May 13, 2022 – The Ontario Energy Board and the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator are supporting a pilot project by BluWave-ai and Hydro Ottawa that will use artificial intelligence to manage electric vehicle charging during peak demand periods with the aim of saving customers money while extending the life of electricity infrastructure.

With $2.4 million in funding from IESO’s Grid Innovation Fund—as well as regulatory support from the OEB’s Innovation Sandbox—this project will contribute to technical advances that will help realize the potential of these solutions, say project proponents, who are investing an additional $2.4 million.

IESO forecasts that electricity demand from the electrification of transportation will increase 20% annually. This pilot project—EV Everywhere—will test an AI software platform that supports utilities in the visibility of, and support for, the growing numbers of EVs drawing electricity from the local grid.

“Integrated with utility systems, EV Everywhere provides optimal dispatch for intelligent scheduling of EV charging and available battery energy storage,” said Devashish Paul, CEO & founder of BluWave-ai. “It’s a non-wires alternative solution that can defer or reduce the need for capital infrastructure upgrades.”

With input from customers, optimized charging times and strategic placement of battery storage, the platform aims to reduce the strain on the local grid, as well as allow EVs to provide services to the broader provincial electricity market.

“By adding energy storage to the grid, we can solve many problems the grid would otherwise experience as EV adoption increases,” said Gurmesh Sidhu, Moment Energy. “Working with partners enables us to demonstrate how effective second-life batteries are, and the impact they can make to transmission and distribution infrastructure.”