The smart cities of the future will look like this... living organisms that are able to interact with individuals to adapt -at any moment- to what they need, urban centres that extract all the benefits of the new technologies to make people's daily routine more pleasant.
In these spaces, designed to live in, not just survive, the electric vehicle and the transformation of conventional energy distribution grids into smart grids will increasingly be the case.
“The implementation of the electric vehicle will mean a revolution for cities and for mobility in general, although it requires the installation of charging stations and points. This is a new scenario that is undergoing a constant evolution, because new technology that improves efficiency is being incorporated all the time. There are no market standards yet, and a high level of technical and technological know-how is needed to create charging stations and maintain charging points. We have this capability in Dominion, so we are particularly well positioned to be reference partners in the field”, explains Xavier Cuadra, manager of Business Development, Technology Devices of Dominion.
He points out that, in the field of vehicle charging, the key does not lie in the installation of the charging station itself but in the integration of all the devices, the technologies, the operational tasks and the maintenance of the equipment. The company can make a great contribution in this field, as it has considerable experience as a technology partner and service integrator.
A new model for the grid
The electric vehicle and its power needs are an important element on the horizon that is starting to emerge, although it is not the only one in this new scenario. An authentic revolution is just around the corner, in which the modification of infrastructures and the construction of SmartGrids will take place in line with technological development.
So, what is the key element that defines this new model? Breaking away from the linear approach that currently characterised the energy supply chain.
“At present, we have a sequential process in which plants produce energy, other companies transmit it and others distribute it in a completely unidirectional manner. A brutal change is about to take place, a new distributed generation model for electricity in which consumers will no longer be mere receivers but will take an active part in the distribution system, being able to re-inject and market the surplus energy that they generate or store in the grid”.
Xavier Cuadra
| manager of Business Development, Technology Devices
To illustrate this, Mr Cuadra explains that the new system will allow the owner of an electric vehicle to return the power stored by the vehicle to the grid if he/she is not going to use it, although he warns that there is a lot of work still to be done to bring this about and it is essential to adapt the existing infrastructure.
Dominion's role
Dominion is already working on projects for the construction and maintenance of high, medium and low voltage grids through contracts and alliances with some of the leading companies in the electric power sector.
The revolution in electric grids and infrastructures is progressing at the pace of other technological transformations, such as the one in industry with the introduction of digital technologies, automation and the creation of smart factories in which machines and equipment are interconnected.
“We are a technology company with the capability to deal with the entire value chain and considerable experience in the field of digitalization, so we believe that we have a big role to play in this change”, Xavier Cuadra adds.
Dominion has also worked in this field for some of the leading companies in the energy, automotive and logistics sectors; the revolution in the electric sector is rolling along at full speed.
