E-cars, which serve as electricity storage devices on wheels, could significantly relieve the financial burden on consumers in the EU with an overall flexible energy system. “Flexibility on the demand side” in energy consumption is seen as a promising solution for integrating renewable energy into the grid, solving the problem of insufficient electricity generation in hours of low sun and wind, aligning supply and demand and making efficient use of the often scarce electricity infrastructure. According to a study that the Smart Energy Europe business association commissioned from the Norwegian classification society DNV with the support of energy management companies such as Eaton, Germany is not doing enough to leverage this potential.
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According to the study, there is currently neither a legal framework nor a suitable infrastructure in this country to enable e-car drivers to explicitly participate in the large energy markets with bidirectional charging, also known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G). When it comes to “commercialization flows” from V2G, Germany comes in last place compared to Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden. Two technical solutions through which electric car owners can become players on electricity exchanges are at least in the preliminary stages. But there are also “no local flexibility markets” in this country, the researchers complain. The authorities also do not support market-based procurement of demand-side flexibility (DSF).
V2G as the key to a fair energy transition
Another point of criticism is that the distribution network operators limited themselves to electricity generation with Redispatch 2.0 to prevent overloads. There are currently proposals that would enable “remote control of loads by network operators”. In other words: The Federal Network Agency should be able to throttle the charging of electric vehicles to “smooth peaks”. According to the experts, it would be more important for V2G to “gain flexibility in competitive markets”. This should be preferred over “lockdown” “so that consumers are fairly compensated for the contribution they make to the system.”
Germany performs significantly better when it comes to other regulatory proposals and legal requirements relating to V2G. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) recently gave incentives for bi-directional charging with a funding program for e-mobility. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) wanted to ensure as early as 2022 that electric cars can be charged cheaply using the solar system on their own roof or apartment building. Nevertheless, Dirk Kaisers from Eaton warns: “Unlocking the flexibility of electric vehicles is not just a question of resource efficiency, but also the key to a fair and equitable energy transition. Without bidirectional charging, the terawatt hours of battery capacity in electric vehicles are 90 percent of the time “Where they are parked is dead capital.”
(bme)