24/7 renewable energy charging blockchain solution for electric cars
Energy Web and Volkswagen have teamed up on a solution to match local renewable energy to electric vehicle (EV) charging.
The blockchain-based “smart charging solution” enables EV owners to match their charging requirements with selected renewable options.
The solution uses a 24/7 matching algorithm that offers user control and granularity on charging sessions, including choosing the date and time, the type of renewable energy and the specific facility it is sourced from.
The solution is reported to have been tested over three months with several VW ID4s, primarily around Wolfsburg in Germany where the company is headquartered. The charging sessions lasted from a couple of hours to several days and drew on the abundant wind and solar generation in the area.
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“This is the first time ever that an electric car has been charged with a verified 24/7 matched clean energy strategy,” asserts Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web.
“The purpose of this project has been to show that advanced charging solutions for electric cars can give electric car owners the opportunity to set their own preferences for when and where they get their energy. They can, for example, choose to charge using wind and solar resources, from energy resources within a 10km radius and target 80% charging by 5pm – all from an easy-to-use application, with an accurate overview of the session’s carbon footprint.”
The smart charging app was developed by integrating Energy Web’s open source 24/7 toolkit into Volkswagen EV solution subsidiary Ellis’ green charging app, which gives users access to over 300,000 public charging points across Europe.
Volkswagen Group Innovation is currently exploring how the solution can be further developed and rolled out on a production scale.
It is likely to be of particular interest to operators/owners of EVs in businesses, as drivers will be able to show evidence of renewable energy purchases and enable tracking of granular energy use for carbon accounting.
The solution is one of a number of EV charging solutions under development by Energy Web and partners. Another with Belgian TSO Elia is ReBeam, which is intended to enable EV drivers to charge with the supplier of their choice when on the road, while in the UK a renewable verification use case is part of an ‘Economy of things’ platform under development with Vodafone and Mastercard.
