The planned phase-out of nuclear power in 2022 and of coal-fired power generation in the 2030s, as well as the further expansion of renewable energies, jeopardise the security of supply of the electricity system. “Due to the enormous increase in electric vehicles and charging points, the challenges in power grid management are intensifying,” says Mark Kuprat, research associate, Department of Energy Distribution and High Voltage Technology. “Operating costs and grid management requirements are increasing. Companies are increasingly asking us for local load management to prevent overloading of electrical equipment.”
The goal of the researchers in the transfer project ismartC is an individualized charging management system that integrates private households. “People come home from work and load their vehicles after work at about the same time. The result is that the power grids are overloaded,” says Saman Amanpour, co-founder in the project. “Our process allows us to adjust loading times so that they can be automated to, for example, evening, night or early morning.”
The Integrated Smart Charging (ISC) system provides the flexibility needed for secure operation of power grids, reducing power purchase costs by up to 50 percent without limiting the mobility needs of electric vehicle users. The scientists Mark Kuprat, Saman Amanpour, Mikhail Ashkerov and Bastian Garnitz are developing a powerful IT infrastructure, a database management system, a smartphone application and the associated interfaces and server environments.
The project ismartC is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) within the EXIST Research Transfer (EFT) with 700,000 Euros. The project is located at the BTU Department of Energy Distribution and High Voltage Technology for the duration from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 and is supervised by the Project Management Organisation Jülich (PTJ).
The company ePHANT, which is currently in the process of being founded, is a spin-off of the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, which will transfer the many years of research work in the field of grid-serving and electricity market-based integration of the charging processes of electric vehicles into a commercial product. The spin-off emerged from the EXIST research transfer project Integrated Smart Charging (ISC). Founders Mark Kuprat, Saman Amanpour, Mikhail Ashkerov and Bastian Garnitz plan to launch ePHANT Mobility Solutions in early 2023.
