Audi is following in the footsteps of carmakers such as Tesla, Mercedes and Nissan in exploring energy storage technology as it overcome concerns of the impact of EVs on grid load.

Audi is running a pilot project in Ingolstadt & Zurich combining photovoltaics with battery storage

Taking place in the Ingolstadt area and the Zurich region, the project uses stationary storage batteries powered by solar panels that can be deployed at times of high grid demand to temporarily store smaller amounts of energy in stationary units at short notice.

Using control software by the Zurich start-up company Ampard, the solar power can be intelligently distributed based on the current or predicted demand from car, household and heating systems – including feeding it back to the grid; effectively creating a smart grid and helping to counter the impact of growing numbers of EVs on network capacity.

“We are looking at electric mobility in the context of an overall energy supply system that is increasingly based on renewables. We are playing a pioneering role with the prequalification of the balancing-power market – enabling producers to feed power into the grid, as part of the pilot project. That is now for the first time also possible down at the level of individual households, which helps balance the entire power grid,” said Dr Hagen Seifert, head of sustainable product concepts at Audi.