PRESS RELEASE: Ignitis, a smart energy solutions company, and Litgrid, the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator, together with Fusebox, an Estonian start-up, have launched the first pilot project in Lithuania to investigate using a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to help balance, stabilize, and safeguard the electricity system.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Energy set a target of 60,000 EV charging stations in the country within a decade of 2021. As that network grows, and the number of electric cars on the road grows with it, the impact on the wider electricity system only gets bigger. Smart charging could turn that growth into an asset rather than a strain — a new flexibility tool for balancing the grid.

How does the pilot actually work?

Two Ignitis ON charging stations — 50kW and 22kW — are connected remotely to the Fusebox virtual power plant (VPP) system. While electric cars charge at each station, the charging power is reduced for short periods. The test is designed to show how reliably and steadily that charging power can be pulled back whenever the grid needs it.

“This smart solution can help optimize charging of electric cars for both customers and the entire electricity system,” says Audrius Baranauskas, innovation manager at Litgrid. “In the future, two-way energy movement will enable the use of electric cars for system balancing and frequency management, while opening up the system services market to new entrants. In order to avoid additional costs later when upgrading EV charging stations with smart charging solutions, we need to take action before EV infrastructure expands at scale. That means assessing now what type of charging stations will be most suitable in the future.”

Tarvo Õng, CEO of Fusebox, sees it as a natural extension of what the platform already does: “Fusebox is making electricity grids leaner and cleaner. Our energy managing and trading platform is open to everyone who is a flexible electricity consumer or has access to flexible electricity consumers. Currently we’re using HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] systems of office buildings, retail stores, and similar sites to help the electricity system and reduce energy costs for consumers.

“Using EV charging as an extra flexibility resource for the grid benefits everyone. It’s a logical step to add to our product portfolio, especially as we’re also working on industrial-scale battery projects. Fusebox offers a full range of flexibility services to customers across the EU, and we’re seeing more EV charging stations installed at client premises that can be added to our portfolio,” Õng adds.

According to Paulus Kozlovas, Head of Innovation at Ignitis Group, the energy sector’s rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewables is making grid balancing more important by the year — which is why using EV charging infrastructure for balancing is gaining attention. Done well, it could allow the charging network to expand faster, lower the cost of operating that infrastructure, and reduce tariffs for flexible users. Depending on the pilot’s results, wider use of Ignitis ON stations for network balancing could follow.

“The use of EV charging stations for network balancing has large, untapped potential,” Kozlovas says. “This project is the first attempt in Lithuania to use EV infrastructure for network needs. It’s also notable because it’s being carried out with the Estonian start-up Fusebox, which the Ignitis Innovation Fund first invested in back in 2018. We’re glad the technologies and services this energy start-up has developed are being used to help build the energy-smart solutions Ignitis Group is working on.”

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