Picture this – you’re going on holiday for two weeks and your electric vehicle is going to be sitting idle at the airport car park. You could have it plugged in the whole time keeping the battery topped up, but that could potentially be taking up a charger from someone who needs it. Alternatively, you can leave your car unplugged for the duration of your holiday, with it sitting there idle waiting for you to come home. Those are your only two options, right? Well, no, there could potentially be a third one – and it’s one that’s currently being trialled.
UK Power Networks has been testing what it calls ‘Park and Flex’, which involves electric vehicle drivers plugging in to EV chargers, but not just so they can remain topped up. In fact, these EV chargers support bidirectional charging, meaning that the grid can leverage the energy stored within a car’s battery to help provide enough power during peak demand.
The benefit of this scheme is that the EV driver would get cheap electricity, as the car will be filled when energy is cheap and demand is low – for example during sunny days or windy nights – and inject power back into the system at peak times.
Early research from the study has found that more than 1.3 million homes could be powered by using electric cars’ batteries in long-stay car parks. The potential of 4.3GW of flexible electricity demand could play a major role in helping London, the East and South East of England, efficiently transition to a low carbon economy.
The study used advanced modelling alongside both UK Power Networks’ and energy specialist Baringa’s forecasts for the number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads in the coming years.
Long-stay car parks such as airports were shown to offer increased benefits over shorter term solutions such as hotels or supermarket car parks, with a customer’s flight dates dictating the precise length of a vehicle’s stay, giving network operators greater insight into spare power or capacity they can call on at any time.
It is estimated £1.3 billion in flexible energy savings could be made by 2050 if rolled out across the 140,000 long-stay parking spaces in the areas UK Power Networks serves in the south and east of England.
Ian Cameron, Director of Customer Service and Innovation, at UK Power Networks, noted, “As more and more people begin to adopt green technologies, we’re able to innovate and explore tangible scenarios that could make a real difference on the path to net zero.
“Through Park and Flex, we foresee a world where dormant vehicles can be used as the building blocks for one of the UK’s biggest flex batteries. This dynamic battery, fuelled by thousands upon thousands of electric vehicles could play a massive role in creating a new green energy supply, and could do so without customers having to lift a finger.”
The Park and Flex project, which is being developed alongside Fermata Energy and energy consultancy Baringa, is supported by funding from Innovate UK’s Strategic Innovation Fund. As the study continues, it will seek to understand how the new vision could be rolled out nationally and identify the customer incentives needed to make it happen.
Tony Posawatz, CEO of Fermata Energy, added, “With ramping sales of electric vehicles, gigawatts of energy storage capacity can be accessed with bi-directional (V2G) charging to support UK distribution networks during peak events.
“Airports have enormous public car parks and large electrical systems throughout. With thousands of vehicles parked for hours to days at a time, enormous value can be unlocked in key grid locations providing resilience and stability, while lowering costs. This first-of-its kind Park and Flex study will demonstrate the scalable benefits of V2G technology in public car parks for grid networks and consumers alike.”