The constant penetration of renewable energies in the global market at the expense of traditional electricity production plants is contributing to the diffusion of energy storage systems. These are devices that store energy in moments of greater availability and then return it to the network in times of need. Faced with this new demand in the world of electricity production, Engie Eps in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Milan and Turin has decided to focus on energy storage systems, hydrogen technologies and the management of microgrid. A microgrid is an interaction system between electrical loads and electricity generation sources with the ability to operate both independently and in connection with the national grid. The pioneering vision of Engie EPS has led it to be one of the largest successful technological players in Italy, building one of the largest microgrids in the world and creating an energy production plants on industrial scale.
For some years Engie Eps and Polytechnic of Milan have decided to combine their efforts to cope with the transition of electricity production from traditional to renewable sources, by undertaking new business models also related to the use of electric cars with the integration of charging stations in distribution networks. Estimates say that in the next few years in the emerging countries 2.4 billion people belonging to the diesel generation in the emerging countries will switch to the use of renewable energies by taking advantage of cost reduction and development of the energy storage market. In order to facilitate this transition, Engie Eps and Polytechnic of Milan in 2017 launched a four-year research plan called Predictive OPtimizations Heading to the Energy Transition (PROPHET). The entire project aims to address some of the most complex dilemmas of energy engineering through the use of new artificial intelligence, the optimization of traditional technologies and a network of neural algorithms.
Among the main objectives of PROPHET, there is the minimization of the use of fuel in microgrids, the study of the impact of electric vehicle charging systems and the real-time estimate of the battery status. DazeTechnology, an engineering company focused on mobility and a technological partner of EEPS, contributes to the success of the PROPHET program by providing its innovative products related to the charging of electric vehicles.
In light of this collaboration between EEPS and Daze, the latest versions of DazePlug and DazeBoxwere installed in the PROPHET microgird in October.
DazePlug is the first fully automatic conductive charging system for electric vehicles. Once the car is parked above it, DazePlug automatically connects to the electric vehicle in a completely autonomous way, eliminating any encumbrance around the vehicle and making recharging comfortable and simple.
DazeBox is a wallbox for classic charging equipped with a system for adjusting the charging speed according to the loads in use in the network to which it is connected.
Both the automatic charger and the wallbox provide charging power up to 22 kW and therefore they will be two important elements of complexity in the PROPHET experimental micro-network.
