Islington Council starts vehicle-to-grid charging project

Islington Council has launched a new project together with Moixa and Honda that will use smart EV charging to optimise its vehicle fleet at the town hall. The project will reduce harmful air pollution, save money for essential services and help Islington achieve its 2030 net-zero carbon emissions target.

Moixa and Honda will support Islington Council to achieve its ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) emissions standard across its fleet of 500+ vehicles. The council’s goal is to electrify its entire fleet, cutting 1,400 tonnes of dangerous carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from local air pollution every year.

Chris Wright, Moixa’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “The EV revolution will put millions of ‘batteries on wheels’ on our roads in the next decade. By using AI-driven charging technology, we can intelligently manage these fleets of batteries, securing lowest-cost charging and highest-impact carbon savings. Our project with Honda and Islington shows what is possible and provides a blueprint for all large organisations to follow.”

Five bi-directional vehicle to grid (V2G) chargers, manufactured by EVTEC, jointly developed with Honda, will be installed with Moixa’s GridShare software outside Islington Town Hall. The system charges the EV batteries when power on the local network is cheapest and cleanest and discharges power from the car batteries when it is most expensive and carbon intensive. When EVs are plugged in to all of the chargers, the smart technology can provide enough power to cover the whole town hall base load.

Jorgen Pluym, project leader of Energy Management, Honda Motor Europe, said: “As the shift towards electrification accelerates, we must continue to innovate with projects like these – helping to drive awareness and uptake of charging solutions and advanced vehicle-to-grid technologies. Honda is committed to promoting sustainable future energy management in Europe, and this project in Islington represents an important part of our vision for future energy solutions.”

This scalable smart charging solution can be applied to all local authorities and businesses with large vehicle fleets, such as logistics companies and utilities. There are 4,844 council-managed vehicles in London alone – 90 per cent of which are diesel. All of these will need to be removed from the capital’s roads in the coming years to meet net-zero carbon emissions and air pollution targets.