This project complements Alfen’s previous assignments for ElaadNL consisting of Alfen’s EV charging equipment, load balancing charging plaza and substation for the connection to the grid. Together with the new storage facility, this integrated system provides ElaadNL with full testing capabilities around smart EV charging.
ElaadNL recently created a test site at its headquarters in Arnhem consisting of all types of AC charging stations from multiple suppliers that are present in the public domain in the Netherlands.
At this test site, EV manufacturers, grid operators and ElaadNL can test the functionality of EVs in combination with various charging stations, including power quality effects and smart charging options.
The test site was officially opened by Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, on April 18th, 2018. The storage system provided by Alfen has a capacity of 138kWh and will support research on power quality challenges and the usability of storage for balancing energy production and demand on the energy markets. In addition, the system will be used to optimize the charging of EVs in relation to the available grid capacity.
Onoph Caron, Managing Director of ElaadNL said, “With the increasing penetration of electric vehicles we expect more concentrated peak demand for electricity. This will have an increasing impact on the electricity grid, which can be mitigated through the deployment of smart charging and energy storage. With the storage system, we can now simulate and experiment with these possibilities at our own testing ground for EV charging in Arnhem.”
Richard Jongsma, Commercial Director at Alfen, added, “As partners in the Living Lab Smart Charging, ElaadNL and Alfen prepare the grid for a future of more decentralized renewable energy generation and consumption as a result of a higher penetration of EVs. The penetration of EVs in the Netherlands is amongst the highest in Europe and, as such, we can gain valuable experience that can be leveraged throughout the country as well as internationally.”
