A group of carmakers and energy firms has teamed up to show how electric vehicle running costs could be reduced through the implementation of smart charging and discharging strategies for EVs.

The carmakers and energy firms has teamed up to show how electric vehicle running costs could be reduced.

The two-year GridMotion demo project, which sees Groupe PSA partner with Direct Energie, Enel, Nuvve, Proxiserve and the Technical University of Denmark, claims that EV drivers’ electricity bills could be reduced, with no impact on transportation use, by shifting charging times from periods when electricity prices are higher to periods when electricity prices are lower.

Savings could be further driven by providing grid balancing services through a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) system.

The project will be comprised of two groups of testers. A total of 50 Peugeot iOn, Partner Electric, Citroën C-ZERO or Berlingo owners will test ‘smart’ unidirectional charging, in line with their mobility needs, when electricity prices are generally lower, such as night-time in France.

In addition, a fleet of 15 B2B EV Peugeot iOn or Citroën C-Zero vehicles with Enel bidirectional charging stations will trial ‘smart’ charging and discharging (V2G services). Charging is expected to be carried out when there is surplus electricity supply on the grid, while discharging is expected to be carried out when there is surplus electricity demand on the grid.

Project partners are looking for volunteers to start the experiment. Participants should be based in France and own a Peugeot or Citroën electric vehicle produced from January 2015 onwards.

For more details, contact: [email protected]