Swarco Smart Charging and Connected Energy have teamed up for combined battery storage and EV charging solutions that could help accelerate the rollout of EV charging.

Swarco’s portfolio of EV charging hardware is integrated with Connected Energy’s E-Stor system to provide combined charging and onsite energy storage

The partnership integrates Swarco’s portfolio of EV charging hardware with Connected Energy’s E-Stor system, which uses second-life batteries from Renault Kangoos to provide onsite energy storage.

The integrated solution can help fleets wanting to provide EV charging for their own EVs or be used by local authorities or charge point operators to provide public or private charging without the need for costly and lengthy DNO upgrades.

The E-Stor system delivers energy at a rate of up to 300kW and can, for example, simultaneously charge 20 cars for two hours at a rate of 7kW, or it can power two 50kW rapid chargers for almost four hours.

It can also be linked to renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic panels, allowing charging points to be powered by renewable energy – with excess power generated from the renewable sources stored until it is needed.

The firms say that combining battery storage and EV charging solutions is especially important at large fleet depots or public charging hubs, where capacity is an issue.

By drawing energy – either from the grid or from renewables – and storing it, energy is available to meet spikes in demand during busy charging periods, ensuring that drivers get the amount of power they expect when they plug in. For locations where a site simply does not have the power required to meet demand, active charger management can be provided to avoid peak load spikes.

Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy, said: “This is a natural collaboration between two like-minded companies that are both on a mission to support vehicle electrification and help to decarbonise charging for organisations and drivers.

“Our energy storage solutions, using second-life EV batteries, seamlessly work together with renewable technologies and EV charging technologies to give charge point owners ultimate flexibility over the energy required to deliver EV charging.”

Swarco Smart Charging managing director Justin Meyer said lack of electricity capacity was proving a constant issue for EV charging projects, resulting in rollouts being scaled back, relocated away from preferred sites, or delayed.

“In many cases energy storage – integrated with renewable technology – is an excellent solution,” he added. “And this is especially true when we are working with charge point owners who want decarbonised charging – a request that we have been seeing much more frequently already but the ongoing energy crisis is likely to make it an essential part of many more new EV charging projects.”

It’s the latest project between the two companies, which first started working together in 2017 when Connected Energy’s E-Stor system was installed alongside Swarco’s charging technology at the UK’s very first charging hub in Dundee’s city centre.

Justin Meyer added: “We are proud of the EV charging projects we’ve already delivered that use Connected Energy’s solutions and very much look forward to more successful projects in the future, including our extended range of high-powered DC chargers.”