Singapore solar company Eigen Energy is to lead development of the nation’s first series of service stations integrated with smart energy management solutions.
Funding for the initiative has been awarded by the regulator, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Shell.
The three service stations will be fitted with solar PV and integrated with battery energy storage systems to mitigate intermittency due to weather conditions. They also will be fitted with fast chargers, up to three times faster than the existing Shell Recharge 50kW rapid DC electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
A smart energy management system will be deployed to integrate and optimise the various resources onsite.
“As Singapore scales up solar deployment and electric vehicle adoption, we need innovative and creative ways to enable these sectors to grow,” says Ngiam Shih Chun, Chief Executive of the EMA.
The initiative forms part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, under which solar energy deployment is quadrupled to 1.5GW by 2025 and to support the growth of EVs the number of charging points is more than doubled from 28,000 up to 60,000 by 2030.
Shell was the first company to launch EV charging services in Singapore, starting in August 2019.
Aw Kah Peng, Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore, says: “By 2030, we aim to have an extensive network of electric vehicle charging options for our customers, all within a short drive from their home, workplace or when they are on the go.”
Findings from the project will also be applied to improve safety and lower the compliance cost of future energy storage deployments in Singapore. As part of the project, the consortium plans to develop a battery container with improved fire resistance, including sensors to detect abnormalities in temperature and pressure due to battery cell off-gassing that may indicate a potential battery fire.
The project is being undertaken under a multi-year partnership between EMA and Shell to develop innovative energy solutions and grow local capabilities in energy storage and digitalisation.
