Hitachi Europe Ltd, Mitsubishi Motors and Engie have demonstrated a pioneering project to explore the potential for EVs to act as a means of energy storage for an office building. For this demonstration, the consortium linked the first vehicle to everything (V2X) charger to Engie’s office building in Zaandam.
Hitachi's V2X charger is the first recharger that cannot only recharge an electric car but can also discharge the energy back into the building/grid providing different flexibilities including kW, DeltakW, kWh and VAR. Moreover, it is possible to connect solar panels and external storage directly to the recharger, allowing a much more efficient electricity supply to buildings. With buildings and transport together accounting for about 75 per cent of the total CO2 emissions of a service providing company, vehicle to building (V2B) technology can play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions around the world, whilst also helping buildings and companies to lower their energy costs.
Bringing together respective expertise, Mitsubishi Motors, Engie and Hitachi believe that an innovative vehicle to building (V2B) charging station can lead to more intelligent and efficient building energy management systems.
The charger is connected to the building's energy supply and, when the building generates more solar power than it needs, this excess energy is stored in the battery of the electric car. This energy can then be discharged back into the grid when appropriate. The car battery therefore acts as an energy storage source, and an emergency power supply.
Hitachi is providing its V2X charger, which enables bi-directional charging between the electric car battery and the building or electricity grid.