Volvo and announced its new division - Volvo Cars Energy Solutions which will offer energy storage and charging-related technologies and services which form the connective tissue between our cars, our customers’ lives, the efficient use of energy and society at large.
The fully electric EX90 SUV, will be the first Volvo car equipped with all the necessary hardware and (over time) software to enable bi-directional charging and direct energy storage from solar.
Over time, Volvo anticipates that Volvo Cars Energy Solutions will generate significant new revenues from energy-related products and services every year, as well as new products not previously offered by Volvo Cars. In doing so, Energy Solutions is set to add value to our core business, our customers’ daily lives and the environment.
Together with Göteborg Energi Nät AB, the local grid company in the Swedish hometown of Gothenburg, the company will launch the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot programmes that aims to test such V2G technologies on the local energy grid and in a home environment with real customers.
The pilot deliberately uses a low-cost AC wallbox because it will help to accelerate widespread adoption of the technology.
The pilot project not only aims to gain acceptance from a grid company and to demonstrate to other grid companies that V2G programmes can provide tangible benefits, but to create a testing arena for new technologies that are central to the future of Volvo Cars outside our labs.
“With bi-directional charging, you can use your car battery as an extra energy supply, for example to provide power to your home, other electric devices or another electric Volvo car,” said Alexander Petrofski, Head - Volvo Cars Energy Solutions.
The next step would be to enable this feature all around Sweden, and hopefully that will pave the way for even broader acceptance of similar charging and energy storage services around Europe, he added
The V2G technology will allows customers to repurpose energy stored in the battery of their electric Volvo at a later stage.
V2G is one of those scenarios because it allows for energy to be delivered back to the power grid from the battery of an electric car when the demand for electricity is higher – against compensation.
“With the help of smart charging, you can charge your electric Volvo at the best available time from a sustainability and economy perspective,” said Petrofski.
The company stated that V2G is just one of the technologies that it envisions as part of that ecosystem offer under the Volvo Cars Energy Solutions banner. The company is also looking at vehicle-to-home (V2H) products that allow you to send back energy to your house and lower your energy bill, as well as vehicle-to-load (V2L) services whereby your electric car battery powers your camping gear or charges your electric bicycle.
Over time, Volvo anticipate Volvo Cars Energy Solutions will generate significant new revenues from energy-related products and services every year, as well as new products not previously offered by Volvo Cars. In doing so, Energy Solutions is set to add value to our core business, our customers’ daily lives and the environment.
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