Kaluza optimises electric vehicle charging, V2G and sonnen batteries in UK’s first combined grid flexibility service.

Kaluza’s flexibility platform delivers UK’s first grid service to Western Power Distribution using a diverse mix of domestic storage and transport devices in key step towards a highly scalable flex market.
Marks first time domestic Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) chargers are used to serve the local grid with flexibility.
Through integration with NODES market, Kaluza will provide a fully automated, machine-to-machine service delivery, enabling smarter, more dynamic control of the grid.
Service based on intra-day flexibility procurement central to driving efficient use of available flexibility and boosting market liquidity.

Kaluza, the leader in intelligent energy platforms, today announces that it has gone live with its new flexibility service to Western Power Distribution (WPD) using a range of smart home devices including V2G – a first in the UK. Kaluza’s flexibility platform already provides a paid flex service to WPD through the intelligent optimisation of sonnenbatterie charging and discharging. Now, as part of WPD’s IntraFlex project, Kaluza is adding domestic electric vehicle (EV) smart charging and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) optimisation within a single, combined service across domestic storage and transport devices.

Kaluza’s flexibility platform will shift EV charging away from times of high demand, so the devices import energy when it is cheapest and greenest for end customers and the grid. In addition, the V2G chargers and sonnenbatteries will support the network with available export capacity to help the grid during high peaks in demand. Optimising a combination of domestic devices for flexibility has never previously been achieved and demonstrates the way forward to a scalable flex market at all levels of the energy system. The service also marks a milestone for domestic V2G chargers as Kaluza harnesses their collective power to provide local flexibility for the first time.

The service leverages Kaluza’s AI technology to provide a fully automated, machine-to-machine operation with no need for manual intervention. By integrating with NODES market, Kaluza’s flexibility platform can participate in NODES’ “ShortFlex” trading where flexibility is traded much closer to real time than the standard week or month-ahead timeframes. This offers superior accuracy when forecasting the availability of local flexibility and enables more effective use of flexible devices on a daily basis.

Conor Maher-McWilliams, Head of Flexibility at Kaluza commented: “Every day we take a step closer to realising a smarter energy system, but the launch of this service is a huge leap forward. While flexible, low carbon technologies become increasingly prevalent in people’s homes, there hasn’t been an effective way of coordinating charging across different types of devices to support grid balancing. This service changes that and will enable truly scalable flexibility so that millions of devices can store green and affordable energy in the future.

Integrating domestic V2G into this service is in itself an industry triumph. It demonstrates V2G’s versatile value in boosting grid resilience as part of a diverse flexibility offering, while enabling customers to buy and sell their own renewable energy.

We look forward to our continued collaboration with WPD and NODES as we bring the promise of flexibility to life with cutting edge technology.”

Roger Hey, DSO Systems and Projects Manager at WPD commented: “Our IntraFlex project and the work Kaluza and NODES are doing are bringing tomorrow’s world to us today. For us as a network operator, this project enables us to understand how all of these technologies will work together. For customers it brings forward the prospect of cleaner and cheaper energy in a way that can be replicated across the country.”

Enno Böttcher, CEO at NODES commented: “The importance of creating a market for trading flexibility is of paramount importance, if we are to truly unlock the value of flexibility and deliver our goal of creating a more sustainable future with greater social welfare. NODES has believed from the outset that a continuous market for trading flexibility will help deliver this goal. By creating a market, where different types of flexibility can compete on a level playing field, the right type of flexibility can be procured at the right price, in the right location at the right time to ease congestion.

NODES looks forward to working with Kaluza and WPD, as we continue to establish a new market design that seeks to provide flexibility to all levels of the grid and unlock its value via an independent marketplace.

ABOUT KALUZA

Kaluza is an ecosystem of intelligent platforms powering the future of energy. From revolutionising billing to smart electric vehicle charging, Kaluza’s technology is empowering some of the biggest energy suppliers to better serve millions of customers. Its real-time cloud platforms transform supplier operations, reducing cost to serve and boosting customer engagement. Powered by Kaluza, suppliers can invest in innovating for tomorrow’s customers and drive decarbonisation with smart, low carbon technologies that not only reduce energy bills, but lay the foundations for a more flexible energy system

ABOUT WPD

Western Power Distribution (WPD) is the distribution network operator for the Midlands, South West England and South Wales. It is responsible for delivering electricity to approximately 7.9 million customers and committed to investing around £1 billion on its network annually

ABOUT NODES

NODES is the independent marketplace for a sustainable energy future where grid owners, producers and consumers of energy can trade decentralised flexibility and energy.

As an independent market operator, NODES is addressing key trends and challenges in the energy system such as increased share of renewable power production, decentralised generation and the rapid change of the customer behaviour.

NODES vision is to build Europe’s most customer-centric, integrated energy marketplace to unlock the value of local flexible power resources and support the drive to a sustainable, emission free future.

NODES mission is to facilitate optimal use of flexibility in the grid by offering an open, integrated marketplace to all flexibility providers and grid operators.