Smart charging trial to test power grid

Energy provider Origin Energy has joined with the federal government, EV stakeholders and vehicle manufacturers including Hyundai to kick off a smart charger trial.

The trial is in-part funded under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and will seek to gather learnings of the effect and potential benefits of smart charging on existing electrical grid infrastructure.

Origin Energy says learnings from the trial will be used to: “design smart charging customer proposition and inform recommendations on policy design to promote smart charging”.

In total 150 smart chargers will be rolled out to private EV owners and fleets.

The idea behind smart chargers is the ability to shift charging times away from times of the day when energy is more expensive to off-peak periods and when wholesale prices are low; “typically when wind and solar are generating strongly,” says Origin.

Origin Future Energy and Technology boss, Tony Lucas, told carsales: “EV adoption is expected to increase significantly in the coming years with the price of new EV models continuing to fall and performance and range improving all the time.

“We hope this trial will help us understand how we can maximise the benefits to customers by offering products that reduce their EV charging costs, as well as how we can manage EV charging in a way that helps with grid and network stability.”

Origin will connect the chargers to its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform which allows multiple devices to be controlled remotely using AI. The same system is used to control other power-hungry devices such as residential air-conditioning systems, hot water systems, pool pumps and industrial coolers.

Lucas: “[The] Smart chargers will be able to talk to the platform, which can remotely direct chargers to switch on and off, or higher or lower, in response to wholesale prices.”

Origin says the benefits for customers are lower charging costs while power suppliers themselves can then more efficiently manage demand and supply in the grid.

“We want to get people thinking about EVs as more than just a car and saving on petrol,” Lucas explained.

“They can provide additional value to their owners through battery storage for the home, connected to virtual power plants or used for grid stabilisation – all of which will significantly reduce payback periods and improve the economics of EV ownership for many Australians,” Lucas stated.

Around $840,000 of the total $2.9m project cost was provide by ARENA.

Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor said: “The Government’s role is to support consumer choice for future fuel technologies and back new technologies through trials like this.

“Through this project, we can begin to understand how to minimise impact and maximise the benefit of new technologies on the grid.

“This project is significant as it is the first large scale demonstration of smart EV charging in Australia and the outcomes will be important to inform future government decisions,” Taylor stated.

The 150 smart chargers will be placed with fleet and residential customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA. Other partners in the program include Nissan, Custom Fleet, Schneider Electric, GreenFlux and Ausgrid and United Energy.