© Jorge Láscar
© Jorge Láscar

Pilot projects to trial vehicle-to-grid technology

The SEEV4-City project aims to support the energy infrastructure through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging by using electric vehicle batteries (EVB) as short-term storage for renewable energy.

Cenex – the UK’s first centre of excellence for low-carbon technologies – will lead the SEEV4-City project to support the transition to a low-carbon economy in European cities by combining electric transport, renewable energy, and smart energy management.

Working with 13 international partners, Cenex will co-ordinate the SEEV4-City operational pilots in five European cities including, Leicester/Loughborough, UK; Kortrijk, Belgium; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; and Oslo, Norway.

The project aims to: avoid 150 tonnes of CO2 annually across the operational pilots; obtain a 25% increase in energy autonomy across the work packages; and save €100m on grid investment over 100 years.

The project is part-funded by the EU’s Interreg North Sea Region Programme (INSRP).

Sarah Holsen, project advisor at the Joint Secretariat for the INSRP, said: “We are pleased to be supporting the partners of the SEEV4-City project in making the business case for Electric Vehicles (EV) to provide clean travel, whilst also developing energy infrastructure in Europe’s cities.

“It is our hope that the project yields results that will transform how EVs, smart ICT systems, and big data can work together to manage and direct energy flows in support of a low carbon economy.”

The SEEV4-City pilot partners include Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Amsterdam Arena, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, the European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (AVERE), the POLIS network of European cities and regions working to develop innovative technologies and policies for local transport, Leicester City Council, Northumbria University, Oslo City Council, and German Electric vehicle charging station, e8energy.