Supply chain investments, supportive policies and declining prices are all contributing to the growth of the global EV market. Given current political conditions, the IEA expects that every other car sold globally could be electric by 2035. With more countries setting and meeting energy and climate pledges, that number could increase to every two of three cars sold being electric vehicles.
Charge point operators (CPOs) and fleet operators of EV charging sites face both opportunity and challenges in this growing market. They will need to meet the increased demand for electricity and provide reliable charging while making economic business sense.
Some of the obstacles they face include:
- Energy market price volatility
- Limited grid capacity
- Misalignment between onsite solar production and EV charging
Adding a battery to your EV charging site can allow storing available electricity from the grid or from renewable energy for use later. This flexibility helps keep EV charging stations up and running while helping reduce operational costs. An energy management system that can communicate with all site devices can further optimize your onsite energy usage according to your custom site plan, while allowing participation in utility programs for reduced charges and increased revenue.
Want to learn more about the benefits of adding an EV battery energy storage system to your EV charging site?
What is an EV battery energy storage system?
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are composed of several key components that work together to store and manage electrical energy:
- Battery cells and modules: These are the fundamental building blocks of any BESS. Cells store electrical energy using a variety of chemistries such as lithium-ion, lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or others. Groups of battery cells form modules (or racks) to provide the desired voltage and capacity. Batteries and other components are housed in protective enclosures or racks to protect them from animals, climate and other hazards.
- Power conversion system: The PCS consists of an inverter that converts direct current (DC) stored in the batteries to alternating current (AC) for grid use, and vice versa. This conversion enables the system to charge from and discharge to the grid.
- Battery management system: The BMS monitors and manages the state of each cell/module to ensure safe and efficient operation. Some of its jobs include balancing charge across cells, monitoring temperature, voltage and current, and guarding against overcharging, over-discharging and overheating, which could jeopardize BESS operation.
Energy management system
The operation of the BESS is controlled by an energy management system (EMS), which consists of software and other elements like a controller and onsite meters and sensors that collect data and enable communication with onsite devices to direct the energy flow across the EV charging site and between the site and the grid. The EMS monitors the site in real-time to efficiently orchestrate onsite solar generation, electricity storage and grid power availability to achieve operational balance.
Advantages of adding a BESS to your EV charging site
CPOs struggle with increasing mismatch between their EV charging station energy demand schedule, utility supply charges and infrastructure needs. Having the ability to store grid or renewable energy in a BESS greatly increases site flexibility, which offers a number of benefits through increased alignment.
Cost-effective charging
Power from the grid costs more at some times than others. With a battery, you can store utility electricity when it’s less expensive and discharge the power to your EV charging site when prices go up. Strategically shifting loads around in light of utility time-of-use rates can help you better manage electricity expenses.
Increased profit margins
Utility demand charges are typically based on your highest level of grid use during a billing period. Switching to using battery power when you’re getting close to your grid limit can lower your peak demand for grid power. This peak shaving helps use your resources more efficiently and avoid utility charges, reducing operating costs and improving the profitability of your charging network over time.
Get more customers in and out
When you don’t have enough available grid energy to supply your site loads, your BESS can assist with power, providing a boost to generate the extra electricity you need. The ability to supplement grid power and maintain reliable charging where your capacity is limited allows more customers to charge up quicker without making expensive infrastructure upgrades.
Clean, cheap energy
Charging your battery with solar power offers a cost-effective alternative when the price of grid electricity peaks. Batteries coupled with renewables can also increase the resiliency of your site by islanding (disconnecting from the grid) through grid outages. Additionally, powering EVs with renewables demonstrates your commitment to environmental responsibility, which resonates with environmentally conscious EV users.
While adding a battery to your EV charging site offers many potential benefits, a good EMS is key to getting the most value from your battery storage.
Sparkion’s SparkCore™ energy management system for EVs automatically optimizes your charging and discharging to ensure reliable, cost-effective operation of all your site assets based on varying prices, renewable production, changing loads and available grid capacity. SparkCore™ aligns your business operations with grid conditions, ensuring your battery charges before and deploys during your peak demand times to reduce your grid consumption and avoid extra utility costs for the highest profit margins. The EMS also integrates with your energy storage to supplement grid power where capacity is limited to deliver more energy and allow more customers to charge up quicker without making expensive infrastructure upgrades.
Increase the value of your EV battery energy storage system with second-life EV batteries
The growth of EV sales will require more batteries and critical raw materials. Relying on new batteries alone will not satisfy market needs nor make progress on creating a more sustainable future.
- Provide enough power
Charging depots and enterprises from EVs to C&I to utilities and more are investing in energy storage to reduce operating costs and maintain vehicle uptime with cost-efficient, resilient energy. - Maximize BESS investment
Repurposing EV batteries in your BESS can provide even more value through reduced costs and more efficient EV charging. Fleet owners can significantly reduce energy and BESS costs by repurposing their inventory. - Increase sustainability
Repurposing retired EV batteries into a BESS reduces waste and prevents additional Earth mineral depletion, enhancing your sustainability efforts and economics. Pairing your BESS with onsite clean energy can even further your impact.
Second-life lithium-ion battery supply could surpass 200 GWh per year by 2030. EV battery recycling processes continue to improve and become more readily available as the market grows. For example, in a conventional EV battery storage unit, the weakest cell drags down the usable capacity of the entire battery pack, decreasing economic efficiency. Sparkion’s proprietary SparkSwitch technology allows bypassing weak cells to generate more energy per cycle to reduce the BESS cost-per-kWh by as much as 60% while cutting CapEx cost to half of competitive solutions.
The Circular Second-Life Battery Cycle for Fleet Owners:
