ENG | NL

Renault Group, MyWheels and We Drive Solar, together with the Municipality of Utrecht, announce the go-live of Europe’s first large‑scale Vehicle‑to‑Grid (V2G) car‑sharing service: Utrecht energized. The initiative supports a more sustainable, efficient energy system in a city where 35 % of rooftops are already fitted with solar panels. Thanks to the V2G technology, electric vehicles can store energy and feed it back to the local grid during peak periods, so renewable power remains available around the clock. By combining a shared‑mobility service with advanced technology, the project keeps the local grid in balance while accelerating the transition to sustainable urban transport.

​In recent years Koolen Industries and We Drive Solar have made significant investments in the development of advanced charging technologies, including bi-directional charging. We Drive Solar's Solar City public charging station can now be found in many places in the Netherlands and is already deployed by several key customers. In cooperation with Renault and MyWheels, the largest bi-directional charging project in Europe will be launched in Utrecht in Q1 of this year.
 
In doing so, we will directly contribute to reducing grid congestion in Utrecht with our technology.

In response to the massive growth of renewable energy in the Netherlands, Renault Group, We Drive Solar, MyWheels and the City of Utrecht have joined forces to launch Europe's first large-scale car-sharing service utilizing Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.

• Renault Group will supply 500 Renault 5 E-Tech electric equipped with Mobilize's V2G technology.
• We Drive Solar will provide and operate bidirectional charging stations.
• MyWheels, the leading car-sharing platform in the Netherlands, will operate the fleet.

Bidirectional charging is shaping up to be a game changer in how we manage our energy use. But first, it needs to show up in more EVs. (...)

Case study: We Drive Solar's EVsLast year, Dutch car-share operator We Drive Solar drafted 25 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SUVs to double as mobile energy storage systems in Utrecht, the Netherlands' fourth-largest city.
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​Dan Avery | CNet