Director of Sales & Business Development GenCell, Inc. Los Angeles, California, United States
In alignment with SEPA's extensive research on managed charging and October 2023 report on how utilities should prepare for customer fleet electrification, this session aims to explore how hydrogen-fueled on-site fuel cell power generation integrated with energy storage and DERMS can enable 277/480 V EV charging at sites still using single-phase grid infrastructure, reducing lead times and pressure on utility infrastructure upgrade programs as part of public and private efforts to accelerate expansion of EV charging to close the power gap, at the same time complying with sustainability targets to supply zero-emission, climate resilient power towards electrification of transportation. In surveys of electric fleet operators, especially police, emergency services, sanitation and other mission-critical fleets for whom continuous operation is vital, data shows that fleets lack access to sufficient grid power to keep fleets in operation and more so, lack redundant energy sources to support charging as well as other backup requirements during conditions of power outage. As a result of the survey, efforts are underway to establish pilots deploying hydrogen-fueled on-site power generation integrated with grid and battery storage, These pilots will utilize DERMS software to collect data regarding the performance of the EV charging sites, tracking power production and consumption and the impact of the pilot on ensuring continuous charging for mission-critical fleets. To date conclusions are only preliminary, but due to the crucial need to rapidly close the EV power gap, and especially using zero-emission, climate-resilient power sources, we believe it is relevant to present these preliminary findings to the audience.
