Distributed ledgers, also known as blockchains, are a new technology that has piqued the interest of many organizations, including national governments, financial institutions, startups, and companies that supply the energy industry. Numerous sources from these backgrounds claim that blockchains have the potential to bring about important advantages and innovation. When merged with smart contracts, blockchains can create transparent, unchangeable, and secure systems which can support innovative business solutions. Blockchain-based 24/7 renewable energy charging for EVs is something that VW and Energy Web have expressed interest in.
Using local renewable energy sources to charge electric vehicles (EVs), Volkswagen and Energy Web have teamed up to develop a solution. The “smart charging solution,” which is based on blockchain technology, allows EV owners to complement their charging needs with particular renewable energy options. The solution makes use of a 24/7 matching algorithm that gives users fine-grained control and flexibility over charging sessions. This includes the ability to choose the date and time of a charging session, the sort of renewable energy used, and the specific facility from which it is drawn.
Several VW ID4s were reportedly used to test the solution over a three-month period, primarily in and around Wolfsburg, where the company’s headquarters are located in Germany. With the help of the plentiful wind and solar production in the area, charging sessions ranged in length from a few hours to several days. Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web, claims that this is the first time an EV has ever been charged using a proven 24/7-matched clean energy strategy.
The goal of this project was to demonstrate how cutting-edge EV charging options can enable EV owners to choose how and when they want to get their energy. For instance, customers can choose to charge utilizing wind and solar sources, using energy assets within a radius of 10 km, and aim 80% charge by 5 PM, all from within a program that is user-friendly, with an actual a breakdown of their carbon footprint for each session.
The green charging app, created by Volkswagen EV remedy subsidiary Elli, was integrated with Energy Web’s open-source 24/7 toolkit to create a smart charging app that gives users access to upwards of 300,000 public charging stations across Europe. The question of how the remedy can be improved and implemented on a large scale in production is currently being investigated by Volkswagen Group Innovation.
Due to drivers’ ability to provide documentation of their purchases of renewable energy and enable tracking of precise energy utilization for carbon accounting, it is expected to be of particular relevance to corporate EV fleet managers and owners.
The solution is just one of several EV charging solutions Energy Web and allies are working on. ReBeam, a project with Belgian TSO Elia, aims to let EV drivers charge with the service provider of their choosing while they are on the go. In the UK, a renewable verification application case is a component of an “Economy of things” platform being developed by Vodafone and Mastercard.