IBM and EKZ Make Electric Vehicle Charging More Convenient with New Smartphone Application

IBM Research today announced that it has teamed with EKZ, the electricity utility provider of the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland, on a new pilot project that will allow consumers to conveniently charge electric vehicles and monitor their energy costs, using mobile devices. This near real-time information will also help utility providers better manage power grid loads during peak charging times -- a challenge that is set to grow as more electric vehicles are on the road.

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[MrVisuallearning]

What's not clear from the video however, is how is the physical electricity connection initiated? Is it that the app just reminds the driver, that it is an appropriate time to charge the car and he goes and connects the car to the power point? Or is there something else that the app does that I'm missing? Thanks

[IBMResearchZurich]

Thanks for watching. The physical connection is made simply by going to the nearest charging station, similar to going to a gas station. The app can show you were they are. The unique function of the app is to allow the driver to choose between renewable energy and fossil/nuclear energy based on real time pricing, which is based on demand on the grid.

[Sagar Vibhute]

Unrelated to the video, but isn't that a Samsung Google Nexus phone? :)

[IBMResearchZurich]

Yes, I believe it is. But to your broader point, the tool or app is multi-platform friendly since it is web-based. So it runs on smartphones, tablets and computers.

[Carl Hage]

Ironically, selecting times for peak solar to charge a car will increase fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. For the near term, using solar to charge a car takes that energy away from someone else, and the power companies will need to fire up inefficient peaking plants. Keep solar for other than cars!

The best use is to allow the utilities to use chargers to smooth the peaks and valleys of energy demand (or wind supply) so more efficient but slow-to-change power stations can be used.