The EV-elocity project, involving engineers and researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick, has won a Collaborate to Innovate Award, from The Engineer magazine, in the Energy & Environment category.

The Awards celebrate the very best engineering collaborations and innovations across the UK.

EV-elocity is a research and development project looking at increasing the uptake of electric vehicles by helping consumers to monetise their investment using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) innovation.

With vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, electric vehicle (EV) batteries could store electricity - when there is an abundant supply - to power homes and businesses and to discharge it back to the national grid when it is most needed.

Researchers at WMG developed a new model that quantified the degradation in the vehicle’s battery because of different EV charging strategies. The model highlighted that it was possible to manage the battery to mitigate much of the degradation and it was possible to even extend battery life through proper control and battery conditioning.

This enables better use of renewable energy, lower carbon footprint, less pressure on the grid and financial savings, which can help electric vehicle owners pay back their investment.

The EV-elocity project has deployed V2G chargers in a range of locations across England as part of large-scale trials to gain technical, customer and commercial insights on the emerging technology. It is also investigating if, and how, additional use from V2G charging may affect EV battery life.

Professor of Systems Modelling, James Marco, explains: “One of the unique aspects of EV-elocity, was the integration of EV technology with future energy infrastructure, such as vehicle-to-grid, to demonstrate at scale how novel methods of EV charging can provide multiple benefits for both the consumer and the environment.”

The project, led by Cenex, a not-for-profit consultancy specialising in delivery of low carbon vehicles and energy infrastructure projects also involves the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick; Leeds and Nottingham City Councils; and CrowdCharge, a platform that integrates and optimises smart electric vehicle charges.

EV-elocity is funded by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), in partnership with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

Read more about the award-wining EV-elocity project here: EV-elocity Project | vehicle-to-grid (V2G) innovation with electric vehicles