Denbighshire County Council is one of the first users of alternating current (AC) rather than direct current (DC) in its vehicle to grid (V2G) electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints.

V2G charging benefits EV users by reducing energy costs while also improving resilience of the UK’s electric system by allowing an EV to both take power from the grid and send it back. An EV could take electricity when prices are low when being charged, and give it back to the grid at peak times when prices are high, meaning operators could save on electricity costs.

The Vehicle 2 Volume eNergy Yield (V2VNY) project is trailing lower cost V2G chargers using AC rather than DC, which is better for charging at home and at many workplaces.

Led by Hangar19, an UK industry leader in EV supply equipment, in partnership with CrowdCharge and Drive Elective, the V2VNY also has partnerships with Electric Corby, Oxfordshire County Council, Grid Beyond and JLR. JLR is providing prototype electric vehicles for use in this trial.

This trial is being simulated and optimised by AI technology from CrowdCharge, which has experience running V2G in homes for over three years.

Following the buzz generated, the project has also installed V2G chargepoints for other councils including East Lothian, Islington, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.

Denbighshire County Council is no stranger to sustainability, decarbonisation, and electric vehicles, with a quarter of its Fleet Services Centre being EVs, including cars vans, minibuses, refuse collection trucks, and off-road vehicles. The debt generates its own electricity from solar panels linked to a battery storage system as part of a smart local energy system.

Martin Griffiths, fleet mobility lead officer at Denbighshire County Council said: “Vehicle to grid charging, combined with a fleet of EVs, solar generation and battery storage, offers us the potential to reduce reliance on the grid even further, providing greater resilience if there was a problem with the UK’s electricity network. V2G is also expected to deliver savings on energy costs, as well as reducing carbon emissions.”