Accelerated rollout of Vehicle-to-Grid with Last Mile Solutions

We Drive Solar, a specialist in charging solutions, uses Last Mile Solutions' platform to accelerate and scale up the rollout of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) in the Netherlands. With V2G, electric cars can store energy and feed it back into the power grid, thereby significantly relieving grid strain. Within the collaboration, the technology is deployed across multiple locations, with the potential to absorb peak consumption from approximately 5,000 households. In this, We Drive Solar develops and implements the charging solutions, with Last Mile Solutions playing a key role as platform provider and data processor.

For the V2G applications of We Drive Solar, the Last Mile Solutions platform processes data streams between charging points and the We Drive Solar control system, which, among other things, sends charging profiles needed to feed energy back to the power grid. In addition, the platform is used to configure and control charging stations, authorize users, and settle transactions correctly and securely.

From the first pilot in Utrecht to a large-scale rollout

We Drive Solar and Last Mile Solutions jointly developed a V2G controller prototype in 2016, followed by a first successful pilot with 20 charging points in the Utrecht district of Lombok. By now, this has been scaled up to larger projects, including the recent deployment of hundreds of electric Renault shared cars from MyWheels in Utrecht and Eindhoven. The cars store electricity when power is abundant and feed it back to the grid during peak moments via special V2G charging points. Of these, 600 have been installed in Utrecht and 50 in Eindhoven. This enables the local power grid to be used more efficiently and helps balance generated energy. The potential in Utrecht, therefore, lies in reducing grid congestion at peak times by almost 5 megawatts, equivalent to the peak usage of approximately 5,000 households.

Robin Berg, founder and CEO at We Drive Solar: “V2G is a complex system in which we have to pioneer a lot. In our collaboration with Last Mile Solutions, we have taken many steps to develop a scalable, reliable way to roll out V2G as one of the solutions to grid congestion in the Netherlands. In this, the platform of Last Mile Solutions plays a crucial role.”

Next step: V2G to households and new cities

In addition to scaling up the current projects with shared cars at public charging stations, We Drive Solar, together with Renault, has started rolling out V2G chargers for private individuals, so they can also use their cars at home to balance peak electricity demand and make the most efficient use of generated electricity. In addition to Utrecht and Eindhoven, other large cities are being considered where shared cars could help reduce grid congestion.

Eric van Voorden, CEO and co-founder of Last Mile Solutions: “The Dutch energy market is one of the most complex in Europe. The challenge no longer lies only in managing energy consumption, but also in aligning generation, storage, and demand. Without good coordination, every new installation creates additional pressure on the power grid, higher costs, and operational risks.”