The City of Rotterdam and its surrounding communes have selected ENGIE Laborelec’s SMATCH solution as the smart charging platform for 3800 EV chargers to be installed over the next eight years. The project is part of a tender won by ENGIE Services Nederland for the massive extension of the region’s EV charging station network. ^{1, 2}

The use of SMATCH allows operators of charging station networks to significantly reduce their peak power demand and contribute to balancing the grid by distributing charging sessions over time in an intelligent way without compromising EV driver comfort. In the tender, the contracting authority confirmed smart load balancing would be a decisive factor for granting the project. In a pilot project (check the video on the right) previously carried out in Rotterdam from September to December 2020, ENGIE Laborelec implemented SMATCH on 58 charging points and successfully demonstrated that peak demand dropped by 21% with no impact on EV driver comfort.

While details of how SMATCH will be set up still have to be finalized, the new installation will undoubtedly become the largest smart charging platform in the Benelux. The installation of SMATCH across the region’s EV charging station network also opens opportunities for more magnificent applications such as intermediate power storage using vehicle-2-grid and bringing more flexibility in balancing distribution and transmission networks.