Last week, Febeliec, the association of industrial energy users, presented the Febeliec Energy Award for the eighth time in a row. In their search for projects that can contribute to the current energy problem, the jury declared Charge42, a spin-off of EnergyVille & VITO, together with the Watt.Wizard project, the winner of this edition.
The Febeliec award
As per annual tradition, the Febeliec Energy Award was presented last week. With this award, Febeliec, the federation of industrial energy consumers, wants to bridge the gap between industry and entrepreneurship, and encourage innovative - out-of-the-box - thinking to provide solutions to the current energy challenges. The 4 finalists (Charge42, Companion.energy & Nett Energie, Destore and KU Leuven/EnergyVille) presented projects in which the energy transition was approached from different angles.
“More than ever, we are faced with the monumental challenge of making our society climate neutral,” says Luc Sterckx, chairman of Febeliec. “We have to make the right choices, because doing it wrong will cost us dearly for decades to come, especially in an energy-intensive country like ours. In addition to climate neutrality, we must keep an eye on security of supply and competitive energy prices - otherwise we will cut off the economic branch we are sitting on and deprive ourselves of the financial resources we need to fulfill the climate objectives.”
Charge42: Smart charging at minimal energy costs
Charge42 follows the idea of thinking out-of-the-box to approach the challenges in our energy system, and looks at ways to smartly control charging stations.
"The electrification of our car fleet is currently in full swing. Though being a great opportunity, for many companies it still poses a real challenge. With smart control and AI, however, it becomes possible to efficiently meet user needs at the lowest price. You do this by making optimal use of low prices on the market (driven by times when there is a lot of sun and wind), local solar energy during the day and by avoiding peaks on the grid. As such, we save up to €75/month/charging point on the energy bill, while at the same time helping the climate and supporting network operators. For fleet managers, for example, instead of a high external fuel card cost, charging becomes cheap at their own site. Win / win / win for everyone”, outlines Thomas Polfliet CEO of Charge42.
Charge42 offers an innovative software package with an intelligent charging plan tailored to the needs of an organization. It takes into account the charging needs of employees and visitors: What time do they arrive? When do they leave? How many kilowatt hours do they need to reach their destination? In addition, the algorithm includes the expected availability of renewable energy (solar and wind) and energy costs into the calculations. Hence, a handy tool that reduces both financial costs and increases the comfort of the driver and facility manager.
“We are very proud of the recognition and praise. We now have the ambition to bring the next generation of smart EV charging to the market. This way we not only help to optimize the energy bill, but also the climate,” concludes Thomas Polfliet.
