THE NEED: A New Issue
Energy Demand Surge at Peak Times
- Scenario: Many come home and plug in their EVs at 6:00 PM.
- Result: Massive energy requirement & strain on the grid.
Increasing Adoption of EVs
- Growing concern about the impact on the electric grid.
- Peak charging times coincide with peak energy demand, straining the grid and requiring costly infrastructure investments.
Challenges:
Aging Grid Infrastructure
- Current grid is aging and requires significant investments for maintenance.
- Days with surplus solar and wind energy ("Super Energy") can be utilized for EV charging.
SMART CHARGING: What Is It?
- Managed charging aligns EV charging times with grid capacity and renewable energy availability.
- Balances the grid load and maximizes efficiency
Solution:
Automation of Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI)
- V1G Technique: Time-shifted charging to align with grid capacity.
- V2G Technology: Bi-directional charging, which makes it possible to charge the EV battery and take the energy stored in the car's battery. Also called V2X collevctively.
- Automating Demand Response programs for EV charging can mitigate peak load issues.
Current Main Players:
Solar Battery Combo Companies
- Battery storage & upcoming bidirectional EV chargers to offer real solutions.
- Partnering with auto OEMs and involved in last-mile installations at homes. ( GM Energy & Ford Pro Demonstration )
- Limited to their own vehicles
- Limited to their own EV Chargers.
- Lack of battery state-of-charge data on residential AC EV charging is a handicap for making EV chargers "smart."
- Work across multiple EV and charger types.
- Act as brokers/middlemen.
- Dependent on other companies for data.
- Direct involvement in grid management and energy distribution.
- Provide back-end support to other players.
- Stand to benefit the most from Electrification and AI.
- Give complete control over home energy (e.g. Span).
- Vary in degrees of smartness and integration with other appliances.
Smart Home & Home Energy Apps
- Manage home thermostats and can extend to EV chargers and full smart homes.
- Fragmented and diverse marketplace.
Industry Limitations:
- Manufacturers are limited to their own products unless agnostic to EVs and chargers.
- Collaboration with multiple aggregators is often limited and based on individual alliances.
BENEFITS
- Shifting grid load to off-peak times when energy is cheaper.
- Reduced overall costs for consumers.
- Utilizes surplus renewable energy for charging.
Reduced Grid Investment Needs
- Less need for large-scale investments to increase grid capacity.
- Existing infrastructure can accommodate higher EV penetration.
THE COMING DECADE
Industry Transformation - New Entrants
- Automotive Companies: Transition to energy companies (e.g., GM Energy, Ford Pro Charging)
- Solar Companies with Battery Storage: (e.g., Tesla, Sunrun)
- Commercial Energy Farms: Direct interaction with consumers. Becoming VPP providers in deregulated markets.
- EV Fleet Operators: e.g. EV School Bus Depots Use both V2G & V1G.
Best Candidates to tap this market:
- Solutions with integrated VPP.
- Focus on integrating bundled solutions with solar, local battery, and V2G technology.
- Automotive companies bringing battery module production in-house and offering storage & V2H, V2G solutions for homes along with the EV.
- Automotive: GM Energy, Tesla, Ford Pro Charging, Nissan Energy Share.
- Solar: Tesla offers solar, battery & VPP bundle service in Texas; now has AC-coupled V2H.
- SolarEdge & Sunrun: Bidirectional inverters with residential solar charging - bundle installation and integrated Control.
- WeaveGrid & similar Aggregation Players: Offering different solutions to the same problem. Some providing consumer apps
- Thermostat Companies with DR Programs for HVAC: Currently underutilized.
CONCLUSION
Who Provides the Best Solution ?
- Solutions that are agnostic to EVs and chargers, with Open Data in the backend.
- Those that work with multiple aggregators, and can integrate diverse technologies of the ecosystem.
- Companies which provide easy to use AI driven solution integrated with life style.
Comments
Best Candidate Companies
- Solutions offering comprehensive and one-stop bundle solutions.
- Those leveraging home renewable energy, V2G , and grid integration.
Questions to Consider
- Does this create tight coupling between auto OEMs and house V2H solutions leveraging solar & storage for better optimization?
- Tesla provides extensive data available to third parties with proper security, including vehicle integration along with their energy product line. Will others follow?
Disclaimer
- These views are professional opinions for the USA and Canada markets and do not represent the views of any specific employer or client. The industry and its players are constantly evolving. This is not an exhaustive list of companies or business models.
