Origin Energy Electric Vehicles Smart Charging Trial
- $838k Funded by ARENA
- $2.92m Total project cost
Summary
A large-scale trial to demonstrate the use of smart chargers to manage residential and fleet electric vehicle (EV) charging.
Need
The Origin Energy Electric Vehicles Smart Charging Trial acknowledges that as the uptake of EVs increases, it will be important to manage and orchestrate vehicle charging to avoid potentially costly impacts on peak demand, associated network charges and grid security issues. Large-scale trials to demonstrate charge management, understand the economics, and consumer reactions have not been undertaken in Australia.
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Report: Origin Energy Electric Vehicles Smart Charging Trial Lessons Learnt 2
This report contains key learnings related to the ongoing Origin Energy Smart Charging Trial.
Report: Origin EV Smart Charging Trial
This report details lessons learnt from trial commencement in August 2020 to May 2021, and focuses on residential and commercial customer acquisition, installation and operation of chargers and baseline unmanaged charging behaviour.
Media Release: Accelerating the Uptake of Smart Chargers for Electric Vehicles
ARENA announced funding to Origin Energy Ltd to undertake an electric vehicle (EV) smart charging trial across the National Electricity Market.
Action
Origin will provide and install 150 free smart chargers to incentivise new and existing EV owners to participate in the trial. The smart chargers will be installed across residential, commercial and industrial premises of EV owners and fleets, where they will be remotely monitored and controlled via software. Origin will initially monitor charging behaviour when not controlled and then run tests to develop and refine offerings that could support the business case and path to commercialisation for smart charging infrastructure. The smart chargers will also be integrated into Origin’s existing platform for managing distributed energy.
Outcome
The Origin Energy Electric Vehicles Smart Charging Trial seeks to understand the benefits of and barriers to controlled smart charging, including improving our understanding of EV driver behaviour, willingness to accept third party control and what incentives are needed to encourage future participation in charge management programs.
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ARENAWIRE Blogs
Can electric vehicles accelerate the transition to renewables?
After a cautious start, Australians are buying electric vehicles in growing numbers as manufacturers release more models to the Australian market.
Smart electric vehicle chargers aim to minimise load on grid
A road test of smart electric vehicle chargers aims to minimise loads on the grid and maximise the use of renewable energy.
