THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - MAY 2018
Final Word 16
Changing the formula
The moving energy landscape is
changing things for all of us,
sometimes for the better. I recently
had the pleasure of attending a
press visit to attend a Formula-E
Championship race in Rome, Italy.
Not so long ago, it would have been
impossible for a journalist in the power
and energy field to justify such a trip
but the whole energy transition is seeing
a cross-pollination of technologies
and overlap of industry sectors that
could not have been anticipated just a
few years ago.
While the electricity sector is making
tremendous progress in decarbonisation,
there is much to be done
in transport. The realisation that decarbonisation
of transport will be
crucial in meeting carbon emission
targets is seeing the move to electric
vehicles gain momentum. It is a trend
that presents new opportunities for
utilities.
Tom Harper is Director of UK
Utilities at global management consulting
firm A. T. Kearney and also
runs a team within the company called
Helios. Speaking during a recent
webinar on electricity storage and
battery vehicles, he said: “There’s
been a huge convergence of previously
isolated industries. Prior to today,
there has been a very nice segregation
of oil and gas, utilities, and the
automotive sector. But when you look
at the disruptive forces on all of those
industries, it drags you straight into
the world of electrification.”
He noted that by 2030 in the UK there
would be more generating capacity
available from electric vehicles than
from the planned Hinkley Point C
nuclear power station. It is an interesting
development that could offer new
models for electric utilities.
“Within electric vehicles, you have
a pre-financed asset, said Harper. “If
you’re looking for a way of financing
and enabling energy storage at scale…
right now it’s one of the most economically
viable ways of large corporates
getting access to, and harnessing,
the value of stored energy.”
There is a growing interest in the
ability of vehicles to provide power
back to the grid. According to Harper,
vehicle-to-grid (V2G) could provide
a new “value pool” for utilities to
interact with customers and generate
revenue. He estimates it could generate
£350-1500 per year per vehicle in
cash by aggregating and trading
electric vehicle loads at times of peak
demand on the power exchange
markets.
Indeed utilities are already gearing
up to seize the opportunity. Last month
alone saw several significant announcements
by major electricity
companies.
UK energy company OVO unveiled
a range of products that, together with
its intelligent platform VCharge, will
form the components of a distributed,
domestic energy system for the future.
The range includes what it claims to
be the world’s first widely available,
domestic bi-directional vehicle-togrid
charger to enable drivers to also
sell surplus energy from their electric
vehicle batteries back to the electricity
grid.
OVO CEO and Founder Stephen
Fitzpatrick said: “Renewable energy
and electric vehicles are perfect
partners for the 21st Century. Today
we’re launching the world’s first
widely available vehicle-to-grid
charger, helping to solve one of the
biggest challenges facing the energy
sector. We’re enabling thousands of
EV batteries to help balance the grid
in times of peak demand, more renewable
energy to come onto the system,
and households to reduce their electricity
bills.
Other big players also announced
expansion of their EV activities.
Swedish utility Vattenfall last month
created a new business unit in a drive
to expand its EV charging network in
Northwest Europe and become a
leader in the field in the next five
years.
The company already has 8800
charging points at home, in Germany
and in the Netherlands. It wants to also
grow in markets such as the UK,
France and Norway. Vattenfall has
launched a programme to electrify its
own fleet of 3500 vehicles. As part of
it, it will use EVs or hybrid-cars by
2022.
Commenting on the plan, Tomas
Bjoernsson, head of the new E-mobility
unit said: “From now on we expect
our charging network to double in size
every year in order meet a sharp increase
in electric vehicle growth.” He
added that the company aims to reach
SEK 1 billion ($119 million) in revenue
in five years.
Also in April, German utility E.On
said it is expanding its electro-mobility
business internationally and intensifying
competition in Norway, one of
the world’s leading markets for electric
vehicles. The company is launching a
nationwide product campaign to promote
its mobility offerings for private
customers, companies, and local authorities.
It said its goal is to profit from
the rapidly growing market and to
establish itself as a leading provider of
charging solutions in the Nordic
countries.
The whole V2G movement and increasing
electrification also means
new markets opportunities for equipment
manufacturers.
ABB, which hosted the Rome press
trip as a new sponsor of Formula-E,
sees a number of synergies.
Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB
Group told TEI Times: “For electric
mobility success, you need four things:
you need the vehicle; the charging;
grid reinforcement to make sure
charging does not lead to blackouts;
and if you want to have a real sustainable
chain, you need to integrate renewables
to really remove the carbon.
ABB is No. 1 in three of these activities.
We are No. 1 in fast charging for
cars, No. 1 in the power grid business
and No. 1 in integrating renewables.
And we have a firm ambition to drive
this in the future. So for me, e-mobility
is much more than the charging
station. It is a demand pattern that has
significant impact on the topology of
the grid.”
Speaking from the pit lanes in Rome,
Frank Duggan, President Region Europe
and Member of the Group Executive
Committee of ABB Ltd,
Switzerland, said: “It aligns with ABB
on a number of levels. Firstly, the
whole area of e-mobility and e-cars
– we are the biggest manufacturer of
the fastest chargers in the world. We
are also very strong in renewable energy.
And to go to e-mobility, you have
to use a lot of renewable energy. This
is all changing the dynamic of the grid,
which plays into our sweet spot.”
The sponsorship of Formula-E now
brings the company greater public
visibility. “As a B2B company, for a
company of our size, the general
public perhaps doesn’t know ABB’s
name as well as some of our competitors
who have consumables. So this
was a way of getting the brand more
into the eyes of the general public,”
said Duggan.
ABB is only four or five months into
a seven-year sponsorship of Formula-
E, so its relationship with the sport is
still in its infancy. But as a technology
company “always looking at innovation
and pushing boundaries”, Duggan
says it is taking a long term view on
what might come out of it in terms of
technology.
“This is different from Formula-1
because what we see here is a big live
laboratory for testing new technology…
some of the stuff they are doing
here in Formula-E, you will see end
up in everyday cars.
“Sometimes you develop something
and it really doesn’t inspire or hit the
world for many years. We developed
HVDC in the mid-1950s but its real
use and growth only really started in
the last 10 years. So I do believe in the
coming together of partners like this.
Formula-E is an opportunity to develop
new technologies and collaborate
with other partners.”
From a personal point of view, long
may the integration and overlap of
formerly distinctly separate industries
continue. Not only does it deliver new
and unexpected outcomes and opportunities
for industry players, it also
makes for somewhat more enjoyable
press trips – not that there is anything
wrong with visiting power plants and
equipment manufacturing facilities.
Junior Isles
Cartoon: jemsoar.com
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