With intelligent charging management, power grids in rural regions are also ready for the ramp-up of e-mobility, according to the result of the third field test now completed by Netze BW on the effects of charging e-cars on the power grids.

In January 2020 , seven test customers exchanged their combustion cars for an e-vehicle from Netze BW for 18 months. Another e-vehicle was already on the road and could be included in the field test. Now the result is certain.

According to Netze BW, around 60 percent of the power grids in Baden-Württemberg would supply rural areas. “In these areas, electromobility poses a particular challenge for the power grid. The longer a power cable is, the more the voltage level fluctuates. With its typical rural low-voltage network with an 850-meter-long circuit, Römerstrasse in Kusterdingen was therefore the perfect place for the field test of Netze BW, ”said the distribution network operator.

In the street there are 60 residential units with 42 house connections, 13 heat flow systems and three PV systems - as part of the field test, eight wall boxes were added, which could be charged with up to 22 kW. Seven test customers exchanged their combustion cars for an electric car from Netze BW for 18 months. The Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf were used.

As with the previous NETZlaboren, the behavior of the customers and their effects on the power grid were also considered at the E-Mobility-Chaussee: how often and for how long they were on the road with the e-cars, how often they connected their vehicles for charging at the same time and how many e-vehicles were charged at the same time. The test customers covered a total of 130,000 kilometers over the entire duration of the project. From a technical point of view, the team scrutinized three possible solutions: The use of preventive charge management, a battery storage system and a so-called string regulator that can selectively increase the voltage in the power grid.

As with E-Mobility-Allee and E-Mobility Carré , the participants' perception was consistently positive: only half of them even noticed that the charging power was partially reduced. Not a single person felt restricted in terms of charging convenience and mobility behavior.

"We are making our power grid fit for the future of electromobility," says Patrick Vasile, NETZlabor head of E-Mobility-Chaussee. “Since the network expansion takes a certain amount of time, we also need effective technical solutions, at least temporarily, in order to be able to optimally counter the current ramp-up of e-mobility. Dynamic charging management offers the greatest potential for this. "

But it doesn't stop with the three projects: A good month ago, Netze BW started another of its network laboratories for “intelligent home charging” in Wangen. For the coming months, the distribution network operator is providing eight households with one electric car each free of charge. As it became public shortly afterwards, a similar field test has also been started in Künzelsau.