Energy Web, Volkswagen deliver 24/7 renewable energy charging solution for electric vehicles

Energy Web, a non-profit building operating systems for energy grids, with Volkswagen Group Innovation and Elli, have developed a new smart charging solution enabling EV owners to charge their vehicles with renewable electricity matched directly with the vehicle’s real-time electricity consumption.

The solution relies on “24/7” matching algorithm optimizing charging to maximize the use of clean, locally sourced electricity and providing users with control and granularity over EV charging. Users can dictate the date and time of charging, the desired level of charge by the end of their session, and the renewable energy facility the electricity is drawn from.

Volkswagen ID4s were successfully charged with local clean energy consumption, over 3 months. An array of charging sessions were tested, running from a couple of hours through sessions spanning several days. Each time, the platform optimized the charging schedule for maximum clean electricity usage while ensuring the target state of charge at the end of each session. Most tests took place near Wolfsburg, Germany and took advantage of abundant clean energy from wind and solar farms in the surrounding area.

“This is the first time ever that an electric vehicle has been charged using a verified 24/7-matched clean energy strategy coming at a time when EV adoption is gathering speed and charging is placing larger demands on electricity grids than ever before,” said Jesse Morris, CEO at Energy Web. “The purpose of this project has been to showcase that advanced EV charging solutions can empower EV owners to set their own preferences for when and where they get their energy. For instance, they can select to charge using wind and solar resources, from energy assets within a 10 km radius, and target 80% charge by 5pm – all from within a user-friendly application, with an accurate breakdown of their session’s carbon footprint.”

Volkswagen Group Innovation is exploring how the solution can be further developed and rolled out at production scale, ensuring as many EV owners as possible can benefit from the Smart Charging application. With a traceable and secure audit trail for transactions provided on the Energy Web Chain, consumers can show proof of renewable energy purchases, making it simple for corporate EV fleets to track granular energy usage for carbon accounting.

The Smart Charging App was developed by integrating Energy Web’s open-source 24/7 toolkit into Elli’s green charging app, providing users with access to over 300,000 public charging points across Europe. Energy Web released its open-source 24/7 clean energy toolkit earlier this year.