A recycled shipping container, topped with solar panels and packed with batteries, will serve as a pop-up charging hub that can deploy 12 fast electric vehicle chargers without the usual upfront hardware costs. This matters because installing traditional EV charging infrastructure is slow and expensive, particularly for workplaces and destinations like retail parks or hotels. The project combines solar generation, battery storage, and bi-directional charging—meaning vehicles can both take power from and return power to the grid—into a single, pre-fabricated box that can be rapidly installed. The business model eliminates the upfront hardware cost for the site owner, removing a major barrier to adoption. If successful, the hub could accelerate the rollout of workplace and destination charging across the UK, supporting the shift to electric vehicles without requiring expensive grid upgrades at every location. The consortium will run a six-month trial testing vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-building, and vehicle-to-vehicle charging. The global market for vehicle-to-everything technology is forecast to reach $19.5 billion by 2028, and the design could later be adapted for other transport applications.
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This project seeks to demonstrate a novel integrated Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) Electric Vehicle charging hub aimed at non-domestic workplace and destination market applications. The approach combines innovations in hardware and software and is based on an established pop-up Mini Solar Car Park product designed by the lead partner (3ti Energy Hubs), comprising a pre-fabricated single-box solution using recycled shipping containers, along with integrated microgrid solar, and energy storage battery capability designed to rapidly deploy 12 fast EV chargers (bi-directional charging units). This design supports scalability and rapid deployment with a novel business model that eliminates the up-front hardware cost for installation and grid connections associated with traditional EV charging systems. The 18-month project (which includes a 6-month V2G/V2B/V2V trial) will be delivered by a consortium that covers the entire value chain -- each leaders in their respective fields and each with an established customer base to support future commercialisation. The project will be led by 3ti in collaboration with Turbo Power Systems Ltd, GridBeyond (who specialise in novel Energy management and grid aggregation services), and CENEX (the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies) to provide guidance in user requirements and to support demonstration. If successful, the project outputs will be exploited in a global market for automotive V2X technology forecast to reach $19.5Bn by 2028, with future application across wider transport applications.
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