Nottingham City Council has partnered with Connected Energy to launch a groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot project. The CleanMobilEnergy initiative features 40 bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) chargers, three solar arrays, and second-life batteries with a combined capacity of 600 kWh, enough to power the average UK household for two months. The energy storage units are made from 24 used EV batteries, and the system allows for maximum use of renewable energy to decarbonise EV charging.
Nottingham City Council has a fleet of 250 electric vehicles, including six zero-emission bin lorries, and over 50% of the council’s vehicles are powered by electricity. The CleanMobilEnergy pilot project, funded by the European Union and Innovate UK, is complete, making it one of the largest V2G installations in the UK to date.
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The energy storage system allows the council to store solar energy and sell it back into the grid during peak demand periods. By using intelligently managed battery energy storage and V2G technology, the use of on-site solar energy can be maximised, and the depot can isolate itself from the grid during peak periods to avoid peak tariffs. The CleanMobilEnergy pilot project allows the council to test solutions that could be replicated in other areas of the UK.
Nottingham City Council has a reputation for innovative low-carbon projects, including wireless electric taxi charging and being the first UK city to use the Energiesprong whole-house retrofit approach. The next step for the CleanMobilEnergy project is the development of an open-source software system to monitor, control, and predict weather forecasting to optimise the depot’s future energy use.
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As the council races towards becoming the first carbon-neutral city in the UK by 2028, the V2G pilot project is an essential step towards reducing carbon emissions and energy costs.
