BDL Next: Bidirectional charging on the way to mass production

The BDL Next project builds on the findings of the predecessor project on bidirectional charging management - with the aim of fully integrating electric vehicles with energy recovery capability into energy industry processes and energy management systems. Seamless multiple use is intended to resolve existing conflicts of objectives between grid, market and system requirements in a targeted manner. Since November 2023, the project has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection with more than eleven million euros over a period of three years.

The previous BDL project was already able to show that bidirectional electric vehicles not only offer a wide range of possible applications from a customer perspective, but also have great potential for system-relevant, grid-supporting and market-related applications. BDL Next is building on this and is pursuing the goal of identifying and overcoming remaining technological, regulatory and process-related hurdles with the help of a multi-stage field test. In particular, the aim is to test the suitability for everyday use and mass production as well as the systematic integration of bidirectional charging processes for electric vehicles under real conditions.

The project is being supervised by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as part of the “Elektro-Mobil” funding program. The overall coordination lies with the Research Center for Energy Economics (FfE) in Munich. The partners involved include BMW, Bayernwerk Netz, TenneT, E.ON, KEO, Compleo, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Passau and the EBZ Business School. The broad interdisciplinary composition of the consortium makes it possible to address technological, economic and user-related issues in equal measure. Feedback from the field test is continuously incorporated into the further development of the systems used - with the aim of achieving a technologically viable and at the same time user-friendly implementation of bidirectional charging solutions

The focus of the project is divided into four central fields of action: In the area of grid integration, the focus is on setting up and operating a conceptual flex control room based on findings from the previous project. The aim is to enable the control, forecasting and evaluation of flexibilities such as charging and feed-in processes in real time. Market integration is dedicated to connecting bidirectional vehicles and other household-related flexibilities to energy markets. Among other things, trading strategies are being developed to enable efficient marketing across different market segments. A transparent billing and metering concept as well as comprehensible software and hardware solutions for end users are also part of this work package. In the area of system integration, processes are being designed that support the scalable integration of bidirectional charging infrastructures for the provision of balancing power and redispatch. The fourth area of activity, technology and customer experience, focuses on the development of interoperable software solutions for end devices and their integration into home energy management systems. Accompanying user research helps to gradually optimize the technology along the entire customer journey - right up to full suitability for everyday use in pilot operation.

As part of BDL Next, the University of Passau is playing a central role in researching the user perspective. The Chair of Marketing and Innovation and the CENTOURIS Institute are investigating how bidirectional charging solutions are perceived and evaluated by end users. In particular, the focus is on the question of which factors promote the acceptance of such technologies - such as trust in their reliability, the perceived benefits or the complexity of their use. The aim is to create a positive user experience and ensure a high level of market appeal in order to support the widespread introduction of bidirectional charging solutions. The results of the accompanying research are prepared in the form of practice-oriented recommendations for action for industry partners and thus make a decisive contribution to the user-centered further development of the technology.