EV Charging Station Balancing & Flexibility pilot project

The smart energy solutions company Ignitis and the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid together with the Estonian start-up Fusebox have started implementing the first pilot project in our country, during which the possibilities of using the electric car charging station network for electricity system balancing, stability and security will be evaluated.

EV charging network is seen as an important resource of flexibility not only for balancing the electricity grid but also as means to support a variety of other grid services.

EV charging infrastructure utilization is important for the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to manage services like Bandwidth management, Congestion or voltage management and supports the Transmission Network Operator’s (TNO) aim to ensure grid balance, frequency containment and restoration and other services.

During the pilot project, two Ignitis ON charging network stations – 50kW and 22kW – will be connected to the Fusebox virtual power system remotely. At that time, one electric car will be charged at the above-mentioned stations, and during this process, the charging power will be reduced by set increments. The purpose of the test is to determine how the charging power can be reliably and stably reduced in the event of such a demand in the grid.

As of May 2022 a number of connection and physical dynamic load balancing (DLM) tests have been performed with two charger models – Ensto and Efacec. It has been identified that standardized approach to implementing DLM actions does not work and specific algorithm had to be found for Ensto and Efacec models. In general, both charger models prove to be able to perform DLM operations which is important for future development of the charging infrastructure in Lithuania and implementation of demand aggregation capacities and services.

Want to know more? Contact our Head of Innovation Karolis Mirinavičius – [email protected]