Energy storage company Connected energy has partnered with Nottingham City Council to deliver a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstrator project, where two battery energy storage systems work together with 40 vehicle-to-grid chargers, solar arrays, and a new software system to create a full building energy ecosystem.

The project demonstrates how technology can be used to improve energy demands caused by transitioning fleets from traditional internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

The CleanMobilEnergy pilot – which is located at Nottingham City Council’s Eastcroft Depot – has been funded by Interreg North-West Europe (an EU funded programme), with a contribution from Innovate UK.

 “We are racing towards becoming the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028. Switching our fleet to electric vehicles allows us to reduce our carbon emissions, but it brings challenges around our energy supply to charge these vehicles,” said Cllr Sally Longford, Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Waste Services.

 “The vehicle-to-grid pilot is allowing us to explore innovative ways to bring renewable technologies, energy storage and intelligent management systems together to test solutions which could be rolled out in other areas of the country.”

The solar arrays with a combined generation of 176kWp will allow Nottingham City Council to use clean energy to charge the growing electric vehicle fleet.

Over half of the council’s vehicles are powered by electricity, including six bin lorries, road sweepers and vans.

Each of the giant batteries that have been installed for the project are made from 24 used EV batteries that are no longer sufficient for car journeys, but they have plenty of life left in them for energy storage – they have a combined storage of 600kWh, which is enough to power the average UK household for two months.

“The installation of the batteries concludes the infrastructure side of a remarkable project that enables energy from solar panels to be stored and sold back into the grid at the most lucrative times of day,” said Wayne Bexton, Director of Environment and Sustainability.

“As a demonstrator microgrid, it means we are less reliant on energy from the national grid to power our electric vehicles, helping us save money, save carbon and work towards carbon neutrality. I am extremely proud of the team working on this and thankful to our funders Interreg NW Europe and Innovate UK.”