VBEV project (CMDC2)

The consortium will carry out a feasibility study to determine the financial, technical, and operational business case for the deployment of bi-directional charging infrastructure in the marine sector. The study will also evaluate the environmental benefit, ultimately preparing the ground for a UK demonstrator of bi-directional boat charging. The VBEV project will focus on emergent bi-directional charging technology developed, demonstrated and in early release for road vehicles based on Indra's experience of pioneering V2G (vehicle-to-grid) and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) product development. This game-changing technology has already demonstrated that it can effectively enable electric vehicle drivers to reduce their energy costs and cut carbon by accessing greater levels of renewable technology at off-peak periods and discharge energy when needed. The core benefit of the bi-directional charging capability is its ability to access and store greener energy for later use. Indra’s innovative technology forms the foundation for the project’s marine application, adding the marine requirements for near-shore and inland marine vessels, using Aqua's knowledge as an electric charge point operator (CPO) in the marine sector. The VBEV project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2) which was launched in May 2022, funded by the Department for Transport, and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. This is a disruptive innovation opportunity led by UK businesses that could reduce UK marina CO2 emissions by 4 million tonnes per year. The University of Plymouth led the previous CMDC project – the Marine E-charging Living Lab (MeLL) – and will bring expertise and academic links into the technical aspects of this project, including battery degradation for marine operations. The University will also play a key role with stakeholder/advisory board's engagement. Cenex will develop the bi-directional charger value case and identify vessel architypes most suited to the innovative technology. The technical approach to this project has been developed by the diverse consortium partnership, combining their technical, business, operational and environmental expertise. Virtual bunkering enables the aggregation of electric boat batteries to provide energy storage and grid support services when not being used for propulsion. With the transition to electrically powered vessels there will be a requirement for deploying charging infrastructure across marinas and harbours. Affordability of grid connections, high capital costs and battery health pose challenges to deployment. This project will develop solutions to resolve these barriers by enabling existing electric boats to support the charging infrastructure without the need for expensive grid upgrades by providing a virtual electricity bunker service, delivering managed battery conditioning support and enabling additional revenue generation for boat owners.