Meet our testbed: Menorca
Miguel Pardo from E-Distribución, spokesperson for the Spanish demo, explains the current situation.
What are the main objectives of the Demo in Menorca?
Our primary objective is to provide flexibility to the DSO, allowing us to manage energy transactions efficiently across various stakeholders, including Charge Point Operators, Mobility Service Providers, and EV drivers.
However, in partnership with Enel X e-Mobility, Enel X e-Industries, TUC, IREC and other partners, we see this as an opportunity to harness the potential of smart-charging and V2G technologies, especially with the growing adoption of EVs on the island.
Who are you targeting? What are the main users involved?
The main users and target groups involved in the Menorca demo include electric vehicle (EV) owners, commercial fleets utilising EVs, and tourists who rent EVs during their visit to the island. Additionally, car rental companies with EV fleets are also key participants in the demo.
How do you engage with stakeholders to ensure ongoing support and collaboration?
We use online registration and marketing efforts to reach potential users, ensuring a diverse and representative sample for ongoing user research. Moreover, we collaborate with car-sharing providers and car rental companies to expand our outreach and gather valuable insights.
We engage stakeholders through a dedicated user panel, including end-users, distributors, and local authorities. Our recruitment strategy ensures representation across various user groups and considers factors like charging infrastructure, vehicle types, and usage scenarios.
EV users can use the digital platform developed by Enel X, named evOS, to manage their electric vehicle charging. The platform provides a suite of tools for monitoring and controlling charging stations, managing user access and payments and generating reports on usage and energy consumption.
Why this demo is important for FLOW, how does it contribute to it, and how does it contribute to E-Mobility &Grid in general?
We improve the management of electrical networks avoiding congestion in the grid, which encourages the incentivized use of V2G chargers and their users, which is also very important.
Can you share some key milestones achieved since the launch of the activities?
As for now, the demo will have all the V1G chargers that Enel X eMobility has available on the island, being able to create a large-scale and far-reaching testing environment. Likewise, an approval has also been obtained from two business owners on the island for the installation of V2G chargers, for any user interested in its benefits.
What challenges have you encountered during the implementation phase, and how have you addressed them?
The availability of V2G chargers is being difficult, since it is a very new technology. It is also very difficult to find V2G compatible electric vehicles. Currently, there is a very limited amount of car models on the market that can profit from V2G charging.
What lessons have you learned from the e-mobility project so far, and how do you plan to apply them moving forward?
It's too early to draw conclusions from our experiences so far, but our enthusiasm for the project remains high, and we eagerly anticipate witnessing the outcomes of the experimentation.
V2G charging points will be placed in Fornells and Mahón, at North and East of Menorca Island. The charger in Fornells will be located at Apartamentos Carema, where there is already a set of V1G charging points in use. This one will be in partnership with the establishment owners. The second V2G charging point will be situated at GM Oil, a petrol station, where the inflow of vehicles is vast.
FLOW needs you!
Complete our EV Users Survey
The potential of smart charging can only be fully exploited if many EV drivers choose to participate. That is why it is important to involve users in the development of new charging concepts right from the start. And this works best when (future) EV users are asked about their preferences. To this end, the TUC (Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany) has set up a questionnaire to evaluate your acceptance with the next generation of charging solutions.
Take part in our short survey (10’)!
Who can participate?
Any individual driving an EV occasionally or regularly is welcome.
What is the scope of the questionnaire?
The survey aims to assess mobility and charging behavior, as well as attitudes towards smart charging.
What is the benefit of participation?
Sharing your views on smart charging can help to improve the next generation of charging concepts before their implementation. You can also become a test user at one of the demo sites in Menorca, Rome, Copenhagen, or Dublin. There you will have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with and test innovative charging concepts! If you are interested in our research, we will be happy to keep you informed about the survey and project results.
