TransPower will investigate network impact and flexibility services for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) from domestic, commercial and public charging through demonstrator trials and collaborative research and development.
We are involved in projects on:
Bus2Grid: 28 V2G buses at a North London bus garage, with a combined export capacity of 1.2MW E4Future: V2G with depot based commercial fleet vehicles across the UK PowerLoop: Domestic customer V2G trial involving 135 customers across our network V2Street: Feasibility study of V2G on public charging networks with a local authority and a charge point provider.
Find out more about global vehicle to grid trials on our partner website, V2G-hub.
Watch the Vehicle to Grid introduction
What is the project about?
By 2030 it is anticipated there will be up to 4.5m electric vehicles in use across London, the East and South East of England, where UK Power Networks delivers electricity – including London’s buses and taxis. The charging of these vehicles could significantly increase the peak demand for electricity. In order to accommodate this increased demand, UK Power Networks would traditionally reinforce the existing network assets to provide more capacity. Upgrading an electricity substation or adding entirely new substations and cabling when customers need more power takes time, costs money, and can cause roadworks. Ultimately, this cost would be paid for by the electricity customers.
Active Response will trial a responsive, automated electricity network that re-configures itself in real-time, moving spare capacity to where the demand is.
How we’re doing it
The project will trial the solutions described above through a series of project trials, which will demonstrate the benefits of the solutions. The trials are expected to start in Q3 2019 and conclude in Q3 2021. Prior to the trials starting, the project will conduct rigorous testing of the devices and software to ensure the solutions operate as expected.
Active Response builds on previous research projects such as Flexible Urban Networks – Low Voltage, which delivered pioneering results by proving that an entirely new use for power electronics could be deployed on the electricity network.
During our trials, we are proposing to demonstrate two methods:
Network Optimise – Optimisation and Automatic reconfiguration of HV & LV networks in combination, using remote control switches and Soft Open Points.Primary Connect – Controlled transfers between primary substations using a Soft Power Bridge to share loads and optimise capacity.
UK Power Networks recognises the importance of sharing learnings from trialling innovative solutions. As such, the project will share key learnings with stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
What makes it innovative
To address the challenges raised by the increase in electric vehicles, Active Response will test and trial new designs of power electronic devices and network optimisation and automation software. It will be the first time these new devices, known as Soft Open Points and Soft Power Bridges, and software have been used on a distribution network.
What we’re learning
The project aims to demonstrate new ways network operators can maximise the capacity of their existing assets. By using advanced automation and installing new power electronic devices, we can connect networks together and move spare capacity around to where it is needed, reducing the need for time-consuming and sometimes costly reinforcement.
Electric Vehicles as Home Battery Storage Systems?
00:00 Introduction: Martin Garratt
2:44 Peter Bates
9:44 The commercial viability of residential vehicle-to-grid chargers: Greg Payne
24:40 Making V2G happen: Evie Trolove
36:44 The Power Responsive Programme: Adam Sims
45:33 The world’s largest domestic V2G Trial: Tom Pakenham
1:00:00 Octopus Energy's domestic V2G trial: Albena Ivanova
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