When every kilowatt is maximized

In rural northern Sweden sits a small charging station, smartly connected to a powerful battery storage system. Here we show how Qurrent's control makes it possible to maximize the value of a limited grid connection, without compromising the functionality of the battery storage.

The challenge at the station is that the grid connection is significantly smaller than the battery's maximum output. This means that if both the battery and the EV charger run at full power at the same time, you quickly hit the fuse limit. Avoiding this requires active prioritization: should the power go to charging the car, or to the battery that participates in the electricity and ancillary service markets?

In this case, the resource owner, together with Qurrent, chose to prioritize the battery. The reason is simple: charging frequency at the site is low, while the battery can generate continuous revenue by selling 100–150 kW on the ancillary service market. The consequence is that the charger is sometimes reduced in power, but it always remains available.

Qurrent's platform makes this possible through dynamic power control. In real time, we can choose to:

• throttle the EV charger to maximize market revenue, or
• reduce the battery's market participation to deliver full charging power.

This is a trade-off where each site is optimized according to its technical conditions and business goals.

In the tests for this site, we ran live charging sessions on location. The result is clearly visible in the graph above: the battery charges steadily at around 70 kW, the EV charges at around 40 kW until power is curtailed as the site reaches its capacity limit of 100 kW. The regulation happens smoothly and in a controlled manner, both near and above the activation threshold.

With Qurrent, even small grid connections can lead to big opportunities. Through flexible prioritization and intelligent control, the value of every resource is maximized, tailored to your specific site.