Managing one of the largest charging Hubs in Northern Germany
FLEXECHARGE and team energie’s innovative partnership
Managing one of the largest charging Hubs in Northern Germany
In 2023, team energie opened one of Northern Germany's largest fast-charging hubs, at the Scandinavian Park, capable of servicing 16 electric vehicles at once with up to 300 kW per charger. To optimise energy consumption and reduce costs, team energie turned to FLEXECHARGE.
The Challenge
Team energie encountered substantial challenges in managing the energy demands of their charging hub, especially during peak usage times. These spikes not only risk costly energy surges but also place a strain on grid capacity, potentially increasing operational expenses. Under the “Performance Payment” model of the German electricity grid, even brief spikes in consumption result in significant extra fees, with a single kilowatt costing up to 45€.
Managing peak demand is critical to controlling operational costs while maintaining service quality. The challenge is to find a solution that prevents demand spikes without disrupting the user experience.
Features in Use
Prioritization
Building + PV Integration
Peak Load Reduction
Background
Team energie is a leading energy provider in northern Germany, offering a wide range of services, including electricity, natural gas, and sustainable energy solutions. With a focus on innovation and sustainability, the company manages essential energy infrastructure, including charging hubs for electric vehicles. In 2023, team energie opened its largest fast-charging hub, showcasing the commitment to driving the region’s shift toward eMobility and renewable energy.
The Solution
The charging stations are controlled by a static, cloud-based load management.
Thanks to Peak Shaving, Team Energie has full control over how much of the physical grid connection limit is made available for charging.
On top, HARMON-E’s Advanced Adaptive Charging continuously re-negotiates the allocated power with charging stations. The special feature re-allocates un-utilised power of one charge point to other charge points that need it.
Solution & Benefits
Technical Overview
CHARGING HUB
8 x Alpitronic HYC300
MAX CHARGING POWER
2400 kW
GRID CONNECTION
3000 kW
CHARGING LIMIT
1800 kW*
PERFORMANCE PRICE
~45 €/kW
EXPECTED SAVINGS
30.000 € p.a.
Locations
10
MAX CHARGING POWER
88-400kW per location
GRID CONNECTION
55-160kW per location
SOLAR PANELS
0-120kW per location
7 DC CHARGERS
0-1 per location
58 AC CHARGES
4-24 per location
The Benefits
Team energie is able to monitor and control power consumption in real-time. The cloud-based FLEXECHARGE platform analyses charging data and establishes a sensible capacity limit based on average usage patterns. On rare occasions where demand spikes beyond this limit, the platform automatically throttles charging speeds, preventing costly power surges.
The Results
- Seamless integration of FLEXECHARGE's cloud-based system.
- Significant reduction in performance-related costs through controlled load management.
- Continuous operation of 18 charge points without service disruptions.
- Contribution to a more sustainable and efficient energy grid by avoiding unnecessary peak demand.
- Delivering a great experience for the end-users, thanks to the use of advanced energy management algorithms
This solution allows team energie to effectively manage one of the largest charging hubs in northern Germany, balancing operational efficiency with cost management, while setting a standard for environmentally conscious energy use in the region. The success of the Scandinavian Park project convinced team energie to roll out the same solutions on all their hubs.
“Implementing Peak Reduction with FLEXECHARGE was a breeze – its user-friendly cloud-based setup and management made the process seamless. We have significantly cut down on performance costs, avoiding spikes in electricity usage during peak hours. It is efficient and does exactly what we need!”
- Momme Klockenhoff, Head of eMobility
Introduction
Team utilizes Peak Shaving to reduce the risk of high-performance payments when rare events exceed the estimated capacity of the infrastructure.
“Implementing Peak Reduction with FLEXECHARGE was a breeze - it's user-friendly, cloud-based setup and management made the process seamless. We have significantly cut down on performance costs, avoiding spikes in electricity usage during peak hours. It is efficient and does exactly what we need!” - Momme Klockenhoff, Head of eMobility
In the industrious realm of Flensburg, team energie handles everything from electricity, gas, to charging hubs along many of the most travelled avenues. In 2023 team opened northern Germany's largest fast charging hub at the Scandinavian Park. As with most large charging hubs they have a dedicated grid connection in case all chargers are operating at full capacity. At the Scandinavian Park that could be 16 vehicles at 300 KW each - a massive amount. However large capacity does not come cheap, and infrastructures connected to the high voltage grid are subject to what Denmark calls a "Performance Payment".
The performance payment is needed because grid operators need to plan the grid infrastructure to accommodate the highest expected power demand. However, in practice, various commercial activities, like EV charging, can lead to variable power demands on the grid. Thus, grid operators monitor power consumption to pinpoint the origin of abrupt increases in load and calculate performance payments accordingly.
Similar systems exist in Germany, Austria, and other countries, but at its most basic the performance price is designed to encourage efficient electricity consumption and promote the integration of renewable energy sources by creating an economic incentive for users to distribute their electricity consumption more uniformly throughout the day.
Peak Shaving
Even brief spikes in electricity usage can lead a significant increase in the overall electricity bill. A study by McKinsey (link) goes as far as to identify these charges as one of the most significant cost factors in operating a charging hub. And it is easy to see why. A single KW can cost upwards of 200 euros in performance costs and when operating 16 chargers at 300KW it adds up quickly even if the local EV club only swings by once a year.
This is where Peak Shaving comes in. It is a strategy used to reduce electricity consumption during periods of maximum demand. With peak shaving, a consumer reduces power consumption quickly and for a brief period to avoid a spike in consumption. This can be done in various ways from throttling charging speeds to activating battery storage.
At team energie
While we support different forms of peak shaving, we implemented a strategy for team energie which limits the capacity for all chargers at the site based on average utilisation. In practice this means, that after analysing the charging data in the FLEXECHARGE Platform we could determine a sensible maximum capacity for all chargers that is under their theoretical limit. With a well-chosen limit the normal, day to day, charging business is not impacted as all 16 charge points rarely operate at full capacity. On the rare occasion all chargers are occupied and charging at full capacity the FLEXECHARGE Cloud analyses the occurring peak and throttles the charging speeds of the connected chargers to stay just under the set limit.
This way team energie can control the load on the grid and thus influence the performance price for the charging infrastructure and tackle the challenge posed by the "Performance Payment" model. Ensuring that their large-scale charging hub at the Scandinavian Park remains both economically and environmentally efficient. By employing Peak Shaving strategies and leveraging the FLEXECHARGE Platform, they managed to optimize electricity consumption, ensuring that even during peak periods, power demand stays within manageable limits.
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Interesting reads
Europe's charging infrastructure: CPOs’ developments November 2024
Europe's evolving charging infrastructure for CPOs - October overview
CPOs’ charging infrastructure in Europe - September overview
CPOs’ charging infrastructure in Europe - August overview
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