California-based Smartcar is helping UK firm Amp X offer smart charging management to electric vehicle (EV) owners while allowing the grid to be more flexible.

This partnership integrates Smartcar’s technology into the Amp X behind-the-meter energy management system, which was recently deployed within the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) Living Lab.

The Amp X behind-the-meter digital energy assistant (DEA), Alice, manages EV charging through a combination of machine learning, data analytics and a decentralised control architecture so consumers can take advantage of low-cost, low-carbon energy, as well as participate in demand-side-response opportunities. Through the Amp X platform, EV owners are empowered to make the grid more flexible.

Alice is one of several Amp X offerings catered for by its digital energy platform. The ultimate goal of Amp X is to unlock flexibility from the edge of the grid at a large scale to help fully decarbonise the energy system.

Smartcar allows software applications to integrate with connected cars through the cloud. The Smartcar platform enables Amp X to provide electric vehicle owners with a seamless smart charging experience across a growing range of EV brands.

With Alice’s autonomous decisions, users can reduce their EV charging costs and carbon footprint. Alice optimises energy consumption against a number of constraints, while being aware of user preferences and grid needs in real time.

“At Smartcar, we are passionate about EV adoption and its influence on the future of mobility,” said Sahas Katta, CEO of Smartcar. “We are excited to partner with Amp X to help EV owners make smarter charging decisions and reduce the strain on today’s electric grid.”

With EVs’ significantly growing impact on energy demand, giving EV owners the tools to optimise their charging could be of the utmost importance to preserve the stability of the grid.

“Our vision of the future revolves around smart energy that moves from automated to autonomous, turning the edge of the grid into the locus of provision of flexibility for the grid,” said Irene Di Martino, head of Amp X. “Consumer engagement is a key barrier to demand‐side-management as a scalable non‐wire‐alternative. The Amp X digital energy assistant will simultaneously cater for consumer preferences and grid needs, delivering demand-side management at a very large scale through artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our behind-the-meter technology will allow for optimal energy management and dynamic load shaping in residential, commercial and industrial premises, enabling cost and carbon savings, though with no adverse impact on the needs and lifestyle of the end users.”

Founded in 2015, Smartcar is a developer platform for mobility businesses. From auto insurance and car sharing to EV charging and fleet management, businesses of all kinds use Smartcar’s APIs to integrate their apps and services with vehicles.

Smartcar has raised $36m to date and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates and Energize Ventures.

Amp X is a UK-registered subsidiary of Amp, which develops, owns and operates clean energy assets in a number of markets around the world. Amp X was created to deliver a grid edge digital platform allowing all forms of distributed generation and load to make a dynamic contribution in the relevant power markets, whether as an individual unit or as an aggregated group of assets, providing flexibility, resilience and system stability at a low price. Amp X has developed a proprietary smart transformer to address the challenges of the increased presence of distributed energy resources in the distribution network; this will soon be rolled out in the UK. Amp X also has a virtual power plant in commercial operation in North America, and is in the process of commercialising its user-centric energy management system to harness behind-the-meter flexibility at a large scale.