Veolia has revealed its “world-first” vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system that enables waste collection trucks to power UK homes by feeding back stored energy from their batteries to the grid.
UK waste collection fleet operator Veolia plans to electrify all of its 1,800 Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCV) in the country by 2040. The company says this will allow it to provide the grid with around 200 MW of flexible power capacity daily.
Veolia says collection vehicles are “ideally suited” to V2G as their batteries are “six times larger than those in an average car”, and the fleet is usually parked at peak energy consumption times for the National Grid. Veolia now plans to expand the trial to include Westminster council collection vehicles.
The first phase of the trial enabled 110 KW of energy to be charged and discharged from two bi-directional vehicles, which is enough to supply power to 110 households for over two hours during peak evening hours, Veolia says.
Veolia says it will also use local decarbonising energy from its waste-to-energy plants to power its vehicles, describing this as a “circular loop”. This will include the Landmann Way vehicle depot in North London, powered by low-carbon electricity from the SELCHP plant.
Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, commented: “We need to innovate in local decarbonising energy and transform our traditional approaches to take advantage of untapped sources. This requires a change of mindset and a collective willingness to rethink the way we produce, distribute and consume energy.
“The success of the V2G demonstration illustrates this perfectly. By enabling electric vehicles to become active players in the power grid, we are harnessing their potential to balance energy supply and demand, reduce carbon emissions and promote renewable energy.”
As part of the project, Veolia has partnered with electric vehicle charger manufacturer, Turbo Power Systems (TPS), vehicle repower experts Magnetic Systems Technology (Magtec) and EV charge point management software provider Fuuse, with support from technology provider, Advantics.
