Elia Successfully Demonstrates TSO-visible EV Charging in Collaboration With Energy Web and BMW Group
Berlin, Germany, and Zug, Switzerland, 27 January 2022 — Elia Group, the Belgian and German Transmission Service Operator (TSO), in collaboration with Energy Web, the non-profit building operating systems for energy grids, and BMW Group, has successfully demonstrated a TSO-visible EV charging session, laying the groundwork for improved EV charging, including renewable energy-only charging and fast supplier switching. In a demonstration at a public, fast-charging charge point from LamA in Berlin, Felix Kohlbrenner, research project manager at BMW Group, charged a BMW EV using this new solution, where the vehicle’s digital identity was securely shared with Elia. He also spoke with Helen Burgess from Elia about the solution and what it means for the future of EV charging. You can watch the full demonstration here:
The successful demonstration builds on Elia’s ongoing work with Energy Web on the E-Mobility Dashboard, an open platform designed to simplify the identification of EVs and charge points which enables all parties to receive trustworthy, secure data through Energy Web e-roaming hub, the Open Charging Network. This dramatically simplifies the process of data exchange between EV owners and participants of the energy sector, such as TSOs, energy suppliers, and flexible service providers. Typically, when an EV is charged, the local grid operator receives aggregated data on charging without receiving specifics on the individual vehicle. The same identities can be used to facilitate seamless payments with other market players, eliminating inefficiencies and oversharing of personal data.
Energy Web’s operating system enables digital identities to be assigned to EVs and stored on the vehicles’ digital wallets. This enables the vehicle to securely share its identity with the TSO without having to share the driver’s identity. The demonstration showcases how more comprehensive and secure visibility can be achieved between participants in the charging process, as increasing the visibility of different assets in the system is fundamental to improving EV charging and enables future solutions including charging using 100% renewable energy.
“By assigning digital identities to EVs using Energy Web’s blockchain-based operating system, TSOs can finally benefit from visibility at the device level which they have never had before”, said Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web. “EV users benefit too — in the future, drivers will have their vehicle recognized automatically wherever they are charging and whichever operator they charge with, and will be able to receive a guarantee that they charged using energy generated exclusively from renewable sources.”
“Thanks to BMW Group for being involved with this exciting demonstration, a world-first for TSO-visible electric vehicle charging”, said Kai Schmied from Elia. “We’re looking forward to furthering our work with Energy Web on these cutting-edge charging solutions. Today, EV charging processes are not individually captured which prevents an active management of charging processes. Only with visibility on individual charging processes as well as a secure identification of involved participants, grid operators can enable flexibility use cases or offer new services such as supplier switching at the charging station’’.
About Energy Web
Energy Web is a global, member-driven non-profit accelerating the low-carbon, customer-centric energy transition by unleashing the potential of open-source, digital technologies. Our Energy Web Decentralized Operating System (EW-DOS) enables any energy asset, owned by any customer, to participate in any energy market. The Energy Web Chain — the world’s first enterprise-grade, public blockchain tailored to the energy sector — anchors the EW-DOS tech stack. The Energy Web ecosystem comprises leading utilities, grid operators, renewable energy developers, corporate energy buyers, IoT / telecom leaders, and others.
