Virta opens UK chargers to grid-flexibility revenue

The service uses Virta’s Broker solution to aggregate controllable charging capacity across multiple operators and offer that pooled capacity into electricity-system flexibility markets.

CPOs are paid for making charging demand controllable

Virta describes the product as demand response rather than a simple electricity-price optimisation tool.

What is sold is a commitment that a defined amount of charging power can be reduced if requested by the electricity system. CPOs are paid for making that capacity available, with the value linked to the charging demand normally seen across their network.

Virta says reductions are requested only during periods of system stress or extreme electricity-price volatility, and that the permitted impact on the charging experience is agreed with the operator.

The CPMS does not have to be Virta’s

The more unusual part of the launch is the separation between the flexibility service and ownership of the charging backend.

Virta says its Broker layer can work with charging networks using third-party CPMS platforms, allowing operators to retain their existing backend while connecting controllable charging demand into Virta’s aggregation service.

If that works reliably across different platforms, it reduces one of the practical barriers to flexibility participation: the need to replace or migrate a CPMS simply to access an energy-management product.

AC and DC charging are both included

Virta says both AC and DC networks can participate.

That distinction matters because curtailing public DC charging is operationally more difficult than shifting overnight AC demand. Rapid and ultra-rapid customers usually have shorter dwell times and a stronger expectation that the charger will deliver close to the available vehicle limit.

The service depends on how much charging impact each CPO is willing to permit and how Virta translates those operating constraints into an amount of capacity that can safely be offered to the market.

The launch leaves some technical and commercial details open

Virta has not publicly specified which individual UK flexibility markets the service will initially access, the minimum aggregate capacity required, the baseline methodology used to calculate available reduction, or how revenue is divided between Virta and the CPO.

The launch also does not state the exact interface requirements for third-party CPMS platforms. Virta’s wider energy-services guidance says charger compatibility can depend on support for OCPP smart-charging profiles and configuration functions, but it is not clear whether the new Broker service uses the same integration requirements in every deployment.

Modulo is an early French participant

French operator Modulo is cited as an early participant, with around 1,600 chargepoints and several megawatts of charging capacity available for aggregation.

Virta says the service is already established in the Nordic markets and is now being extended to France and the UK.

The commercial opportunity should not be treated as guaranteed profit. Revenue will depend on how much controllable capacity a network can offer, market prices, availability requirements, actual dispatch and the amount of charging demand the operator is prepared to interrupt.