How can the electricity grid make the energy transition possible? The solution is surprisingly simple: storage of renewable energy in electric cars. The last five years, project Smart Solar Charging developed a citywide network of 500 special charging stations and nowadays 175 electric shared cars. The bidirectional charging stations can charge and discharge so energy…

In the presence of State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven, Alderman Eelco Eerenberg and Representative Huib van Essen, Hyundai signed an agreement this morning with strategic partners to make Utrecht the first region in the world with a bidirectional ecosystem. In this ecosystem, the batteries of electric shared cars are used for storage of sustainable energy…

For their paper The Impact of Transitioning to Shared Electric Vehicles on Grid Congestion and Management Nico Brinkel, Tarek Alskaif en Wilfried van Sark received a Best Paper Award at the international Conference on Smart Energy Systems and Technologies (SEST). In this paper, the scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University compare the profiles of shared electric…

Smart Solar Charging was selected as one of five most innovative best practices in Europe of sustainable policy according to the Regiostars Awards organized by the European Commission. Starting from the Utrecht Region in The Netherlands, Smart Solar Charging develops and expands this sustainable energy system of tomorrow.

Regiostars Awards is a prize for the most innovative best practices in Europe. Hereby the European Commission aims to inspire others. Of 206 submitted projects divided over five categories, Smart Solar Charging is picked as one of twenty-five finalists. Smart Solar Charging is a bidirectional charging system for electric cars. Car batteries can either charge…

One of the three nominees for the Pathways to Sustainability Award is Smart Solar Charging, which accelerates the energy transition by contributing to energy neutral districts, cities and regions. The project is highly interdisciplinary, involves stakeholders intensively in co-creating the agenda and the activities and is expected to have great societal impact. Pathways to Sustainability Award Smart Solar Charging, NATURVATION and…

What is the impact of rapid fluctuations in electricity generation of solar panels induced by passing clouds on the voltage levels in the power grid? What is the potential role of electric vehicles in this system? The paper Impact of rapid PV fluctuations on power quality in the low-voltage grid and mitigation strategies using electric…

In the film Smart Solar Charging – Sustainable energy available anytime project partners explain how. What sustainable energy system will there be in the future? Smart Solar Charging in the Dutch city of Utrecht is a unique solution for the energy transition through storage of sustainable energy in car batteries. Discover how with project partners…

Living lab brings together innovative research and entrepreneurship Utrecht – With thirty-two brand new Smart Solar Charging vehicle charging points, the Utrecht Science Park is the world’s first campus that features bidirectional charging according to the new open ISO 15118 standard. This charging system can both charge and discharge electric cars, thus enabling them to…

World premiere for Renault and We Drive Solar   UTRECHT – Today His Majesty King Willem-Alexander launched a new durable energy and mobility ecosystem in Utrecht, developed by We Drive Solar, partnered with Renault. The system deploys shared electric Renault ZOE cars and charging stations, enabling the Renault ZOE to both charge and discharge. Battery…