a partnership with ev.energy, which offers a smart charging system for electric vehicles.

In recent years, the UK has been among the key innovators in the power sector. Companies such as limejump, which brought a big data approach and machine learning to energy and was acquired by Shell, and Verv were founded in the UK. Another innovative company making a name for itself is the aforementioned Flexitricity.

Flexitricity operates one of the largest demand-side response portfolios in the UK and therefore has a constant interest in expanding its portfolio with additional generators or consumers whose electricity consumption or generation can be partly regulated or shifted over time.

The partnership with ev.energy will enable Flexitricity to use up to 10,000 electric vehicles. These could provide capacity of up to 60 MW, which Flexitricity will be able to use in the balancing market.

ev.energy optimises electric vehicle charging times by selecting the most suitable time for charging. Customers simply specify in the app when they want their electric vehicle to be fully charged. Charging times for individual ev.energy customers are spread over time, enabling the company to optimise grid load. The benefit for customers is savings on electricity costs. In addition, ev.energy purchases electricity exclusively from renewable sources.

The market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly, not only in the UK. According to Argusmedia.com, a quarter of registered vehicles in the United Kingdom were electric-powered (including plug-in hybrid vehicles). In total, more than 108 thousand electric vehicles were registered in the United Kingdom last year, representing year-on-year growth of 186 %.

Lead photo source: Gridserve