Nissan EV drivers invited to take part in Vehicle to Grid trial

COVID-19 UPDATE

Please complete the application form for a chance to join the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project. Please note that all timescales for the project including charger installations are subject to confirmation based on government advice in relation to the coronavirus.
Read our full COVID-19 Policy Document

If you…

Drive a Nissan EV with a battery capacity of 30kWh or more

Live in the Midlands, South West or South Wales

… then you could be eligible to trial a domestic Vehicle to Grid (V2G) smart EV charger worth £5,500.

By plugging in at specified times and putting energy back into the grid you could be rewarded, and the charger can be kept at the end of the trial for just £250.

Apply Now

Applications open for a chance to become a trial participant.

Note: The installation of the charger will be free, assuming the standard install criteria are met:

20m cable run from fuse board to charger location
Charger fixed to brick wall

If any groundworks are necessary these would be at extra cost to the participant

Recruitment process

Complete the application form to ensure you are eligible to participate in the trial.
If approved by CrowdCharge, the project installer will issue a V2G charger web survey for you to upload your property’s electrical layout information.
The installer and Western Power Distribution will then assess your application.
If approved, an installation day will be booked and installations will start from Autumn 2020.
When installation is complete, you’re a project participant!
Official start of participant trial is March 2021.

About the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project

The Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project is recruiting 100 people to trial state of the art domestic Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Smart Charging in order to help Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and others to understand how V2G charging could work with their electricity networks. This will allow DNOs to see what V2G looks like as a service, so it can be made available to everyone. By helping to balance variations in the national energy production and consumption, you can save money by buying energy when it is cheaper and greener. The project is effectively imitating the future.

The aims of the project

To explore and report on the impact of V2G charging on the low voltage (LV) electricity network, utilising end-user trial charging data and analysis.
To demonstrate, via modelling, to what extent V2G can assist with management of LV network demand.
To examine how sophisticated dynamic bi-directional energy services based on vehicle battery storage, from a variety of energy suppliers, may impact the LV infrastructure.
Provide recommendations of policy and commercial frameworks on V2G services.

The benefits of the project

Benefits for trial participants

Trial participants will receive a V2G charger worth approximately £5,500 to use for the duration of the trial. The charger ownership can be transferred to you at the end of the project for a transfer fee of just £250.
Active participants will be expected to earn a minimum reward of up to the monetary value of £120, available over the one year trial period from March 2021 and ending in March 2022.

Benefits for the industry

To help DNOs gain a better understanding of V2G by involving up to five different energy suppliers in the project.
To help energy suppliers to further their understanding of V2G energy services and how these impact the DNO.
To help to build a collaborative and cohesive market for all parties to operate.

Who are the project partners?

Western Power Distribution (WPD) is the project DNO
CrowdCharge is leading the project
DriveElectric is helping with recruitment of trial participants
EA Technology is modelling the network impact

Timescales

January 2020: Project start
June 2020: Recruitment commences
October 2020: Installations of chargers start
January 2021: 100 people to be recruited, energy suppliers allocated
March 2021: Customer trial starts
March 2022: Customer trial ends
June 2022: Project ends

All project timelines are subject to delay following COVID-19 outbreak and government advice. The project COVID-19 policy can be viewed here.

Trial applicants’ eligibility

Trial applicants:

Must be resident in the Western Power Distribution (WPD) licence area (Midlands, South West and South Wales) Check the area here.
Must have a Nissan EV with a battery capacity of at least 30kWh or more
Need to have the vehicle until the end of the trial (March 2022)
Need to have off-street parking
Will use the CrowdCharge mobile app to manage charging
May need to switch to a new energy tariff if required by their project assigned energy supplier*
May need to have a new smart meter put in / updated as part of the project participation*

Applications that are eligible will need to be authorised to have the charger installed by both the project installer and WPD. This is to make sure that both the electrical system of the property and the local electricity network are suitable for a V2G charger. If both these approvals are received, applicants are able to become a project participant.

* To be confirmed. We are in the process of finalising the trial propositions with several energy suppliers. We will share more information when these are confirmed.

Have your questions answered

View the FAQs

Apply now to be a trial participant

Apply Now

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Collaboration Partners

Western Power Distribution

Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid is the customer-facing brand of Electric Nation PoweredUp, a Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Network Innovation Allowance funded project. WPD’s collaboration partner in the project is CrowdCharge.

CrowdCharge, Harleyford Marina, Henley Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 2DX

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