Endesa to provide real-time data on electric vehicles charging

The project will develop the necessary technology, solutions and services to permit constant interaction between drivers, their energy suppliers and the smart grid.

Endesa’s contribution focuses on the development of communication infrastructure with the energy supplier, recharge control and system tariffs.

ENDESA is committed to developing a sustainable transport policy based on electric vehicles as a key element in combating climate change, a cornerstone of the company’s Sustainability Strategic Plan 2008-2012.

Endesa has become part of the ELVIRE project (Electric Vehicle Communication to Infrastructure, Road Services and Electricity Supply), the aim of which is to develop the necessary technology, solutions and services to permit constant interaction between electric car drivers, their energy suppliers and the smart grid. Endesa is the only Spanish company involved in this consortium of 13 companies, led by Continental and including SAP, Better Place, Renault and Volkswagen. The ELVIRE project has a budget of approximately Euro 10 million over 3 years.

The ELVIRE project aims to dispel electric vehicle users’ concerns about being left with flat batteries before the end of their journey. The project will therefore involve designing and rolling out all the necessary systems enabling users to visualise in real time on a console/control panel inside their electric cars the state of their batteries, how far they can travel with the power they have left, where the nearest charging points or charging points on their route are located, which of these points are available, how much charging time is needed to reach their destination, which charging points are the cheapest, etc.

Effective communication between users and their electric vehicles, between vehicles and service providers, and between service providers and electricity suppliers, in this case Endesa, will be needed to obtain and process all this information.

As a result, a consumer-oriented approach is proposed, with the development of a service platform that optimises communication between users and their electric vehicles. The project will include the following stages:

Identification of different types of electric vehicle use based on real scenarios and business models studied.

Identification and development of off-board communication infrastructures and services required in the above cases.

Development of prototypes required for on-board communication.

Testing and verification of systems by integrating them into a prototype for demonstration purposes.

Endesa is actively involved in the different tasks of the project, providing its vision as a leading company in the electricity sector and feeding in the knowledge gained through other strategic projects with electric vehicles. Its main contribution relates to the solutions proposed for the development of communication infrastructure with the energy supplier, recharge control and system tariffs by analysing the various scenarios that could be encountered, taking safety and interoperability into account.

Development of the electric vehicle at Endesa

Development of a sustainable transport policy based on electric vehicles as a key element in the fight against climate change is a cornerstone of Endesa’s Sustainability Strategic Plan 2008-2012. In Spain, the company is involved in rolling out electric mobility projects (MOVELE project) in Madrid and Barcelona, and in the main technological initiatives (Cenit VERDE, DER22@ and REVE -Regulación Eólica con Vehículos Eléctricos projects).

It also recently entered into agreements with Telefónica to use its telephone boxes for charging vehicles; with Cepsa to install charging points at its filling stations; with Renault-Nissan; and with BERGE, the leading vehicle importer in the Iberian Peninsula, which also has electric vehicles in its portfolio. In Europe, Endesa is the only Spanish company involved in the ELVIRE consortium, which has been launched, and in the G4V consortium, which aims to evaluate the large-scale impact of the introduction of the electric vehicle on the electricity grid infrastructure.

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