More electric and hybrid cars calls for ‘smarter’ charging infrastructure.
In recent years, the number of electric vehicles (EV) has experienced a significant growth. A record number of Danish households go green when choosing the next family car.
This is great news supporting both the climate as well as the ambitious national 2030 targets. However, more electric and hybrid vehicles calls for matching charging infrastructure to meet the new demands – something that both has to be efficient and “smart” in order to shift the charging load from peak hours to periods that supports integration of green energy.
These challenges are among the topics in the new EUDP funded project – Frederiksberg Urban Smart Electro-mobility (FUSE) that collects knowledge and experiences from a wide range of partners in the Danish EV industry.
“Before scaling up the national charging infrastructure we must proactively ensure that such infrastructure is “smart from the start” and can communicate with the power system to avoid overloading the local grid while supporting the integration of renewables through smart charging,” says Project Manager and Senior Researcher Peter Bach Andersen, DTU.
Frederiksberg Municipality serves as a beacon due to its mixed urban composition exhibiting both apartments and detached housing as well as its ambitious goals with regard to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Mayor Simon Aggesen (K) states:
"Frederiksberg aims to be the leading electric vehicle city of Denmark. This calls for innovation, smart planning and the involvement/contribution of everyone (all stakeholders) with knowledge (and experience) in the field to come together, - and that is the reason why we are engaging in this project."
Senior advisor Jeppe Juul of Green Transition Denmark welcomes the project and its agenda:
"It is widely acknowledged that easy access to, and cost effective charging is pivotal to consumers when contemplating whether to buy an electric vehicle (or not). Having a wide range of stakeholders come together in research and development on the future electric charging infrastructure is of great importance."
DTU and Danish EV Alliance have previously found that one million electric vehicles in Denmark by 2030 requires investments of 3-4 billion DKK corresponding to 25,000-30,000 charging stations (charge points) in public and semi-public spaces. This is 10 times the volume of today – but what is the optimal location and what are the requirements?
The project partners will conduct thorough test and demonstration in Frederiksberg with the purpose of presenting a national framework for EV chargers that will enable easy and convenient charging for all Danish urban areas. Testing new solutions in a city of various consumer profiles will secure the most effective charging infrastructure allowing an increasing number of EVs in Danish urban areas going forward.