Enel X announced that its electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions subsidiary, formerly known as eMotorWerks, is now integrated into its parent company's brand JuicePass.
Also, the company's new EV charging app, is now available in the US, offering users a single interface for a suite of smart charging products. The smart charging products that it is making available in the US include JuiceBox, which Enel X claims to be the No. 1 selling EV charger on Amazon, incorporated.
Enel X, the Enel Group's advanced energy services business line, launched its new electric mobility unit in North America. The new business unit integrates the company's US-based electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions subsidiary, formerly known as eMotorWerks, into the Enel X brand.
With the launch of this new unit, the company plans to add JuicePass, Enel X's new EV charging app as well as eMotorWerks' smart charging products, to its existing North American offering of energy solutions such as battery storage, demand response, and energy advisory services.
"Today's announcement represents Enel X's view that smart charging can ensure grid balancing as well as cost-effective integration of clean energy into the grid," said Preston Roper, Head of Enel X e-Mobility in North America. "With our smart EV charging solutions, the growing demand for electricity resulting from increased EV adoption can be met with renewable energy supply in a way that balances the grid while further decarbonizing the power and transport sectors. With an 80 percent increase in electric vehicle sales between 2017 and 2018 in the US, a trend which is confirmed in 2019 sales to date, there could not be a more urgent time to promote the benefits of smart EV charging."
The new business unit combines Enel X's global resources and energy sector know-how with eMotorWerks' technological expertise in smart, grid-connected EV charging. The new business unit will also integrate smart charging into Enel X's broad line of solutions to allow the use of renewable energy and to manage commercial energy loads through demand response and on-site battery storage.
According to Enel X, JuicePass gives users a single interface for its portfolio of charging solutions, letting customers connect their JuiceBox as well as monitor and schedule EV charging.
As part of its business strategy, the company says that its EV charging app will constantly evolve in line with drivers' needs and technological innovations in e-mobility.
Also, Enel X will expand its functionalities, embedding new ancillary services that it offers along with those of third parties to give customers a unified mobility experience through a single touchpoint.
JuicePass will manage the entire existing and future portfolio of Enel X charging solutions, covering customers' charging needs around the clock, the company said. Other products, previously offered under the former eMotorWerks brand, will also be sold as part of the Enel X suite of smart charging solutions. These products include JuiceBox EV charging station, which is the No. 1 selling EV charger on Amazon,
JuiceNet IoT (Internet of Things) cloud software, JuiceConnect software that enables smart charging control through integration with in-vehicle software developed by car manufacturers.
Enel X claims that its e-Mobility business is at the forefront of solving one of the biggest challenges the power industry is currently facing, balancing the consumers' growing and complex electricity demand with renewable energy supply.
According to EnelX, its technology lets EV drivers charge their vehicles reliably, with the cleanest and most affordable power available on the grid, giving them more control over their energy use. Smart EV charging allows drivers to top up their EVs automatically, taking into account their charging needs, as well as the availability of renewable energy on the grid and the cost of energy during different times of the day.
In addition, Enel X smart charging lets grid operators and utilities manage the overall electricity system in a more sustainably. It does this by shifting the time and rate of power delivery to EVs, with the goal of balancing electricity demand and supply as well as increasing renewable penetration.
Smart charging can also provide a range of services that can assist utilities through fast modulation of energy flows from the grid to the vehicle, enabling real-time grid balancing and reducing the cost of procuring energy, as well as integrating more renewable energy. Ener X points out that having a balanced, controllable electric grid also helps grid operators delay expensive system upgrades, potentially saving utility customers money and increasing utility returns.
A recent Enel X survey in the US found that additional education will help stimulate EV adoption, with 62% of participants saying they would purchase an EV after they hear the facts and benefits.
In 2018, EV sales reached 345,000 units in the USA, up 80% from 2017, and almost 100 new models are expected to be launched in the US between 2019 and 2023.
According to projections from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, annual passenger EV sales are expected to increase to 10 million in 2025, 28 million in 2030, and 56 million by 2040.
Enel X says it holds a leading position in demand response programs globally, with over 6GW of demand response capacity currently managed and assigned in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Enel X's electric vehicle charging station technology, called JuiceBox®, and its JuiceNet® platform, provide smart management of electric vehicle charging and other distributed energy storage facilities. The company also operates over 50,000 electric vehicle smart charging points in 20 countries.
Its intelligent DER Optimization Software analyzes real-time energy and utility bill data, thereby improving performance, and managing distributed energy assets, including behind-the-meter storage projects.
