E.ON launches cooperation with startup gridX and starts testing dynamic charging at its headquarters

Today, E.ON starts collaboration with Aachen-based company gridX. The new partnership is launched alongside a pilot at E.ON’s headquarters in Essen, which makes dynamic charging for electric cars possible.

An intelligent load management system installed in house not only ensures that there is always enough energy available for charging, but also that load peaks and thus additional operating costs are avoided. The solution used in the pilot project helps organizations to stay within the consumption limits that they have agreed with their grid operator despite a high number of charging points, and to avoid overloading the grid connection.

Karsten Wildberger, member of E.ON’s Board of Management, comments that: “Dynamic load management gives us an idea of the potential of innovative and digital solutions. It makes it possible for us to combine climate protection, cost savings and a high degree of customer benefits. Intelligent products like this one help to make electromobility even more attractive and drive the transformation of transportation.”

Dynamic load management means that the energy directed to the charging points varies. The available energy is dynamically divided between the charging points and a factor that is taken into consideration with load management. Thus, for example, if consumption in the building drops, more e-cars can be charged at the same time or at a greater charging capacity. This means that the individual charge operations are optimised and the full extent of the available power capacity is used – practically in real time.

This solution from E.ON and the startup gridX shows great potential: about eight times as many vehicles can be charged during office hours compared to when charging stations are used in the conventional way. At the same time, however, the costs involved in dynamic load management are only a fraction of those that would arise if the grid connection were expanded. Depending on the specific application, they pay for themselves within the first year.

“Dynamic load management lays the foundation for the future of electric mobility. With our solution for load management, the charging infrastructure can be expanded nationwide without the need for expensive grid expansion. Dynamic load management is useful for both small and large sites. The more charging stations there are in operation, the greater the cost savings. Customer orientation and flexibility are therefore our most important target criteria in load management”, says David Balensiefen, Managing Director and founder of gridX GmbH.

The project at Brüsseler Platz in Essen, initiated by E.ON Innovation, starts with immediate effect and will gradually be expanded to include more than 60 charging points. Looking forward, E.ON headquarters will also be used for piloting and testing other innovative dynamic load management functions. "In the next step, a battery storage system and the energy generated on- for the building from combined heat and power and photovoltaic systems will be included in load management in order to enable as many charging operations as possible," says Mark Ritzmann, Managing Director at E.ON Group innovation.

The more than 60 charging points at E.ON headquarters represent one of the biggest charging networks for visitors and employees in Essen. With many employees already driving e-cars, it will be expanded in the near future.

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