EV hauliers can make money from their charging infrastructure

Connected Energy said companies could “easily” monetise their chargers by relying on National Grid incentives to reduce demand during peak periods.

The battery energy storage business said schemes such as the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) aimed to encourage firms to help flatten out spikes across the electricity network and reduce the risk of blackouts.

The increase in EV chargers is adding significant load to the grid and this will only grow as more high-capacity chargers are deployed to service HGVs and buses.

But the DFS pays companies a bonus for using less energy than usual at a particular time.

Connected Energy said pairing a charger to a battery energy storage system (BESS) would mean fleets could still charge their EVs while also reducing the amount of grid energy they consume during peak periods.

“This could be a real game-changer for fleets,” said Nigel Dent, head of sales at leading BESS provider Connected Energy.

“The modelling we’ve already seen for truck depots and HGV service centres indicates that companies could earn up to £15,000 a year by using a BESS to participate in DFS and other schemes.”

DFS runs through the winter with National Grid designating at least 12 periods of time known as events, when it asks participants to stop drawing energy from the network.

Each event can last up to four hours, but a business doesn’t have to participate for the full duration and the minimum length is 30 minutes per event.

They are then paid for the length of time they take part and the amount by which their energy consumption is reduced.

“Commercial fleet operators and truck dealerships are going to have to install high-capacity charging stations to support the transition to electric vans and HGVs,” added Dent.

“By pairing them with a BESS and taking part in these flexibility initiatives, they can transform this from a necessary expense into a return on investment.”