Kaluza launches combined flexibility service with WPD

Kaluza is providing Western Power Distribution with a single, combined flexibility service using domestic storage and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) devices in what it claims is an industry first.

As part of the network operator’s IntraFlex project, Kaluza is adding domestic electric vehicle (EV) smart charging and V2G optimisation in addition to the flexibility service it already provides to WPD through the optimisation of batteries from Sonnen.

The platform’s previous work with V2G technology has been to optimise it for flexibility at a national level for the wholesale market. Kaluza says this service will provide flexibility at a local level.

Conor Maher-McWilliams, Kaluza’s head of flexibility, explained to Utility Week that the service provides a scalable approach across multiple device types.

“What we are doing here is demonstrating a framework and a platform approach that can take lots of different types of flexibility in people’s homes and turn that into something valuable for the network.

“Rather than one battery providing one service direct to a DNO, we have got batteries, V2G chargepoints and EV smart chargers and they are all coming together to form, in the eyes of the network, one flexibility asset that they can call on”, he said.

The fully automated service will shift EV charging away from times of high demand, so the devices import energy when it is cheapest and greenest for customers and the grid. In addition, the V2G chargers and batteries will support the network with available export capacity to help the grid during high peaks in demand.

Furthermore, Kaluza says the announcement marks a milestone for domestic V2G chargers as it harnesses their collective power to provide local flexibility for the first time.

The platform will integrate with the NODES marketplace which provides ‘ShortFlex’ trading, where flexibility is traded much closer to real time than the standard week or month-ahead timeframes, providing more accurate forecasting.

Maher-McWilliams added: “Every day we take a step closer to realising a smarter energy system, but the launch of this service is a huge leap forward. While flexible, low-carbon technologies become increasingly prevalent in people’s homes, there hasn’t been an effective way of coordinating charging across different types of devices to support grid balancing. This service changes that and will enable truly scalable flexibility so that millions of devices can store green and affordable energy in the future.

“Integrating domestic V2G into this service is in itself an industry triumph. It demonstrates V2G’s versatile value in boosting grid resilience as part of a diverse flexibility offering, while enabling customers to buy and sell their own renewable energy.

“We look forward to our continued collaboration with WPD and NODES as we bring the promise of flexibility to life with cutting edge technology.”

Roger Hey, DSO systems and projects manager at WPD, said: “Our IntraFlex project and the work Kaluza and NODES are doing are bringing tomorrow’s world to us today. For us as a network operator, this project enables us to understand how all of these technologies will work together. For customers it brings forward the prospect of cleaner and cheaper energy in a way that can be replicated across the country.”