Moixa, the developer of smart battery and electric vehicle (EV) charging software, and Honda today unveil a smart EV charging project with Islington Council to optimise its vehicle fleet at the town hall. The project will reduce harmful air pollution, save money for essential services and help Islington achieve its 2030 net-zero carbon emissions target.
Moixa and Honda will support Islington Council to achieve its ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) emissions standard across its fleet of 500+ vehicles. The council’s goal is to electrify its entire fleet, cutting 1,400 tonnes of dangerous carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from local air pollution every year.[1]
Chris Wright, Moixa’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “The EV revolution will put millions of ‘batteries on wheels’ on our roads in the next decade. By using AI-driven charging technology, we can intelligently manage these fleets of batteries, securing lowest-cost charging and highest-impact carbon savings. Our project with Honda and Islington shows what is possible and provides a blueprint for all large organisations to follow.”
Five bi-directional vehicle to grid (V2G) chargers, manufactured by EVTEC, jointly developed with Honda, will be installed with Moixa’s GridShare software outside Islington Town Hall. The system charges the EV batteries when power on the local network is cheapest and cleanest and discharges power from the car batteries when it is most expensive and carbon intensive. When EVs are plugged in to all of the chargers, the smart technology can provide enough power to cover the whole town hall base load.
Jorgen Pluym, Project Leader of Energy Management, Honda Motor Europe, said: “As the shift towards electrification accelerates, we must continue to innovate with projects like these – helping to drive awareness and uptake of charging solutions and advanced vehicle-to-grid technologies. Honda is committed to promoting sustainable future energy management in Europe, and this project in Islington represents an important part of our vision for future energy solutions.”
This scalable smart charging solution can be applied to all local authorities and businesses with large vehicle fleets, such as logistics companies and utilities. There are 4,844 council-managed vehicles in London alone – 90% of which are diesel. All of these will need to be removed from the capital’s roads in the coming years to meet net-zero carbon emissions and air pollution targets.
TACKLING AIR POLLUTION AND THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Last year, London surpassed the annual legal limit of air-pollution within one month. Toxic air has been at illegal levels in the capital and most urban areas in the UK since 2010 and results in around 40,000 early deaths a year.
“We’re working to ensure our residents have clean air to breathe, while also saving money that can be spent on delivering essential services for the people of Islington,” said Councillor Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s executive member for environment and transport. “We’re working with industry leaders – Honda and Moixa – to electrify our fleet in the most effective way for our residents and acting as a pioneer for others to follow.”
Islington Council has declared a climate emergency and committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. The borough is on target to reduce emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2020 (from 2005 levels).
By facilitating the transition towards EVs, this project will cut carbon emissions and harmful pollution from Islington’s roads.
INTELLIGENT EV CHARGING
Moixa’s GridShare software enables real-time aggregation and smart charging of EV batteries by optimising their charging patterns based on factors such as driver behaviour, cost of energy and weather forecasts. GridShare can also enhance the resilience of local power networks to prevent overloading and blackouts.
Islington Council will also be able to manage its EV fleet at the town hall in real-time through Moixa’s GridShare platform.
This project will also support UK Power Networks, the local network operatorreducing the need for costly network upgrades in the future. Moixa is also partnering with Flexitricity, the demand response pioneer, to provide grid flexibility services to help balance the local network.
Alastair Martin, Chief Strategy Officer and founder at Flexitricity, said: “We’re delighted to be able to utilise our expertise in aggregating and dispatching flexibility to help Moixa and Honda realise this innovative project. There is huge value in flexibility and Flexitricity’s job is to make sure all types of energy users have access to it – from large commercial and industrial energy users down to every EV customer.
“It’s very exciting to see how partnerships like this one are moving us closer to our vision of a greener and fairer energy system. The initial tests went very smoothly and the operators in our 24/7 control room in Edinburgh are poised and ready to dispatch the flexibility from the EV fleet to help National Grid balance the system, driving revenue and savings for Islington Council in the process.”
Moixa’s GridShare platform already hosts the world’s largest single fleet of domestic batteries across more than 14,500 homes in Japan, growing by more than 1,000 a month. The company is using this experience to deliver intelligent, AI-driven optimisation for EV users.
HONDA’S EUROPEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT BUSINESS
The 12-month Islington project is the first project of Moixa and Honda’s partnership. Moixa was chosen as Honda’s European smart charging partner in Spring 2019. Moixa will support Honda to deliver a European energy management solutions business that provides increased value for drivers and power network operators.
Additional information:
- The chargers will be integrated with five rooftop solar and storage systems via a PV inverter at domestic properties close by, to ensure the vehicles are charged with clean, locally generated power.
- In preparation for the project, Moixa and Flexitricity carried out a demonstration with both commercial and domestic EVs, Moixa Smart Batteries and a Honda Power Manager prototype. Flexitricity stimulated a National Grid STOR event and Moixa successfully delivered flexibility from the fleet of assets, demonstrating that they can respond to grid signals to deliver improved network resilience.
