SEEV4-City Operational Pilots

All SEEV4-City Operational Pilots are aimed at combining electromobility and renewable energies.

Beyond this scope, each project has its own particularities. Some of them are small and focused on households; others on districts. Some projects maximize the use of electric vehicles, meanwhile others count with stationary batteries. In addition, some are applied to living areas, and other to business buildings.

The objective is to encompass a variety of situations where electric vehicles and renewable energies interact, so it is possible to develop a more consistent set of good practices.

Leicester (Vehicle2Business)

This Operational Pilot explores the influence of relatively small V2G application in large installations. Theoretical models suggest that a small addition of energy storage can increase dramatically the proportion of renewable energy consumed in situ. The objective is to realise a cost/effectiveness evaluation, adding a limited number of EVs to a depot that currently serves as parking space forcouncil vehicles. This depot counts with a Photovoltaic (PV) installation,and already produces more than a third of the energy that it consumes.

Loughborough (Vehicle2Home)

The focus of this pilot is on a single household equipped with PV panels which regularly produces more energy than it consumes, excluding EV charging. Through ICT integration, when the EV is parked at the house, it will charge or discharge in response to the household's electricity demand and solar energy production forecast. As a result, it is expected that the distance travelled by the EV using zero emission PV generation will more than double as a result of effective building and EV management.

Kortrijk depot (Vehicle2Business)

The Belgian city of Kortrijk,ambitious in the field of energy, strives to be the first city in Flanders to become energy neutral. Within 15 years, Kortrijk wants to minimise the city’s influence on the environment & climate, to become a true Climate City. The city of about 76,000 inhabitants mobilises their citizens, companies, schools & associations to all contribute to this common goal.

A big step in that process is making the water, electricity and gas utilisation by the city facilities totally sustainable through smart management. To further achieve their goals, Kortrijk, joined by KU Leuven, decided to participate in the SEEV4-City project.

The operational pilot of Kortrijk, although a rather small test case when compared to the other pilots, offers a unique set of circumstances to share practical experience in achieving a more sustainable city energy system. Consisting of municipal sport facilities, a depot for city services, a PV installation of 78 kW, a smart charging station and currently one Nissan E-NV200, an electric delivery van, the pilot aspires to become a small power plant. The energy produced by the PV installation is used by the depot and sport facilities, with any excess energy captured by the EV, stationary battery or e-bikes on site to be used when necessary, yet still some excess PV power is injected into the grid.

The regular driving hours of the mailman and his daily predetermined trajectory provide clear boundaries to implement smart charging algorithms. The expected rise in energy autonomy is limited (as no additional PV will be installed), yet a CO2 decrease between 5 and 15 tonnes is expected. These numbers will only increase when more EVs will be purchased by the city of Kortrijk. Plans for expansion to other city service buildings are already being considered and fit in the ambitious plan of being the first Flemish energy neutral city.

The final report of the Kortrijk Operational Pilot can be found here.

Amsterdam (Vehicle2Neighbourhood)

The focus will be optimizing the interaction at district level between prosumers and EVs. The chosen area of study will have the precondition of counting with enough EV usage, having significant ownership of PV installations, and having potential grid constrains problems. Landlords will not experience any change in the way they use electricity, but their excess of production will be diverted when possible to charge EVs parked in the district. ICT implementation will forecast energy generation and consumption, so in the evening the EVs parked will provide energy back to the selected households . The results of this Operational Pilot will serve as a landmark source of knowledge to apply V2G schemes in Amsterdam, and will also serve to explore the possibilities of variable energy prices in combination with V2G.

Amsterdam Arena (Vehicle2Business)

Amsterdam Arena presents a different order of magnitude for V2G experiences, with a consumption of energy comparable to a district of 270 households. Thanks to its PV installation Amsterdam Arena already produces around 10% of the energy it consumes; but has a very high power consumption in the evenings during sport events and gigs. Consequently, Amsterdam Arena is interested in energy storage and V2G applications. The vast renewable production ensures a massive supply of clean energy to charge EVs, what translates into a manyfold increase in clean kilometers for the vehicles parked. The experiences of Amsterdam Arena can serve as a development model for other stadiums worldwide.

Vulkan Project (Vehicle2Neighbourhood)

This Operational Pilot focuses on the Vulkan Estate Buildings, a housing development currently under construction. The project is lead by the Municipality of Oslo, and has raised also significant interest among private investors. Vulkan Estate Buildings will count with state of the art sustainability measures; heated through geothermal and solar energy, and using electricity generated in site by PV installations or imported from hydroelectric plants. To seize the advantages of renewable energies in spite of its intermittent, a smart grid including energy storage will be created. There will be also a liberal use of EVs and V2G. In total, more than 400 EVs per day will be served, and it is expected to shave 20% electricity consumption during peak hours.