ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Nuvve Holding Corp. and Circle K AS are partnering on a first-of-its-kind project that brings grid services, including frequency regulation, to electric vehicle fast chargers at 50 of Circle K's service stations and three to five stationary storage sites in Norway and Denmark. The partnership is expected to generate grid services revenue for both Nuvve and Circle K in 2023.

Through its GIVe platform, Nuvve's V1G unidirectional smart-charging technology is expected to manage an initial 40 megawatts of fast chargers and stationary storage for Circle K, with Nuvve's platform expected to begin in early 2023. The partnership is expected to expand across Circle K's Nordic high-speed charging network and potentially additional markets around the world.

According to the companies, Nuvve's ability to provide grid services will allow Circle K to monetize its EV charging assets through market participation, helping system operators Statnett in Norway and Energinet in Denmark keep electricity supply and demand in balance at all times.  

While stationary battery electric storage systems are widely used in Europe for frequency regulation, Circle K and Nuvve are understood to be the first to use fast chargers for the provision of these services.

Circle K's Alpitronic Hyperchargers and three to five storage systems will be remotely connected to the Nuvve GIVe platform. The software will allow them to respond to market signals in real-time and make instantaneous microadjustments to their electricity flow.

"Nuvve is known in the United States primarily for its leadership in bidirectional vehicle-to-grid services; however, in the EU and other markets, we also provide revenue-generating ancillary grid services such as frequency regulation, voltage control and more," said Gregory Poilasne, chair and CEO, Nuvve.

"As we look to evolve and lean into markets that are leaders in the energy transition, we see our Circle K partnership as an important step forward that allows us to circumvent supply chain delays that are impacting EV adoption—particularly in the U.S. fleet market."

Using fast chargers for frequency regulation opens a new method to balance energy generation and consumption, according to the companies. This is increasingly important as more intermittent renewable electricity sources, such as wind and solar, come online.

Circle K has more than 430 Circle K-owned DC chargers across Norway, which leads the world in EVs per capita, as well as more than 130 in Denmark.