Mission: "Charging infrastructure for all"

E-mobility puts the power grid to the test

ChargeOne is a charge point operator that builds and operates EV charging infrastructure throughout Germany. This task brings several challenges, namely the high loads caused by EV charging on the grid and grid connection points (GCPs). The rapidly increasing demand for e-mobility is significantly changing the demands on grid infrastructure, which was not designed for such large and flexible e-mobility loads. In Germany, this situation is becoming ever more acute as the sluggish expansion of the grid means that German electricity grids and GCPs are not able to meet the requirements posed by rapid uptake in EVs. In addition, long wait times and high costs for the expansion of the GCP often lead to delays in the commissioning and construction of new charging parks. In some cases, the lagging state of the grid infrastructure also severely restricts, or unnecessarily hinders, the construction of charging infrastructure. ChargeOne must overcome these obstacles in order to successfully fulfill its mission of providing a charging infrastructure to everyone.

Dynamic load management for efficient EV charging

gridX built a solution for ChargeOne that is based on the IoT platform, XENON, and uses the IoT gateway, gridBox, as a local control unit. The central component of this solution is smart dynamic load management, which is made possible by the Grid Protector module. The loads generated by charging EVs at a location are monitored intelligently and controlled in such a way that neither fuses nor grid connection points are overloaded – even with a large number of charge points that charge simultaneously. The system can, for example, temporarily throttle charging processes or even prioritize them in order to make targeted use of the available capacity and always meet the mobility requirements of the drivers. The energy management system also takes into account other existing loads at the location (for example, from a building), which fluctuate heavily throughout the day, and adjusts the amount of available power for charging EVs accordingly. Dynamic load management from XENON makes local real-time monitoring of each individual location possible, allowing the available power to constantly be intelligently controlled and optimally utilized.

Efficient and risk-free operation of large charging parks 

By using gridX’s technology for smart dynamic load management, ChargeOne can build and operate more scalable charging infrastructure with the same grid requirements in less time. This allows the company to implement up to five times more charge points at a site, even before local adjustments to the grid infrastructure – if necessary at all – are made. Overall, by using dynamic load management, the long-established company reduces time-consuming and cost-intensive grid expansions to a minimum. This is possible because smart energy management allows loads and energy flows to be controlled in real time and guarantees effective overload protection. Even if a charging site is heavily utilized and the associated load peaks are high, overloads at the grid connection point and sub-distribution points, which would otherwise restrict the mobility of electric car drivers, are constantly avoided. In a nine-month phase after the beginning of the partnership in late 2022, ChargeOne used gridX technology to boost the expansion of the charging infrastructure and implement over 1,000 charge points in various use cases and for a wide range of customers and connect them to XENON.