The next step is probably a car share system using the same back
end. Electric cars are expensive, but that just means they have to
be kept running more.
Riding on the tails of the company’s announcement this afternoon of new EV charging stations, Siemens and SAP said on Thursday that they will collaborate on a a proof-of-concept electric vehicle they call “eCar.”
The point of the project is to demonstrate the collaboration necessary to make the smart grid energy-efficient and sustainable, as framed by its application to electric cars.
In other words: smooth out the wrinkles of EV charging and billing across the smart grid.
The companies will form partnerships on several levels to bring advanced metering infrastructure, which connects smart meters across EV charging stations, to the “pump.”
Translated, that means Siemens Energy will supply the hardware — a charging station and access to an e-mobility network operating center, to allow for communication between the charging station and its back-end systems — and SAP the software, to integrate end-to-end workflow processes for utilities.
The first phase of the project involves the demonstration of measuring energy consumption, end-to-end, and generating an invoice from an eCar charging at the “home” utility.
It will also demonstrate a roaming use case where a “guest” utility is involved, such as when a college student living away from home can settle electricity costs incurred during a cross-country drive from their local residential bill.
The project will also eventually look at other scenarios, such as when a customer both uses and produces electricity. Select utilities will be chosen for each use case.
A demonstration for the utility community is planned for early next year, and initial participants are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.
