Ancillary services and optimization in new technical platform for V2G

For V2G (vehicle–to–grid) and V2H (vehicle–to–home) to have an impact, a flexible way of combining the use of the battery in a property with the ability to sell different services to support the electricity grid is required. The technical solution for this was shown on Monday by Ferroamp and Varberg Energi.

“The potential for stabilizing the electricity grid with the help of electric car batteries is enormous. By combining different benefits, it also becomes attractive to electric car owners. With this solution, the electric car becomes a natural part of the smart home,” says Björn Jernström, founder of Ferroamp.

Bidirectional charging makes it possible to both charge and discharge an electric car battery. A parked electric car thus becomes a resource in the property or villa‘s energy system and can be used, for example, to cut temporary power peaks. Through collaboration with energy companies, it will also be possible to connect the electric car to several different energy markets. This makes it possible to influence both costs and revenues.  

For the electricity grid, this means new opportunities to solve today‘s challenges, for example during peak load hours. With today‘s electric car fleet, V2G could already affect the equivalent of about 15 percent of electricity use during the peak load hour. In February, the Swedish greentech company Ferroamp launched the bidirectional electric car charger Ferroamp V2X. Since 2023, the company has collaborated with Varberg Energi in the development of smart energy services. During Monday‘s demonstration, the charger was connected to Ferroamp‘s inverter EnergyHub in a house in Täby.

The entire system, including solar cells and home batteries, was connected to Varberg Energi‘s platform, X2X, which enables the customer to reduce their costs and enable revenue together with Ferroamp and Varberg Energi. Depending on what is currently most profitable, the electric car charger will alternate between optimizing electricity use in the property and contributing capacity in different energy markets.

The demonstration of the technology shows that the technology to exploit the potential of V2G is in place. What now remains is to get the solution approved by Svenska kraftnät and for the car manufacturers to implement the standard protocol ISO 15118–20 and allow the cars to be discharged.

“What we are talking about now is only the first step. We are working solutions for companies, vehicle manufacturers, property owners and industries,” says Mats Balkö, Head of Innovation and Sustainability at Varbergs Energi.