GreenCharge · Project

Smart EV Charging That Shares Local Solar Power and Cuts Grid Costs

transportPilotedTRL 7

greencharge2020.eu

Imagine your office parking lot has solar panels on the roof and electric cars plugged in. Right now, all that charging hits the grid at once and nobody shares. GreenCharge built a system that coordinates when each car charges, uses the solar power first, and even lets parked car batteries feed energy back — like a neighbourhood power-sharing club. They tested it with real cars and real buildings in Barcelona, Bremen, and Oslo to prove it actually works outside the lab.

By the numbers

Cities with full-scale pilots (Barcelona, Bremen, Oslo)

Consortium partners

Countries involved

SMEs with commercialisation experience

Months of project duration

Total project deliverables

Demo deliverables with real-world implementations

63%

Industry partner ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities and businesses want to install EV charging but face a bottleneck: the electrical grid can't handle dozens of chargers running at peak demand without expensive upgrades. Meanwhile, solar panels on nearby roofs produce power nobody uses efficiently, and parked electric cars sit idle with unused battery capacity. There is no easy way to coordinate all of this — charging, local energy, and storage — into one system that actually saves money.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered full-scale pilot implementations of integrated smart charging systems in 3 cities: intermodal car sharing stations with EV charging in Bremen, smart charge and fleet management with 2nd-use battery storage in Oslo, and building-block energy balancing in Barcelona. It produced 48 deliverables including charge planning, booking and billing software, sharing economy business models, and SUMP-aligned deployment guidelines.

Audience

Who needs this

Property developers adding EV charging to residential and commercial buildingsCar sharing and ride-hailing operators electrifying their fleetsDistribution grid operators managing EV charging load growthMunicipalities planning public charging infrastructure rolloutCorporate facility managers with employee parking and solar panels

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Real estate and property development

mid-size

Target: Property developers and building managers with parking facilities

If you are a property developer dealing with residents demanding EV charging but your building's grid connection can't handle 20 chargers at once — this project developed a smart charging system that coordinates power demand with local solar generation and uses parked EV batteries as buffer storage. Tested in full-scale pilots across 3 European cities, it reduces the need for expensive grid upgrades while offering tenants reliable charging with booking and billing built in.

Fleet management and car sharing

SME

Target: Car sharing operators and corporate fleet managers

If you are a fleet operator struggling with charging logistics for your electric vehicles — this project built and piloted an integrated smart charging and EV fleet management system. It includes charge planning, booking, and billing services, and was demonstrated with real car sharing operations including 2nd-use EV battery storage. The system was tested across 3 cities with 19 consortium partners validating the approach.

Energy utilities and grid operators

enterprise

Target: Distribution system operators and local energy companies

If you are a grid operator facing costly infrastructure upgrades to support growing EV charging demand — this project demonstrated technology that coordinates EV charging with local renewable energy sources and leverages the storage capacity of parked EVs and stationary batteries. Piloted in Barcelona, Bremen, and Oslo over 36 months, it provides concrete guidelines on how to reduce grid investment while accelerating electromobility uptake.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this smart charging system?

The project requested 5 M€ in EU funding across 19 partners for development and piloting. Individual deployment costs are not specified in the available data, but the system is designed to reduce grid investment costs by coordinating existing infrastructure rather than requiring new grid connections.

Can this scale beyond the 3 pilot cities?

The project explicitly extended its pilots with simulations to assess scalability beyond what was tested in Barcelona, Bremen, and Oslo. With 12 industry partners and 8 SMEs already involved in commercialisation, the technology was designed for replication. Guidelines aligned with SUMP processes were produced to help other cities adopt the approach.

What about IP and licensing — can we use this technology?

The consortium of 19 partners includes commercial companies with experience in commercialisation. Specific IP arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator SINTEF AS (Norway) or the relevant technology providers in the consortium. Multiple components were developed by different partners.

Does this work with existing charging hardware?

Yes. The project objective states it will integrate and extend existing systems rather than replace them. Interoperability is one of the core project keywords, and the pilots demonstrated integration of smart charging with existing building energy systems and car sharing infrastructure.

How long did it take to go from concept to working pilot?

The project ran for 36 months (September 2018 to February 2022). Full-scale pilots were implemented in all 3 cities following a preparation phase, with 7 dedicated demo deliverables covering everything from component preparation to full-scale implementation.

Is there regulatory support for this kind of system?

The project produced guidelines aligned with Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) processes, which are a recognised EU policy instrument. The work also addressed policy and public communication measures for accelerating electromobility uptake, giving adopters a regulatory playbook.

What ongoing support is available?

SINTEF AS, the Norwegian research institute coordinating the project, remains active in smart energy research. The 8 SME partners with commercialisation experience may offer implementation support. Based on available project data, specific post-project support arrangements are not detailed.

Consortium

Who built it

The GreenCharge consortium is strongly industry-oriented: 12 out of 19 partners come from industry, giving a 63% industry ratio — well above average for EU research projects. With 8 SMEs in the mix, the project has strong commercialisation DNA. The 6-country spread (Germany, Spain, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway) covers key European EV markets. SINTEF AS from Norway, a major applied research institute, coordinates the project, lending technical credibility. The presence of municipalities alongside commercial partners means the solutions were tested in real regulatory and infrastructure environments, not just labs.

SINTEF ASCoordinator · NO
ESMART SYSTEMS ASparticipant · NO
OSLO KOMMUNEparticipant · NO
EGEN BVparticipant · NL
PNO CONSULTANTS BVparticipant · NL
CLOUDSELLING BVthirdparty · NL
HUBJECT GMBHparticipant · DE
MILLOR ENERGY SOLUTIONS SLparticipant · ES
PNO CONSULTANTS GMBHthirdparty · DE
UNIVERSITETET I OSLOparticipant · NO
FREIE HANSESTADT BREMENparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DELLA CAMPANIA LUIGI VANVITELLIparticipant · IT
ICLEI EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT GMBH (ICLEI EUROPASEKRETARIAT GMBH)participant · DE
FUNDACIO EURECATparticipant · ES
FORTUM OYJparticipant · FI

How to reach the team

SINTEF AS is a well-known Norwegian research institute — their smart energy division handles enquiries about GreenCharge results and potential technology transfer.

Order a report on this consortium See SINTEF AS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with GreenCharge partners for smart charging deployment? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction to the right consortium partner for your specific use case.

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