Learn how Kitu can help you unlock the full potential of your electric fleet and contribute to a more sustainable energy future at this year’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo! Find details and schedule a meeting with us here: ACT 2023 Information.
"An electric vehicle is a battery with wheels." That's the realization of many drivers, fleets, and utilities as EV infrastructure continues to increase strain on the US electric grid. Of course, the reality is more complex once considering the additional mobility variables, but many organizations are pursuing Vehicle to Grid (V2G) as a means to improve the ROI of electric transportation, solve critical grid reliability challenges, and more.
However, as many have discovered, performing V2G is not as simple as pushing energy in a different direction. For starters, the electrical grid has been implemented over decades with careful planning as to where energy is generated, how it is measured, as well as numerous (often overlooked) power quality variables such as frequency, reactive power, and voltage that are carefully monitored and controlled.
Luckily, as regulators across the country put in place a framework for V2G, the transportation industry is not uniquely facing these challenges nor are they the first to encounter them. Many of the challenges to harnessing the energy stored within a “battery with wheels” have already been solved by their immobile counterparts over the last 10 years.
The rest of the consumer energy ecosystem that wishes to push power back to the grid already utilizes smart inverter profiles that allow grid operators to manage these critical power quality variables. This, inherently introduces the capability of Primacy, otherwise known as control sharing. This allows for the local operator, service providers, and grid operators to stack multiple valuable use cases for each vehicle while maintaining a sustainable, reliable interconnection with the grid.
If you are an EV operator, manufacturer, or service provider, you may be asking one or all of the following questions about V2G:
“Do we have enough downtime in our fleet’s charging cycle to participate?”
“What impact will this have on the lifecycle of our batteries?”
“How much is the energy stored in a vehicle worth and how do I get paid for it?
At Kitu Systems, we understand these complex challenges facing the transportation industry and the electric grid when it comes to V2G implementation. In our new blog series, Navigating Vehicle to Grid, we will be highlighting similar V2G questions and exploring their solutions through our expertise in software-defined power solutions and grid-edge intelligence. Our team of experts can help you navigate the regulatory landscape, design, and the implementation of V2G solutions that work for your fleet or organization and help you maximize the value of your electric vehicle assets. Our platform is designed to provide the foundation for new energy networks that are intelligent, resilient, secure, and scalable. For fleet operators, EVSE manufacturers, and fleet service providers, understanding the implications of V2G is essential in order to make informed decisions about the future of their fleets and their role in the energy transition.
If you’d like to learn more about how Kitu can help you unlock the full potential of your electric fleet and contribute to a more sustainable energy future, make sure to connect with us at this year’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo! Find details and schedule a meeting with us here: ACT 2023 Information.
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