The first part of the project, which was developed jointly by Enel X and the New York startup, will connect the JuiceNet EV charging platform to one of LO3’s energy marketplaces to allow local renewable energy to be traded between the microgrid and electric vehicle owners. This is a genuine revolution that turns electric mobility into a service that can reduce the environmental impact of charging and also put money in the pockets of car owners. LO3's Exergy™ platform underpins the data exchange that enables price signals and peer-to-peer transactions, while the eMotorWerks JuiceNet platform allows control over local energy flows, matching, in real time and in small groups, local demand from electric vehicles and households with the local supply of affordable green energy.

LO3 Energy and eMotorWerks consider this project to be a key component in a broad service portfolio for utilities, which gives consumers choice in how they consume energy. This includes when and what type of resources to use to charge their EVs as well as when and how EVs can be exploited as energy resources for local grid balancing through demand response. The aim of the project is to raise awareness among consumers, an essential step in the process of transitioning to more efficient and sustainable new business models.

Customers that sign up to a flexible charging schedule will see direct savings on their electricity bill by using JuiceNet to take advantage of EV flexibility. EV fleet managers will be able to do likewise to ensure predictable charging costs. In today’s increasingly decentralized energy system, utilities and grid operators are facing growing challenges to guarantee reliable, balanced and clean power grid. Local energy trading platforms are thus gaining traction as a scalable and cost-effective way of enabling flexibility management.

eMotorWerks’ JuiceNet allows users to remotely monitor and schedule EV charging by pinpointing the cost-effective times of the day and also to earn economic rewards in exchange for services both in terms of local optimization and through energy markets. JuiceNet also allows users to schedule charging their EVs for when excess electricity from local renewable sources becomes available for export to the grid (for instance, PV energy from domestic rooftops), or at times when high levels of renewable energy are available in the electric system production mix.

If integrated into a microgrid (energy community), these functions can be an important source of added value in the context of consumers’ choice of a specific energy solution. Control of the clean future of energy is shifting ever further into the hands of consumers.