EVgo balances EV fast charging with 14 battery storage systems

EVgo, a public fast charging network, announced that it has completed or has in construction 14 battery storage systems located at 11 fast charging stations, the largest deployment of battery storage systems at public fast charging stations in the US.

As electric vehicles surge in popularity, EVgo's fast charging network provides a stable and growing load to the grid. Battery storage systems can offer relief to demand charge rate structures that inhibit fast charging deployment and EV adoption, as well as load balancing as fast charging stations increase in scale and power. With more than 1,100 fast chargers in 34 states, EVgo electrified more than 75 million miles for electric vehicle drivers across the country in 2018.

“EVgo has extended our lead as the largest public fast charging network in the US, with hundreds of fast chargers delivered in the last year and under construction, including more than a dozen battery storage systems,” said Julie Blunden, Executive Vice President of EVgo and Board Member of the Energy Storage Association (ESA). “As electric vehicles advance to accept higher power charging rates, energy storage will play a growing role in balancing the load of larger and higher power stations.”

EVgo's battery deployments offer a range of commercial test conditions, including the use of second life batteries; pairing battery storage systems at a single fast charging station; and the integration of onsite solar with battery storage in place at EVgo's fast charging stations on the campus of the University of California San Diego and at the World's Tallest Thermometer in Baker, California.

Although EVgo's fast charging stations do not always require a grid upgrade, as station sizes and power rating increase, energy storage will become an important tool, offering load balancing and mitigating distribution grid upgrade costs. Partners with EVgo in battery storage include Engie Storage for storage systems, Princeton Power for inverters, and Samsung and BMW for batteries.

EVgo joined the Energy Storage Association in 2018, with Julie Blunden serving on its Board of Directors, in order to link the stationary and mobile energy storage communities.