SAN DIEGO – Nuvve Holding Corp. and Circle K AS have announced a partnership to bring grid services, including frequency regulation, to electric vehicle fast chargers at 50 Circle K service stations and three to five stationary storage sites in Norway and Denmark. This partnership is expected to generate grid services revenues for both companies in 2023.
Nuvve’s V1G unidirectional smart charging technology will manage an initial 40 megawatts of fast chargers and stationary storage for Circle K through its GIVe platform, with the launch of the platform expected in early 2023. Assuming the project is successful, the partnership will expand across Circle K’s Nordic high-speed charging network and potentially additional markets globally.
Through Nuvve’s ability to provide grid services, Circle K will monetize its EV charging assets by helping system operators Statnett in Norway and Energinet in Denmark keep electricity supply and demand in balance at all times. This will allow Circle K to participate in the market, making the most of its EV charging assets.
While stationary battery electric storage systems (BESS) are widely used in Europe for frequency regulation, Circle K and Nuvve are the first to use fast chargers for the provision of these services.
Circle K’s Alpitronic Hyperchargers and storage systems will be remotely connected to the Nuvve GIVe platform, allowing them to respond to market signals in real-time and make instantaneous micro adjustments to their electricity flow.
“This collaboration addresses key challenges with a rapidly expanding network of chargers,” said Håkon Stiksrud, Head of Global E-mobility in Circle K.
Nuvve’s Co-founder, Chair and CEO Gregory Poilasne said, “As we look to evolve and lean into markets that are leaders in the energy transition, we see our Circle K partnership as an important step forward that allows us to circumvent supply chain delays that are impacting EV adoption – particularly in the US fleet market.”
Using fast chargers for frequency regulation opens a new method to balance energy generation and consumption. This is increasingly important as more intermittent renewable electricity sources, such as wind and solar, come online. The partnership helps support an increased renewable electricity share on the grid, reduces dependency on fossil fuels and lowers the operational cost of fast charging services.
Circle K owns over 430 Circle K-owned DC chargers across Norway and over 130 in Denmark, making it the world leader in EVs per capita.
Circle K is part of Alimentation Couche-Tard, a global fuel and retail company with operations in more than 20 countries. Through the Circle K brand, Alimentation Couche-Tard has established a leading position in EV solutions in the European markets of the company.
Nuvve has already been providing frequency regulation in Denmark for six years through its relationship with Frederiksberg Forsyning, a Danish municipal water and gas utility company.
