Jemena to lead wall charger trial to allow networks to control home EV charging

Jemena is to lead a trial of “smart wall chargers” across three states that will test how networks can “dynamically” manage charging of electric vehicles at home according to supply and demand.

The $3.4 million trial will involve more than 170 households across Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania, and the network companies AusNet Services, Evoenergy, TasNetworks and United Energy. It is one of a number of “trials” being run across the country to test how EV charging fits into the transitioning grid.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will pay $1.6 million towards a program that tests “smart” electric vehicle charging technology that is faster than standard home chargers and responsive to grid demand.

The program, which will cost a total of $3.4 million, will be led by Victorian distribution company Jemena, along with four other distribution companies in Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania: AusNet Services, Evoenergy, TasNetworks and United Energy.

Jemena says the purpose of the trial is to develop charging technology that is responsive to grid demand, automatically increasing the charging rate when demand for electricity is low, and reducing it at peak times. It will have the dual benefit of promoting grid stability and reducing the cost of charging an EV at home.

Charging infrastructure company JET Charge will distribute and install the “smart wall chargers”.

“Many electric vehicle owners plug into their home charger at around 6pm when there is already increased demand on the electricity grid,” said executive general manager of Jemena Networks Shaun Reardon.

“This trial will allow the owner to plug in their car at the same time, but the smart wall charger will defer the charging until a time when there is reduced demand on the grid based on a real-time assessment of available network capacity.

“Participants will also benefit from off-peak tariffs (where relevant) and other incentives may be provided during the trial.”

He said mass electric vehicle uptake could not happen without careful consideration of local network capacity or significant upgrades to existing electricity infrastructure.

“With more and more Australians buying electric vehicles, we want to play our part in supporting this adoption while ensuring the electricity grid can manage the extra consumption, particularly in neighbourhoods that already have a high uptake of electric vehicles,” he said.

Jemena said the results of the trial will be shared with electricity retailers, EV manufacturers, universities, government and other stakeholders.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will pay $1.6 million towards the program, with the networks providing the rest.

The announcement comes the same day the federal government released a discussion paper proposing measures it says would stimulate the uptake of EVs in Australia.

However, the proposals drew criticism for putting emphasis on hybrid rather than pure battery electric vehicles, and for lacking fuel efficiency standards or any financial incentives to push motorists into going electric.

Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari called it a “flaccid, do-nothing document that will prevent Australians getting access to the world’s best electric vehicles”.

“Most other nations, including the US and thae UK, have had fuel efficiency standards in place for decades. Taylor thinks we’re still not ready for even this modest measure,” he said.

“As always, the result of inaction in a dynamic environment is not stability. Australia’s inertia on EV has been noticed by the global auto sector, which now withholds the best and most affordable electric vehicles from our market.”