Charge & Drive is installing a battery reserve that will balance power loads in order to avoid putting strain on the power grid during times of high usage. There will be over 100 charging stations available for customers.
The solution makes it possible for parking garages and residential parking facilities, among others, to set up large EV charging facilities without having to make expensive and time-consuming upgrades to the power grid. The batteries mitigate the need for supplemental power from the grid during periods of high usage, such as when many EVs charge at the same time.
“The batteries in this installation are slowly charging up all the time; during times of high loads, the batteries will charge the cars” said Jan Haugen Ihle, Country Manager of Fortum Charge & Drive Norway. “We believe this is one of the most innovative charging facilities in the world.”
Sture Portvik, responsible for electric cars at the Municipality of Oslo, added that the charging facility will boost the use of electric cars for taxis, goods distribution and service companies.
The new charging facility is being built in cooperation with property owner Aspelin Ramm Eiendom AS and the city of Oslo. It will help the city to reach its ambitious climate goals, which include cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2020 and 95 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
The charging facility at Vulkan is planned to be opened in December 2016 and will continue to be developed during the first half of 2017. The facility will include 100 flexible semi-fast 22 kW charging stations in addition to two fast-charging stations with support for both the CHAdeMO and CCS standard chargers. A unique battery solution will balance phase distortions and reduce peaks in the power grid, meaning that EVs receive more power at every single charge point. The building will be energy efficient, with a power control to give more power for EV charging. The installation is prepared for “vehicle to grid,” meaning that power can be transferred both to and from the batteries of the charging cars. In this way, the batteries of the cars can also be used to balance the system in the future.
Fortum is a leading clean energy company which employs some 8,000 professionals in the Nordic and the Baltic countries, Russia, Poland and India. Its aim is to provide customers with electricity, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. A total of 64 percent of its electricity generation is already CO2 free and in 2015 it achieved sales of 3.5 billion euros.
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