City of York Council has signed GridBeyond to support its new electric vehicle (EV) charging hyperhub.
The hub at Monk’s Cross consists of solar panel canopies, an energy storage unit and rapid and ultra-rapid charger.
GridBeyond, a technology provider for intelligent energy use, will connect its AI powered GridBeyond Point platform to the on-site 350KW battery to enable it to participate in the National Grid’s balancing services.
This will contribute to reducing carbon emissions and City of York will receive a monthly revenue from National Grid for its role in the frequency balancing.
The company said its platform will provide energy monitoring, forecasting and reporting on the battery and its state of charge, without any impact on the operations of the charging hub or an upfront cost to the council.
The battery and solar panels are provided by EvoEnergy.
Charging, generation and storage
Along with an EV hub at Poppleton, the Monk’s Cross hub provides the largest hyperhub in the region, and is said to be the first project of this type in the city that ties together EV charging, renewable generation and energy storage.
Mark Davis, managing director UK and Ireland for GridBeyond, said: “The development of a reliable EV charging infrastructure is a critical enabler for energy transition and grid decarbonisation. All the more so when, like in the York project, the charging units are co-located with renewable generation and energy storage assets that can support the balancing of the energy network while delivering additional revenue for the battery owners.
“Besides participation in grid balancing services, AI powered energy technologies, such as GridBeyond’s Point platform, enable operators of the EV networks to generate more efficiencies through the access to wholesale market – whether it is to buy energy when it is the cheapest and store it in a battery, or sell the energy when the prices are at their highest.”
