Energy transition galore
The world of mobility is changing. Soon, only vehicles with alternative drives will be rolling along our roads. In 2022, however, their share is still low: after all, more and more electric vehicles will be registered in 2021 and 2022. To ensure that these can also be charged safely, the private and public charging infrastructure must be significantly expanded. Intelligent charging stations and smart grids that are also able to integrate electricity from renewable energy sources are important factors here.
In this article, you can find out what role intelligent charging stations and e-vehicles play in the storage and distribution of wind and solar energy.
Smart charging for renewable energy
Future-proof charging stations are much more than filling stations for e-cars. They are indispensable for the development of smart grids in which e-cars are not only charged but also become storage units for electricity from wind and solar energy. This is because it can only be generated when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, for example. However, since wind and solar power often cannot be used immediately and completely, appropriate storage solutions are required. This also includes electric vehicles. In order for them to become intelligent energy storage devices in smart grids, intelligent charging technologies are needed that not only charge e-cars, but also discharge them again when energy is needed elsewhere. In order to realise this safely, they need bidirectional communication, dynamic load management and other smart functions, among other things.
Intelligent charge controllers have everything under controll
This brings us to the inner workings of the charging stations. At their centrepiece are the charge controllers, which control and monitor the charging process and contain the interfaces to other components. With the CC613 intelligent charge controller, Bender has developed a forward-looking solution that intelligently distributes the available energy while ensuring a stable power grid at all times. With the integrated dynamic load management, even large charging parks with more than 250 charging stations can be charged optimally and managed remotely via a building management system.
Always remain flexible
The charging station market is still relatively young and highly dynamic. As a result, many requirements keep changing. For this reason, updateability is an important issue for charging station manufacturers. After all, neither manufacturers nor end customers want costly hardware retrofits or a complete replacement of the charging station after a short period of time because the station is no longer up-to-date. To make its charging stations permanently flexible and future-proof in the long term, Bender therefore relies on software updates for the CC613 charge controller.
The advantages of intelligent charging technologies
If the energy transition is to succeed, there is no way around charging stations with intelligent charging controllers. The most important reasons are:
- Smart charging stations turn e-cars into urgently needed energy storage units for solar and wind energy.
- They ensure the stability of the electricity grids via flexible charging control.
- They are updateable and can thus keep pace with the dynamic development in the energy and e-car market.
Partner for future-proof charging
A charging station that works perfectly and looks beautiful at the same time - that is the claim of the Dutch company Flexicharge. The company has grown from a small start-up to one of the largest charging station providers in the Netherlands. The technology partnership with Bender Benelux (read the full story here) and Bender's CC613 charge controller, which reliably meets the high requirements set by Flexicharge, were among the decisive factors.
