Mass adoption of electric vehicles will be one of the fastest and most effective ways to mitigate climate change over the next decade. As the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix increases, EV batteries will help ensure grid balance, and consumers will be active participants in the energy transition.
Optimistic about such market development trends and prospects, last Friday (September 23), Elli, the charging division of VW Volkswagen, signed a MoU cooperation memorandum with re.alto, a new start-up subsidiary of Elia, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The two companies will work together to study how to integrate electric vehicles into the power system to contribute to the fight against global warming.
The multi-year collaboration between the two will begin with identifying and addressing possible barriers to EV integration, and will then examine the best models for how to use EVs to power the grid. Once established, it will help stabilize electricity costs and effectively reduce energy prices. The new Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) concept allows users to inject electricity stored in EV batteries into the grid and draw electricity from the grid when necessary.
Elia Group CEO, Chris Peeters, stated the rapid growth of electric vehicles has strengthened the need for cooperation between the power business and the automotive industry. The company hopes to enable the growing number of EV owners to charge their EVs while keeping the power system balanced.
Basically, the memo includes 4 major development priorities: price signals/incentives, market design, trusted data, and data security and secure connection. The signing of the memorandum further aligns Elia Group's consumer-focused business strategy with Volkswagen Group's commitment to accelerating the transition to Sustainable Electric Mobility.
（Image：Elia Group）