UK consortium to develop comms and control system for V2G charging points

Vehicle-to-grid technology allows electric cars to supply energy back to the grid or to buildings such as office blocks or shopping centres when parked. This could help to stabilise electricity networks and support greater use of intermittent renewable energy sources.

The two-year project, which is part of a £30m initiative funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will develop a system designed to control how, when and the rate at which electric batteries are charged and discharged.

The VIGIL (Vehicle to Grid Intelligent control) system will take account of local substation constraints and the energy requirements of both the building and the electric vehicle itself.

The project is being led by Nortech Management, and also includes Birmingham-based ByteSnap Design, Aston University and Grid Edge.

As part of the project, ByteSnap is developing a communications adaptor to allow the system to operate with a range of different manufacturer’s V2G charging points, according to Dunstan Power, the company’s director.