FedEx Partners With Con Edison for Electric Vehicle Research
FedEx Corp. worked with Con Edison in New York City in an experiment to reduce the cost of charging electric vehicles using smart grid technology at its charging stations.
Researchers installed smart charging stations at a FedEx facility in lower Manhattan that communicated with a system to predict the building’s electricity needs.
The chargers communicated with a system designed by Columbia University’s Center for Computational Learning Systems and GE that used algorithms to determine how much power it needed for the 10 electric delivery vans.
The algorithms reached conclusions based on weather as well as time of day, week and year, adjusting power flow to ensure trucks are ready for delivery but lowering the overall power demand, according to the utility.
Controlling the peak usage reduces how much large utility customers pay by reducing “demand charges,” the charges for the largest amount of power used at one time during the month, Con Edison said.
“The technology in this project helps a fleet owner get the power its customers need while saving money on electricity. In today’s competitive business world, companies that can reduce their energy costs have an edge,” John Shipman, Con Edison electric vehicle program manager, said in a statement.
“The number of electric vehicles on the road is growing, and that’s good for our customers and good for the environment,” he said.
The information from the lower Manhattan trial was used at a FedEx facility with six chargers in midtown. The utility can now request energy conservation from the midtown facility when overall demand is highest, according to Con Edison.
FedEx ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
