Electric vehicles on show

EA Technology is a recognised UK authority on the impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on the electricity network, and a pioneer of smart solutions to mitigate this impact. Government bodies and major organisations in the low carbon vehicle sector seek advice and knowledge from EA Technology on all related aspects of EVs and the grid. EA Technology’s landmark My Electric Avenue project found that across Britain, 32% of local electricity networks (312,000 circuits) will require intervention when 40% - 70% of customers have EVs due to the increased demand; new demand control technology could reduce the cost of managing this by around £2.2 billion up to 2050; the vast majority of customers in the trials accepted having their EV charging remotely controlled and cycled. 

EA Technology is now a lead partner in Electric Nation, the world’s largest EV trial that will revolutionise domestic plug-in vehicle charging. By engaging up to 700 plug-in vehicle drivers in trials, the project is answering the challenge that when local electricity networks have 40% - 70% of households with electric vehicles, at least 32% of these networks across Britain will require intervention. Electric Nation is pioneering our electric future.

Electric Nation is the customer-facing brand of CarConnect, a Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Network Innovation Allowance funded project. WPD’s collaboration partners in the project are EA Technology, DriveElectric, Lucy Electric Gridkey and TRL.

The Electric Nation project will develop and deliver a number of smart charge solutions to support plug-in vehicle uptake on local electricity networks. A key outcome will be a tool that analyses plug-in vehicle related stress issues on networks and identifies the best economic solution. This ‘sliding scale’ of interventions will range from doing nothing to smart demand control, from taking energy from vehicles and putting it back into the grid, to traditional reinforcement of the local electricity network where there is no viable smart solution. 

The results of this project will be communicated to the GB energy/utility community, to UK government, to the automotive and plug-in vehicle infrastructure industry and to the general public. 

Dave Roberts, Director of EA Technology’s Smart Interventions business, commented “EA Technology’s first 50 years can be characterised by just one word: innovation. This is set to continue with Electric Nation, the largest electric vehicle project in the world. EA Technology produced one of the first prototype electric cars in the 1960s. It’s great to see Tesla here today as a prime example of the advancement of engineering and energy technologies, in support of a low carbon and sustainable future for us all.”