A UPS depot will provide a testing ground for a new artificial intelligence technology that optimises electric vehicle (EV) smart charging.
The logistics giant will use the GridShare solution from smart charging specialist Moixa to analyse data from its vehicles and grid in order to charge them at the optimal time.
GridShare is a cloud-based portal which connects energy storage devices such as batteries to the grid, analysing data such as energy prices, power supply and demand and weather conditions to determine when power is cheapest and cleanest in order to charge vehicles at the most cost-effective times.
Moixa and power distribution company UK Power Network Services will use the data to further develop UPS’s charging infrastructure and assess how a site’s electricity demand can be flexed. UK Power Network Services will also analyse the solution from a broader commercial perspective for wider use.
Smart charging aims to help electric vehicles to shift demand to less constrained times in order to reduce pressure on local power networks and avoid the need to upgrade the infrastructure.
Claire Thompson-Sage, sustainable development coordinator at UPS, said: “As leading experts in transport logistics, UPS champions alternative energy use. We have the global expertise, smart-charging infrastructure and resources to host this first-of-a-kind testbed at our Camden facility.
“This project will build on our EV infrastructure technology to help develop a holistic local energy system. We are proud to spearhead such an exciting smart-grid project and look forward to taking it to the next level by making it even smarter.”
Simon Daniel, CEO of Moixa, said: “Our ever-growing online shopping rates mean we’re delivering more things than ever before – everything from food shopping to medical supplies – and that’s having a big impact on carbon emissions and air pollution in our cities.
“Mitigating these impacts is a massive challenge but this project shows how with the help of the AI powered technology, like GridShare, the world’s biggest fleet operators can go electric and achieve their environmental ambitions.”
UPS invested in electric vehicle company Arrival earlier this year, committing to buying 10,000 of its vehicles.