EDF renewables buys EV charging station tech firm PowerFlex Systems

EDF Renewables North America acquired PowerFlex Systems, a company which develops electric vehicle (EV) charging technology.

PowerFlex has developed an Adaptive Charging Network (ACN) technology, which enables site hosts to maximize delivery of electricity to EVs while reducing the need for utility upgrades. This is done by managing charging depending on driver demands, building load, onsite generation, and other variables.

The technology was the outgrowth of research supported by grants from a variety of sources, including the National Science Foundation, ARPA-E, Department of Energy, Southern California Edison, California Energy Commission’s CalSEED program, Caltech’s Resnick Institute, Rothenberg Innovation Initiative, and the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator at NREL.

“Orchestrating the seamless coordination of variable production from solar with the flexible load from EV charging will be critical to the long-term health of our grid. PowerFlex provides the solution to do exactly that.” George Lee, CEO of the Los Altos, Calif.-based company.

EDF Renewables builds and operates energy projects that incorporate solar, storage, electric vehicle charging, and energy management. The investment is part of EDF Renewables’ strategic to increase its presence in the distributed energy market. It acquired groSolar in 2016 and struck a partnership with EnterSolar last year.

“Our commercial and industrial clients are realizing how important it is to provide cost-effective electric vehicle charging to retain their employees and their customers,” Raphael Declercq, executive vice president, Distributed Solutions & Strategy at EDF Renewables, said. “By incorporating the PowerFlex technology alongside our existing solar, storage, and energy management offering, we are now able to provide building owners and facility managers with a single energy ecosystem where all assets work in concert to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable carbon-free power when and where it is needed.”