Enel S.p.A., through its US subsidiary EnerNOC, announced today the acquisition of California-based eMotorWerks, a leading North American supplier of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, called JuiceBox, and owner and operator of JuiceNet, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform for the smart management of EV charging and other distributed energy storage facilities.
Through the JuiceNet platform, these facilities can be remotely controlled and aggregated for grid balancing purposes relying on unidirectional and bidirectional (vehicle-to-grid, V2G) electricity flows. The acquisition of eMotorWerks marks Enel's entrance into the US electric mobility market, one of the largest EV markets at global level.
"Electric vehicles have the potential to be one of the most disruptive technologies the modern electricity grid has faced in the last one hundred years," said Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel's Global e-Solutions division.
"The electric mobility revolution is leading utilities, grid operators, and consumers to rethink traditional business models, invest in new infrastructure, and roll out new solutions to provide flexibility and resiliency to the grid. Our mission is to be on the cutting edge of this paradigm shift, where consumers can play a more active role in energy generation and use.
“This acquisition enriches our e-mobility offering and integrates a highly sophisticated smart EV charging solution within our portfolio of grid flexibility services, which includes the world's largest demand response network, distributed energy management systems and battery storage solutions,” Venturini concluded.
"Electrification of transportation is one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction opportunities facing the planet and electric vehicles are quickly becoming the largest flexible resource on the grid. With smart energy management by JuiceNet, EVs can provide the bulk of the grid balancing capacity to enable the 100% renewable grid around the world,” said Val Miftakhov, eMotorWerks Founder and CEO.
“Additionally, as EV adoption grows, utilities must either add more infrastructure to meet energy demands or adopt smart-charging solutions. eMotorWerk's solution minimizes EV emissions and remotely optimizes charging load, which can reduce peak demands and increase the likelihood that EVs charge on cheaper and cleaner renewable energy.
"As the newest member of Enel family, eMotorWerks now has all the resources and go-to-market access required to scale our solutions globally and drive the faster adoption of a smart, grid-integrated EV future,” Miftakhov observed.
This acquisition further substantiates the implementation of Enel's strategy to deliver, innovative customer-focused products and services to the market, such as smart charging, integration between electric vehicles and distributed generation resources, as well as grid balancing and V2G services. Enel is planning to use JuiceNet platform's functions in all of its EV charging stations globally.
With eMotorWerks' JuiceNet platform, users can remotely schedule and control the "greenest" and most cost-effective times to charge their EVs. For example, JuiceNet allows users to schedule EV charging when electricity from domestic solar rooftop systems is most abundant.
Furthermore, through JuiceNet, EVs, V2G charging stations and other storage facilities can also be used to respond to network signals, aggregating charging and discharging activities in order to balance electricity flows in the grid when needed. These balancing services can provide additional revenue streams for EV owners, potentially lowering the total cost of ownership of these vehicles.
