Today, the Volkswagen subsidiary specializing in all charging and energy activities for the Group in Europe, Elli, and Belgian electric transmission company, Elia Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding, MoU, to integrate electric vehicles into the electricity system in Berlin.
The partners will examine potential impediments to EV integration over the coming years and determine ways to highlight its advantages, such as by creating demonstrators. In the upcoming decade, the MoU will promote the use of more electric vehicles since their batteries can assist in stabilizing grids as the proportion of unstable, renewable energies in the power grid increases.
Additionally, the MoU highlights the signatories’ common goal of incorporating electric vehicles into the electrical grid. When ample supplies of accessible renewable energy are available, consumers will be able to charge their EVs and then feed the electricity they have stored in them back into the grid. Customers would be able to participate in the energy transition thanks to this actively.
Speaking on the partnership, Elke Temme, the CEO of Elli and Senior Vice President of Charging & Energy at Volkswagen AG, said linking the energy and mobility sectors is a crucial step toward reaching carbon neutrality.
“An essential key to achieving climate neutrality lies in linking of the energy and mobility sectors. Using the electric vehicle battery as a mobile power bank delivers a triple benefit: Firstly, the climate benefits as renewable energy can be stored and therefore be used more efficiently; secondly, the electric grid benefits, as the car can contribute toward grid stability, and thirdly, the customer can earn additional revenue with vehicle-to-grid services. To explore the benefits of this consumer-centric approach, this cooperation with Elia Group is crucial for us.”
On the other hand, Chris Peeters, the CEO of the Elia Group, added that the need for cooperation between the sectors of power and mobility is being emphasized by the increasing growth of electric vehicles.
In his words: “The rapid rise in electric vehicles is reinforcing the need for cooperation between the electricity and mobility sectors. We want to enable the increasing number of EV users to charge their EVs while keeping the electricity system in balance. As a next step, the batteries of these cars will also be able to be used in such a way that they will contribute to the overall levels of energy comfort experienced by end users. Elli shares the same vision of the future regarding electric mobility as us and also has a strong focus on digital innovations. In the context of sector convergence, we are therefore the ideal partners to develop digital consumer services together.”
