The Danish government has this week stepped up plans to build a genuinely zero carbon electric car network that draws on the country's wind energy to power car batteries, inking an alliance that will see IBM roll out the smart grid technologies required to manage the charging infrastructure.
The government has joined the Electric Vehicles in a Distributed and Integrated Market using Sustainable Energy and Open Networks (EDISON) project, which aims to build a recharging infrastructure capable of supporting the 10 per cent of Danish cars that are expected to be electric in 10 years' time.
The government is keen to develop the network quickly as the batteries in electric cars will provide storage capacity for the power the country already derives from wind turbines. It is hoped that the infrastructure will simultaneously help Denmark manage peaks and troughs in power supply, while allowing cars to run using genuinely zero carbon energy.
"There is already broad consensus that both wind energy and electric vehicles have enormous potential for a sustainable energy future – bringing the two together promises to be a winning combination," said Guido Bartels, general manager of IBM’s Global Energy & Utilities industry.
IBM will join a consortium consisting of Danish energy company DONG Energy, regional energy company of Oestkraft, the Technical University of Denmark, Siemens, Eurisco and the Danish Energy Association.
The IT giant, which has invested heavily in developing smart grid technologies over recent years, will provide intelligent grid management systems that synchronise the charging of the electric vehicles with the availability of wind power in the grid, so that charging happens when most power is available. Conversely, the system will also be used to draw spare power from car batteries back onto the grid when the availability of wind power drops.
IBM has also contributed a hardware platform to the Technical University of Denmark that will be used for large-scale real-time simulations of the energy system and the impact of electric vehicles on the wider grid.
The first phase of the project will see the consortium develop a test grid on the Danish island of Bornholm to look at integrating wind power into an electric car-based grid supply.
Danish Minister of Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard welcomed the expansion of the consortium and reiterated Denmark's commmitment to building a nationwide recharging network.
"Electric vehicles are one of the technologies we can use to incorporate renewable energy into transportation," she said. "That is why we are making it possible for electric cars to enter the market in order to replace conventional fuel. Projects like Edison show how it's possible to create sustainable solutions in real life."
Dong Energy officially opens 91-turbine offshore wind farm that is expected to generate enough energy for 200,000 homes 17 Sep 2009
Dong bids for Danish offshore wind farm deal, as Vestas secures flurry of new international deals 08 Apr 2010
Danish energy giant cuts ribbon on 172MW Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm 16 Jun 2010
Accusation that "electric cars could speed climate change" slammed by industry insiders 12 Nov 2009
Jairam Ramesh claims Connie Hedegaard admitted leak of text was 'death blow from which summit never recovered' 13 Apr 2010
Power supplier urges companies with complex or foreign ownership structures to engage with the Environment Agency immediately 30 Jul 2010
Danish firm’s swan song gives way to new turbine blade maker on Isle of Wight 30 Jul 2010
Memorandum signed with Energy Department to use more renewables 30 Jul 2010
More news
Energy analyst's report questions wisdom of DECC’s energy review 29 Jul 2010
Telecity becomes 300th organisation to get the Trust’s official stamp for ongoing carbon reduction 28 Jul 2010
The price of decarbonising versus the price of business as usual: both are variables 28 Jul 2010 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
