Researchers and Dansmästaren are powering up for the future
Valeria Castellucci´s research group is investigating the possibility of turning Dansmästaren into an energy community. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
The energy of the future can be stored in electric vehicle batteries. This is the finding of a research project under way in an ordinary residential building, a stone’s throw from the Ångström Laboratory at Uppsala University.
Valeria Castellucci, researcher at the Department of Electrical Engineering. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
A seemingly ordinary residential building is serving as a pilot project for researchers. The Dansmästaren building in Uppsala’s Rosendal district is a multifunctional building. It houses not only student apartments and a grocery store, but also a car park with 60 smart charging stations for electric vehicles.
A research group is investigating the possibility of turning Dansmästaren into an energy community. In addition to Uppsala University, both the municipality and the business community are on board.
“One aim of the project is to strengthen the resilience of the local power grid,” says Valeria Castellucci, Associate Senior Lecturer at the Department of Electrical Engineering; Division of Electricity at Uppsala University, who is leading one of several studies linked to Dansmästaren.
Capacity shortages in the electricity grid
Uppsala and several other regions in southern Sweden have capacity shortages in the electricity grid, and new solutions are needed to use the grid more efficiently.
Dansmästaren has a large solar park and an advanced battery system for storing the electricity the park produces. Valeria Castellucci and her colleagues are researching the optimised use of renewable energy and electric vehicle charging with “vehicle to grid” technology.
“This means that you can feed the energy stored in the electric vehicle’s batteries back to the grid when the electric vehicle is connected to a charging station. We will see more and more electric transport in the future, so smart charging could be a solution to other problems, such as local power needs,” she says.
Topical challenges
To put it another way, the Dansmästaren project is linked to topical challenges that exist both locally and internationally. Valeria Castellucci is seeing great interest from both the public and the private sector.
“We are hosting many study visits, most recently from Region Uppsala. It feels good that we researchers are not alone on this journey.”
The researchers have no advance information about who may be parking there and which vehicles they are charging. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
What makes Dansmästaren unique as a project is that, since the property is owned by the municipality and used by the public, the researchers have no advance information about who may be parking there and which vehicles they are charging. In addition, integrating consumption from student apartments and a grocery store allows for optimisation of microgrid consumption.
“It’s very hands on, a good way to tackle a complex issue. We want to be at the forefront of the energy future,” says Valeria Castellucci.
Opening the door to better collaboration
Being part of the Fossil-free Energy area of research strength also opens the door to better collaboration within academia, which Valeria Castellucci sees as crucial to being able to contribute to a more sustainable future.
“We also need to explore areas such as behavioural science and socio-technical aspects. Being part of this area of research strength makes it easier to connect with each other,” she says.
Sigrid Asker