Hyundai Motor Group, LG and Next Kraftwerke supply control reserve from EVs in Amprion's grid area
After successful prequalification by the transmission system operator Amprion, eight charging stations and eight Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles have delivered secondary control reserve into Amprion's control area. The project – initiated by Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics and Next Kraftwerke – demonstrates that small assets and vehicle-to-grid can also make an important contribution to the provision of balancing power and thus to the stabilization of the power grid in Germany.
The goal of the cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics and Next Kraftwerke was to prequalify Hyundai Motor Group's EVs and provide secondary control reserve. Prequalification is the prerequisite for plants – or as in this case EVs and charging stations – to participate in the provision of balancing power. In the prequalification process, the assets proved their technical suitability in advance. "The necessary and rapid expansion of renewables is accompanied by an increased demand for flexibility potential. As a transmission system operator, we are very interested in new approaches and technologies to be able to leverage these potentials. That's why we are delighted with the success of the project as a positive example of intelligent sector coupling," explains Markus Stobrawe, Head of Energy Market and System Balancing from Amprion.
Hyundai Motor Group provided eight Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles for the project. The vehicles and charging stations located at the Hyundai Motor site in Offenbach are grouped together in a sub-pool for the provision of secondary control reserve. This sub-pool is integrated in the Next Kraftwerke Virtual Power Plant. LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group inform Next Kraftwerke about the available amount of control reserve. Next Kraftwerke provides this quantity to the transmission system operator and controls the sub-pool in the event of an aFRR-activation from Amprion. The cooperation partners LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group are responsible for the technology and control of the sub-pool.
LG Electronics has developed an app to accurately forecast when the vehicles will be at the charging station and thus available for control reserve. Hyundai employees enter the charging times of the EVs into the app. In addition, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group developed a cloud-based platform that pre-aggregates the assets as a sub-pool and coordinates the provision of balancing power. Charging or discharging of the vehicle storage in the event of a control energy activation is controlled by a bidirectional charging station connected to a gateway. On a household level, Wallboxes and LG ESS home 10 storage units will complement the sub-pool. The wallboxes and home storages have already proven that they can technically fulfil the prequalification.
With this project, Next Kraftwerke is continuing its efforts to contribute to the stabilization of the power grid with the flexibility of smaller assets. In terms of its versatile benefits, the project is a first. "In collaboration with our cooperation partners, we have prequalified a fleet of vehicles from Hyundai Motor Group for secondary control reserve, which has the highest technical requirements of all control reserve products. It has been proven that it is possible to provide balancing power from electric vehicles without restricting the usability of the vehicle," says Alexander Krautz, Head of Business Development at Next Kraftwerke.
Based on the proven concept, additional locations and larger vehicle fleets can be easily and cost-effectively integrated into the pool. Hyundai Motor Group also expects the project to help its V2G technology contribute to a greener society as EVs become a means to overcome grid instability as new and renewable energy becomes more commonplace. The initiative will also maximize benefits to EV customers by reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).
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