Our new series of blog posts introduces this year’s participants of Japan Energy Challenge. We spoke with Mark Walker, Country Manager for UK & Ireland in e-mobility for eMotorWerks/Enel X, to discuss the role his company can play in the future of Japan’s energy market.
eMotorwerks, acquired in 2017 by Enel and now falling under the Enel X unit, offer a complete line of smart electric vehicle charging stations and custom solutions and allow their customers to control their EV fleet’s charging schedules with the advanced IoT platform, JuiceNet Enterprise. Following the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, the need for simple and fast access to all charge points has become paramount. In this article we’ll be showcasing what makes them stand out.
Hello Mark, can you tell us a bit about the company?
Enel is a large international energy company, operating in 30 countries globally, with 64m customers. The Enel X business unit was created by Enel, to focus on the emerging sectors of “Open Power”, which embrace the decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitisation of energy systems. e-Mobility will play a significant role in the future energy system, both in terms of increased consumption and demand flexibility. Enel X also acquired eMotorWerks specifically to enhance its e-Mobility flexibility capability.
How does your solution fit within the wider trends of Digitalisation and Decarbonisation in the energy sector?
Enel X wants to accelerate the generation of electricity from renewable sources, the transition to sustainable mobility, and transparent/efficient energy consumption. It seeks to help cities, companies and individuals live, work and grow in a decarbonized and digitalized environment. As energy generation transitions to renewables and the auto sector transitions to zero/low carbon powertrains, such as electric vehicles, theses electric vehicles will become an integral part of the energy system, not just placing additional electrical demand upon the system, but also providing new business models based on demand flexibility (or even “generation” flexibility, thanks to bidirectional Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging). Our market leading solutions provide aggregation of EV batteries into single virtual controllable loads and participation in Energy Services markets. They protect the grid from peak stress and redundant investment; and they open up new business opportunities.
Are there milestones you are particularly proud to have achieved as a company?
To date, we are the only company in the world to provide EV drivers with financial compensation for having their EV charging controlled remotely in order to participate to Energy Services markets (currently active in California, US). We have led the market with several pilots of bidirectional V2G charging, in Denmark, UK and Italy. We are also the Smart Charging Partner to Formula E and Moto-e, providing all the high power charging equipment for all teams involved in these race series. We have completed the installation of and successfully operate a rapid charging network (50 kW), stretching from the South of Italy to Austria; and more of these Rapid charging corridors are being deployed.
Let’s look at Japan Energy Challenge’s scope: what specifically attracted you about the prospect of expanding to the Japanese market?
Japan has long held a reputation for environmental leadership and technological innovation. Japan is also a significant market commercially and Enel X already has an active presence in Japan’s Demand Response market. With the increasingly rapid adoption of EVs and considering the business relationships between Enel Group and the main Japanese Auto OEMs, e-Mobility is a natural extension of our business in Japan.
And finally, how will your solution promote the expansion and modernisation of the Japanese energy sector?
Enel X solutions are developed from the experience of operating at scale in 30 markets around the world. This brings the best of the best and the leading innovations to market. We believe that our experience and technology will improve substantially the effectiveness of future Japanese residential and fleet EV charging solutions. Through active collaborations and partnerships, we are able to accelerate the adoption of these technologies and business models in Japan. We very much look forward to working together to make this a reality.
eMotorWerks / Enel X will be taking part in Japan Energy Challenge in London this year, you can read about the other companies taking part in this year’s edition here. You can also find out more about the program, ventures and sponsors by clicking the links.
