Car2Flex

The R&D project Car2Flex deals with exactly this topic. Here, Vehicle2X concepts are practically tested in three different use cases: private users, e-vehicle fleets such as in companies and e-car sharing. The central question here is how the increasing share of electric mobility can best be integrated, taking into account the needs of the respective groups.

In addition, bidirectional DC charging points (direct current) are being developed in the project, which enable both controlled charging and smart discharging of electric vehicles. In this way, the vehicle batteries can also be used as flexible temporary power storage for your own home (PV excess) or the public power grid. Specially developed charging and discharging strategies reduce peak loads in the grid, increase self-consumption coverage at home and support the integration of renewable energies. In order to make the technology user-friendly, the research team relies on the participation of users as well as relevant stakeholders (e.g. energy suppliers, network operators, etc.). The demonstrations are complemented by a large-scale scaling analysis regarding grid construction and renewables expansion, sustainability assessment and recommendations for regulations, standardization and interoperability.

Based on the outlook of the International Energy Agency for electric vehicles (EVs), the controlled charging of EVs provides an increased contribution to the provision of flexibility for the energy system. In this research and development project, the NEXT Incubator, as a 100% subsidiary of Energie Steiermark, is the interface between research and Market for sustainably integrating e-vehicles into the energy system of the future.