German automobile giant BMW is to launch a new ‘Digital Charging Service’ (DCS) for its portfolio of electric vehicles early next year, promising to integrate EVs with national grids and on-site renewable generators.
BMW describes its new DCS as a “holistic product” designed to offer “intelligent charging services” to owners of its BMWi fleet of EVs. Customers can connect their vehicles to charging stations and then manage how and when the vehicle is charged via an online portal or mobile app.
Where available, BMW will also utilise the storage capabilities of the on-board battery to offer grid services. Any revenues derived from those services will be shared with the vehicle owner. BMW has partnered with Dutch energy providers Eneco and Jedlix for such services when it is launched in The Netherlands.
The service bears a resemblance to other vehicle-to-grid systems currently underway, most notably the trial Nissan is currently operating alongside energy company Enel.
BMW’s DCS also comes with a “solar-optimised” charging mode which can be aligned with a domestic or commercial solar PV system. When activated the DCS predicts the output of the system using its operational capacity and weather forecasts.
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