A new easy way to benefit from the flexibility of EV charging at City of Amsterdam’s on-street EV charging points was officially launched yesterday. At 3,000 charging points managed by Equans, EV drivers can now get smart charging rewards by using the ANWB (Dutch Automobile Association) charging app (powered by Deftpower). The app calculates the optimal charging profile based on battery state of charge, planned departure time and the spot market prices. Savings are calculated as the difference between immediate charging and the optimised charging and are immediately visible in the app.
A great and easy-to-use way to shift EV charging out of peak hours and into times of more renewable energy like solar and wind. This reduces energy costs for everyone, and frees up capacity on the grid to connect more new users. Those who participate actually shift all their charging load outside of the peak hours, rather than the usual Dutch practice of reducing everyone’s charging power in the evening: it bears potential for much more effective load shift. There’s also choice here: savings for those who are flexible, unrestricted charging for those who need it. It’s a clear win-win-win, as users are now rewarded for their flexibility, and the operator no longer has to guess the flexibility for each charging session. It’s also a clear example of how the 🇪🇺 Renewable Energy Directive III’s provision for access to EV battery data for services on behalf of users, such as mobility service providers, will enable EVs to make a significant contribution to the flexibility of the electricity system.
It was great to hear from the parties involved at yesterday’s launch that they see this model being applied by other operators and mobility service providers, and that dynamic charging prices and flexibility markets could be the next steps for the ANWB’s public charging offer (they happen to already be the largest dynamic energy supplier in the Netherlands). It’s great to see that EV users who rely on public charging now have more flavours to choose from!