EV Market Drives Membership Grows As Ford Joins OpenADR Alliance For The First Time

With electric vehicles (EVs) on the rise, Ford Motor Company (Ford) has become the first automotive manufacturer to join the OpenADR Alliance Board of Directors and become a member company, as the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow. Founded with the purpose of promoting the development, adoption, and compliance of the OpenADR and related communication standards, the Alliance has seen a record number of memberships, with managed EV charging platforms being one of the fastest growing.

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Globally, 7.8 million electric sold in 2022* – roughly 10% of global car sales – resulting in huge demands on the electricity grid. The utility industry is seeking to expand its networks and charging programs in a cost-effective manner, so as to avoid delays in the upgrading of distribution systems. Using open standards like OpenADR, they are able to integrate new technologies like pricing and capacity management, as well as communication between a vehicle and a grid (V2G).

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The OpenADR Alliance's Technical and Managing Director, Rolf Bienert, remarks: "Traditionally, the OpenADR Alliance ecosystem has been comprised of control manufacturers and utilities, but more and more we are attracting members from other sectors, including the automotive industry and other associated sectors. Our partnership with Ford will enable us to define and expand innovative new services for OpenADR by bringing a new perspective and insights.”

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Sunil Goyal, Advance Project Leader - Energy Service at Ford Motor Company, adds that “Ford supports open standards as a means of overcoming interoperability challenges in young but maturing markets - like VGI (Vehicle Grid Integration), which we have today at Ford. OpenADR's mission is aligned well with that of the organization. Providing our voice to this effort will be a great honor for us, and we look forward to contributing our voice to it.”

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OpenADR Alliance growth in EMEA

There have been recording growth rates for the OpenADR Alliance over the last two years, with almost 200 members, more than 280 products certified by OpenADR, and more than 10 approved test facilities as more utilities and integrators are considering OpenADR as a solution for enabling interoperable, secure networks. Europe and the Middle East are becoming more and more influential as a result of the growing influence of the organization, gaining 400% more members in the last five years, including the UK, Germany, Italy, Israel, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands.

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Several use cases in Europe are already using OpenADR. This includes demand response aggregation by National Grid in the UK; Project ELBE, an incentive program for electric vehicle charging offered by Stromnetz-Hamburg, Vattenfall, Hamburg Energie, and ChargePoint in Hamburg; as well as load balancing for efficient electric vehicle charging management by E.ON in Germany and Western Europe.

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OpenADR 2.0b has been included in two new BSI PSA standards for energy smart appliances, which are intended to support the UK's transition to a net zero economy as a result of the BSI PSA standard. A number of European standards bodies and organizations are also collaborating with the Alliance, including DKE (The German Commission for Electrotechnical, Electronic, and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE), EEBUS in Germany, and the UK Department of Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).).

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This activity led to the Alliance hosting the first European OpenADR++ User Conference from 6-7 June 2023 in London, which will be co-hosted by the BEIS as a result of this activity. The meeting will be aimed at electric utilities, other energy service providers, policymakers and regulators, researchers, and control suppliers who are interested in standardized, automated demand response technology. It will be a series of keynote addresses on a daily basis, use case examples, and workshops centered around OpenADR and other standards that are relevant to the energy industry.

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Rolf Bienert, executive director of OpenADR Alliance and a recent resident of Portugal, said: "We have been well established in other regions, especially the US, for several years now. Due to increased investments in electric vehicle infrastructure, battery storage, and renewable energy in European markets, we are now expanding our reach through our partners and members. The next 12 months will be an exciting next stage of the Alliance’s development.”

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Other major milestones:

• The OpenADR Alliance recently launched EcoPort, a program for testing and certifying CTA-2045-compliant products. Rheem and American Standard Water Heaters, as well as component module provider e-Radio USA, are the first companies to achieve EcoPort certification. With EcoPort, local electric utilities can support water heaters and other appliances as part of peak-load management or other customer programs by implementing the ANSI/CTA-2045 technical standard, which was developed by a collaborative group of utilities, manufacturers, and other stakeholders.

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• AMPECO, the Bulgarian provider of a charging management platform for electric vehicles, and OpenADR Alliance announced a new partnership with the purpose of allowing charge point operators to integrate their charging networks and manage the energy loads on their grids. With cloud-based demand response events, operators are able to generate extra revenue and explore new applications for dynamic pricing, renewable energy integration, and ancillary services through cloud-based demand response events.

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• Debuting for the first time at Enlit Europe in Germany last year, the Alliance's 'Flexibility in a box' enables rapid integration of demand resources (DR) for quick response. As a result, energy companies can act quickly in the event of power shortages, whereas end users can change their energy consumption patterns in order to save money and optimize their energy efficiency in the future.

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