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Flexitricity and ev.energy Partner to Change EV Market Operations

February 05, 2021 by Stephanie Leonida

Flexitricity and ev.energy join forces to help make electrical vehicle charging more economical for owners and help balance the grid.

As the company name Flexitricity implies, it means “flexible electricity.” Flexitricity is a leading flexible energy specialist and is pioneering the monetization of the flexible nature of energy consumption and generation. The company works with industrial and commercial customers to provide electricity balancing services. Flexitricity recently partnered with ev.energy with the intent to register the first domestic electric vehicle (EV) aggregated unit in the Balancing Mechanism (BM).


Image used courtesy of ev.energy 

Image used courtesy of ev.energy 

 

Ev.energy is a certified B Corporation that built its business around its customers, aiming to provide a central platform from which EV owners can charge their vehicles at the lowest cost, and with the greenest electricity available. Partnering with ev. energy will provide Electricity with access to the former company’s innovative smart charging platform and its 10,000 plus EV assets. As a virtual lead party (VLP), Flexitricity will be able to trade this domestic flexibility.

 

The Balancing Mechanism

The balancing mechanism (BM) is an essential tool for the National Grid electricity system operator (ESO) that is used to balance electricity supply and demand in real-time. In a scenario where electricity consumption and generation are not in balance, the National Grid uses the BM to purchase changes in generation and consumption. This serves to level the imbalance. Energy providers are able to offer to increase or decrease electricity generation or demand to help balance the system.

Looking toward 2050, companies are endeavoring to reach net-zero carbon targets. National Grid ESO and not-for-profit company Elexon have made changes to encourage smaller, more agile energy assets to pitch in. This provides an attractive opportunity for flexible energy consumers, such as EV owners. 

 

Smart Charging, Flexibility, and Balancing the Grid

When EV owners come home late from work, they plug in and charge for the night. This can be when there is a peak in energy consumption. There is a consequent increase in price with the demand for electricity. This can in turn increase pressure on electricity networks and increase carbon generated. Smart charging can provide a flexible solution concerning maintaining the balance of the grid. 

 

Flexitricity and ev.energy Partner

ev.energy provides EV owners with its smart charging app that provides them with the ability to set a ‘ready by time’ to ensure they can charge their car for when it is needed. Flexitricity’s automated platform will be used in conjunction with ev.energy’s smart charging platform to help EV owners get the most optimal charging strategy possible before their car is fully charged. Not only can this give the National Grid ESO much needed flexibility, but consumers can benefit from lower energy costs as well. 

In a recent news release, Head of Commercial & Grid Services at ev.energy, William Goldsmith, provided his comments: “With a rapidly growing 60MW capacity of EV load currently on our platform, ev.energy is in an excellent position to help balance the GB energy system. By partnering with Flexitricity we are able to offer energy suppliers an advanced trading service that reduces their cost, benefits the grid, the environment, and delivers better value to their customers.”

 

Chief Commercial Officer at Flexitricity, Andy Lowe. Image used courtesy of Flexitricity
Chief Commercial Officer at Flexitricity, Andy Lowe. Image used courtesy of Flexitricity

 

 

In the same news release, Chief Commercial Officer at Flexitricity, Andy Lowe, said: "Electrification of transport presents both a huge opportunity for suppliers and customer and a challenge for networks. The partnership with ev.energy allows us to take a leap forward in demonstrating how flexible EV charging of the future will look like. Lowe added: “This partnership has the potential to revolutionise the way the EV market operates and most importantly it will make a significant impact on our 2050 net carbon zero targets.”