Government to fund EV charging innovators
A Manchester-based renewable energy innovator is one of the biggest winners in a government funding announcement today to support smart charging of electric vehicles.
Landis+Gyr UK, a Swiss-owned company based near Manchester Airport, has been awarded £2million across two funding streams through the Interoperable Demand-Side Response (IDSR) Programme, which supports technologies that allow consumers to remotely increase or decrease their energy use to take advantage of when energy is cheaper or more renewables are on the grid.
The company will further develop technology to manage a renewables-based electricity grid using the smart meter system.
Nick Merricks, head of UK Smart Electricity meter products at Landis+Gyr said “Landis+Gyr is delighted to be selected to deliver Stream 1 and Stream 2 projects within the Interoperable DSR programme. These projects, alongside the others within the Flexibility Innovation programme, are helping to move us forwards on the path towards the smart, flexible energy system that is needed if we are to meet our Net Zero targets for the UK. We look forward to working with our industry partners to help deliver a secure and interoperable approach to demand flexibility, allowing greater renewables integration onto the grid.”
There’s also funding of almost £200,000 for Lancaster-based Miralis, the brainchild of Lancashire entrepreneur Michael Gibson to develop prototype hardware, software and business models that harness smart charging technology in partnership with two other Lancashire businesses Turbo Power Systems and Ingridai.
Gibson told TheBusinessDesk.com: “This grant give us the ability to take advantage of the huge opportunities in the Electric Vehicle charging market and be at the forefront of innovation.”
The funding awards are part of the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan, published today (17 January) by the Government and Ofgem, which sets out to make smart charging the preferred method of long duration vehicle charging by 2025.
Over £16m of funding from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) has been released in phases. Projects that will enable domestic appliances, from heat pumps to electric vehicle charge points and batteries, to integrate into a smarter energy system.
Energy and Climate Minister Graham Stuart said: “We want to make smart charging an easier choice for drivers of electric vehicles, whether that is charging on the driveway, at the workplace, or parked on the street. To do that we need to build new network infrastructure at pace, using the latest available technologies.
“Today’s plan sets out how we will work with Ofgem and industry to kickstart the market for smart charging, which we are backing it up with £16m in innovation funding. This will let people take control of their energy usage, in the most convenient and low-cost way.”
Other North West businesses who secured funding are: Manchester’s Qbots Energy Ltd (£233, 775); Morecambe’s Entrust EV Technology (£235, 168); and Carbon Co-op in Manchester which is to get £29,948.
